STORY AND PHOTOS BY KAREN BOSSICK

They’ve spent weeks debating the facts about the Ketchum Community Development Corporation and one another’s commitment to building affordable housing.

But when Ketchum’s mayor and her challenger sat down with the Sun Valley/Ketchum Rotary Club this past week ahead of Tuesday’s election, the focus turned to sidewalks.

Ed Sinnott asked how each candidate proposed to keep Ketchum more walkable by ensuring that sidewalks were kept clear of snow and ice.

“Sidewalks are unpassable during winter, and parking lots are used for snow storage so that cuts down on parking spaces,” he said.

Apparently, it was a sore subject for many because other Rotary Club members followed up with sidewalk questions of their own.

Both Mayor Nina Jonas and her challenger Neil Bradshaw professed to understand the value of having walkable sidewalks for both residents and tourists. Jonas said she walks everywhere and Bradshaw says he bikes everywhere.

Jonas said the city has invested quite a bit of money in new sidewalks, which it would like to keep open, and the city does use a little Bobcat to plow some sidewalks where it can.

As a business owner, Jonas added, she knows the difficulty that comes with having no place to put the snow when shoveling it.

“Optimally, retailers and restaurant owners will blow or shovel snow into streets in time for the snow plow to come by and remove it,” she said. “But that means getting out there at 4 in the morning and I don’t know who’s going to do that.”

Storeowners are required to keep sidewalks shoveled, she added. And, while Nina doesn’t know of anyone being issued a ticket for letting snow pile up, some have been given warnings.

Bradshaw noted that mobility is important for connection—a tenet he’s preached throughout his campaign. He used the occasion to pitch the idea of a jitney system that would pick people up at River Run parking lot and take them around town so workers don’t have to shuffle cars to new parking spaces every two hours to avoid parking tickets.

Jack Bariteau noted that every development he’s built downtown has included a snowmelt system.

“Why not more of that?” he asked. “Sidewalks last longer and need less maintenance.”

Bradshaw noted that the drawback is greenhouse gasses created by heating with natural gas and suggested tapping into Ketchum’s geothermal heat to help melt snow and ice off sidewalks.

The Limelight Hotel requested that they be exempt from a snowmelt system so they could get points toward their green building, Jonas added.

She added that she is trying to get Idaho Transportation Department to extend the sidewalk along Main Street to Serenade Drive at Ketchum’s south end.

“It’s a matter of money,” she said.

Bradshaw, who helped spearhead the development of the Ketchum Town Square and the Fourth Street Heritage Corridor, added that he would like to see sidewalks along the Simplot lot west of the Ketchum Post Office. There was a push for sidewalks there at one time, he said, but it was postponed out of the belief that the Sun Valley Center for the Arts would be building a new center there shortly.

As president of the board of directors for the Ketchum Community Development Corp., Bradshaw spearheaded the building of Northwood Place, a 32-unit rental workforce housing development near the Wood River YMCA on Saddle Road.

The City of Ketchum turned down a bid for another building project, he said, so he’s batting 500.

“I haven’t made an application for another project in the last four years but I would like to see more long-term rentals,” he said. “Long-term residents contribute to the community not just by being part of the workforce but in other ways, such as volunteering as soccer coaches.” 

Bradshaw suggested the City of Ketchum partner with local land owners to get greater density with smaller houses. He also suggested that there are opportunities to put housing on third and fourth floors in the light industrial district, while ensuring businesses are protected from complaints over such things s noise.

McHanville, near St. Luke’s Wood River is close to town and on the bus route, he noted.

“Maybe it’s not so attractive for Airbnb and second homeowners,” he added.

Jonas countered that the city has a density bonus and is seeking opportunities to purchase condominiums and apartments. The city revised its parking ordinance based on hypothetical numbers that show the feasibility of desired development, she added.

“Now it’s up to the market to buy into it,” she added.

Jonas said she is also onboard with smaller lot development and. It’s important to engage the community to see if it is ready for that.

“The closer to downtown the more apt they are to allow greater density,” she said, adding that she is not a huge fan of deed-restricted housing.

Bradshaw held several focus groups early in his campaign to field concerns and ideas from different groups like the 20- and 30-somethings. He told Rotary Club members he would like to hold forums for non-city residents, including those who own businesses in Ketchum but do not live in the city.

“These business owners are stakeholders but they can’t afford to live here. My idea is a series of town hall meetings on subjects like housing so we can get feedback from stakeholders who have good ideas and want to contribute,” he said.

Jonas replied that business owners who don’t live in Ketchum already weigh in at city council meetings.

“The biggest influence at the meetings is not from residents but from business owners and others who feel they have a stake in the town,” she said. “I’m conscientious about appointing business owners to committees like Planning and Zoning and the Urban Renewal Agency. Both the city council and myself listen to more than just the voters.”

Rotary Club member Holden Morgan said the club tries to hold Q&A with candidates when possible to educate its members. The Rotary Club meets at noon Tuesdays at Rico’s Pizza in Ketchum.