Express Economic Almanac by Tony Barriatua

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IDAHO MOUNTAIN

Express AND GUIDE

2018

VOLUME 43

NUMBER 96

ONE COPY FREE – ALL OTHERS 50 CENTS

E C ONOM I C

ALMANAC B L A I N E

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2018 SUN VALLEY ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT ECONOMIC SUMMIT What: Seventh annual gathering of Blaine County, Idaho, community leaders to learn, network and engage. When: Tuesday, Oct. 30, 2018, from 8 a.m. to 2:45 p.m. Where: Limelight Room, Sun Valley Resort. Theme: “Harnessing the Power of Community to Build a Vibrant Economy.” Tickets: Go to sunvalleyeconomy.org.

AGENDA 8 a.m. to 8:30 a.m. Registration, continental breakfast and networking.

8:30 a.m. to 8:45 a.m. Welcome and local context: David Patrie (Sun Valley Economic Development).

8:45 a.m. to 9:15 a.m.

Attracting new visitors to the Sun Valley area can lead to repeat visitors and, potentially, future homeowners, residents and business operators. Four target groups for those marketing the Wood River Valley are: active families, affluent and outdoors-oriented travelers, those who participate in numerous activities, and people who appreciate culture in a non-urban setting. To read more about relocation trends in the Wood River Valley, turn to Page 12. Courtesy graphic

Economic Summit to focus on building a vibrant community

9:15 a.m. to 10 a.m. Ralf Garrison, founding principal of DestiMetrics: “Destination Resort Communities: Forces at Play.”

10 a.m. to 10:15 a.m. Networking and coffee break.

10:15 a.m. to noon Keynote Address—Roger Brooks, of Roger Brooks International: “Community-Built Downtown Vitality.”

Noon to 2 p.m.—SVED Talks

By EXPRESS STAFF

Networking and buffet lunch.

nlike many small communities, Economy”—will feature several speakers mountain resorts have a built-in who will offer insight on how small comaudience, travelers who support the munities and mountain resorts can stay—or economy in pursuit of ski descents in pris- become more—vibrant. The keynote speaker, consultant Roger tine powder, hikes among jagged peaks and a rainbow of wildflowers, or casting a fly Brooks, will outline the features that help make downtown areas vibrant and what into a glistening, willow-lined creek. But, the residents, business owners and communities can do to be more attractive economic gurus know, the equation has and, ultimately, successful. Other discussions changed in recent years. Competition for will include the state of resort communities, business opportunities and those travelers is fierce, as mountain resorts throughout challenges in serving younger the nation fight for their niche people, how to shape sustainSun Valley in the market with special able growth, how to attract offers and targeted marketing. talent, and how to enhance Economic Meanwhile, many active trava community’s character Development through sports and athletic elers—like most people—value their time more than ever, and events. event set for want to get to that mountain This year’s summit will take resort quickly and efficiently, Tuesday, Oct. 30, place Tuesday, Oct. 30, from 8 prompting new competition a.m. to 2:45 p.m. in the Limein Sun Valley. xcvbxb light Room of the Sun Valley for airline routes. And, with Inn, at Sun Valley Resort. the ever-advancing influence Coffee, breakfast and netof online shopping, retailers in mountain towns are facing the same chal- working will begin at 8 a.m., followed by a welcome address at 8:30 a.m. That will lenges as those on the coasts or the prairie. In its seventh annual Economic Sum- be followed by a presentation from Harry mit, the nonprofit organization Sun Valley Griffith, the executive director of Sun Valley Economic Development will facilitate dis- Economic Development, called “Our Comcussions about some of those developing munities: What Communities Do We Idenchallenges. The event—called “Harnessing tify With.” The keynote speaker will begin the Power of Community to Build a Vibrant at 10:15 a.m. Other speakers and discussions

Presentation: “Our Communities: What Communities Do We Identify With (and Why Is It Important).”—Harry Griffith (SVED).

1 Mark Oliver, of The Snowboard Project and the Hot Water Inn: “Opportunities & Challenges for the Young Business Community.”

2 Harry Griffith is the executive director of Sun Valley Economic Development, the organizer and host of the seventh annual Economic Summit. Express file photo

will follow, concluding with feedback and final remarks from 2-2:45 p.m. Following the summit, Sun Valley Economic Development will compile the ideas generated and report them to the community. The event is a fundraiser for Sun Valley Economic Development, the only nonprofitprivate partnership organization in the valley that brings economic education and advocacy to bear on issues that affect businesses and communities in Blaine County. The organization has worked on bringing new businesses and entrepreneurs to the Wood River Valley, as well as advocating for existing businesses and causes that support them, such as the development of workforce housing. Registration and payment for the summit can be done online at Sun Valley Economic Development’s website, www. sunvalleyeconomy.org. EA

Derrick Calderon, director of Smart Cities, Cox Business: “Smart City Concepts: How Community Can Shape Sustainable Growth.”

3 Jake Moe, founder of Powder magazine: “Relocations: How to Attract Talent to Your Community in a Hypercompetitive Market.”

4 Rebecca Rusch, seven-time world champion mountain biker and the “Queen of Pain”: “How to Build Community Character Around Sport/Athletic Events.”

5 Ralf Garrison, researcher, adviser and storyteller: “Destination Resort Communities: The Situation, Economic Considerations and Trends.”

2 p.m. to 2:45 p.m. Feedback, concluding remarks and action plan.

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ECONOMIC SUMMIT H

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Roger Brooks will be the keynote speaker at the 2018 Sun Valley Economic Summit. Courtesy photo

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been filled with comments about how great Roger was. I could go on and on, but the best way to sum it up is that the presentation was a complete success—not only from the enjoyment aspect but also from the learning aspect.” Brooks said he has boiled down the formula for tourist-town success to what he calls the “7-8-7 rule.” “Seventy percent of first-time retail sales are based on curb appeal,” he said. “That’s why we always say when we are traveling, ‘Oh, that looks like a good place to eat.’” Whether or not they return is another matter entirely, he said. And who decides where we shop? Female travelers. “They decide where 80 percent of retail spending takes place,” he said. “And women are always looking for somewhere that is welcoming and safe.” The final component of the formula is business hours. “Seventy percent of all retail spending takes place after 6 p.m.,” Brooks said. “Are you open then?” Brooks said all those components center around the need for a town square in the highest spending area in town. Ketchum already has that, and Hailey is in the process of determining a town square location. “The city of McCall just created an $8 million public square that will have activities planned 200 to 300 days per year. Every town should be doing this,” he said. Brooks said he will share with his audience a list of the 20 most common ingredients found in successful small tourist towns. “The audience will have a chance to vote on how many of these ingredients they think we have here,” he said. EA

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He is a former board member of the U.S. Travel Association, and author of the popular book “Your Town: An Amazing Destination— the 25 Immutable Rules of Successful Tourism.” He delivers 80 to 100 speaking engagements each year as a certified speaking professional and is known for his enthusiasm, sense of humor and breadth of knowledge about the tourism industry. “He is extraordinarily dynamic and also very funny, combining humorous video clips and fascinating real-life stories, while providing steps, rules and ingredients—bottom-line solutions—that every audience member can implement today to make a positive difference tomorrow,” a news release states. Brooks and his team have helped more than 1,500 communities and travel-industry organizations around the world with their branding, product development and marketing efforts. Private-sector projects have included tourist attractions, destination resorts, lodging facilities, retailers, tour operators and guide services. Brooks has appeared on every major television network and has been quoted in The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times and in dozens of other media outlets. “Everyone, and I mean everyone, in attendance enjoyed Roger’s presentation” wrote Louisiana Main Street Director Ray Scriber in a testimonial. “Many, many of the Main Street managers came up afterward to express to me their enjoyment of the presentation and their appreciation for the state coordinating program providing them with this opportunity. Our e-mail group has

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he Wood River Valley has a history of ranching, mining and Hollywood hoopla that has given way in recent decades to a tourism-based economy. Several towns in Blaine County are now vying for a slice of the tourist pie. Roger Brooks, the 2018 Sun Valley Economic Summit keynote speaker, says the recipe for a thriving downtown is made of a number of key ingredients. Brooks will share the mix of development ideas that have led to success in hundreds of small towns across the U.S., and how the Sun Valley area could follow suit. “Sun Valley is the standard bearer of them all when it comes to setting an example of a year-round destination,” said Brooks, who last visited the Wood River Valley 15 years ago. Since that time, he has been working on a study of 400 of the most successful downtowns in small towns across America. He said they all have managed to cater to the traveling public’s primary desires. “The No. 1 activity for visitors everywhere is shopping, dining and finding entertainment in a pedestrian-friendly location,” he said. “The U.S. was built on automobile culture, but young people now want to get out of their cars. Many baby boomers went to Europe where they saw charming plazas and piazzas and then came home and said, ‘Why don’t we have these things?’ But if the locals don’t use your downtown, neither will the visitors.” Brooks began his career in the entertainment industry, providing tour management services for bands including the Eagles, Fleetwood Mac, Chicago, and Earth, Wind & Fire, culminating in the famous Saturday Night Fever Tour with the Bee Gees. He then signed on to an economic development project for 10 years at Whistler ski area in British Columbia, before it merged with Blackcomb. “There were 678 residents in Whistler in 1981 when I started there, and now there are 12 to 15 thousand full-time residents. They had a vision and it was my job to sell that vision to developers,” he said. Brooks said Intrawest, the major development company operating in the Whistler area at the time of its growth, determined that real estate sales were its primary goal. “Skiing was the way to get them there in winter to shop and dine,” he said. Brooks went on to energize established developments at Sunriver Resort in Oregon, Harbour Town in Hilton Head, S.C., and several others, before working with local, state and national governments and nonprofit agencies.

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By TONY TEKARONIAKE EVANS—Express Staff Writer

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Roger Brooks studies tourism development and business vitality

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By MARK DEE—Express Staff Writer

n Sunday, Oct. 14, Ketchum’s Town Square was packed and partying. After the annual Trailing of the Sheep Festival, locals and tourists alike flocked from Main Street to the plaza for food trucks and the heavy dose of rock ’n’ roll. “Get a good band and a nice day, and it all comes together,” Ketchum Mayor Neil Bradshaw said later. Sure, if you have a place where it can. Not too long ago, the square was a parking lot. Back then, Bradshaw was president of the board of the Ketchum Community Development Corp., a nonprofit created in 2006 to work as a private development arm alongside the Ketchum City Council and Urban Renewal Agency. The organization, which annually accepts public money from the city budget, drummed up $400,000 in four weeks to build the block, he remembers. There was some pushback—and fair concerns about parking—but seeing the place full to the gills that Sunday, it’s hard to imagine downtown Ketchum without it. “It’s been really important to creating a sense of place,” Bradshaw said. “We may have lost some parking spots, but that’s what we gained.” Beyond a geographic designation—beyond a buzzword for businesses and developers—that’s what a downtown, done right, provides. A successful center can define the town around it—root it, anchor it, give it, as Bradshaw says, “a sense of place.” Soft as it sounds, that identity can be a powerful economic driver—first as a magnet for people, and then for businesses that depend on them. Roger Brooks, co-founder and president of the consulting Destination Development Association, calls it “place-making,” and it underpins his program for downtown revitalization. (See sidebar for Brooks’ 20 ingredients for an outstanding downtown.) “Think back a couple of generations: When people moved to the suburbs, retail went with them in

the form of suburban malls, and downtowns began a generation of declining vibrancy and increasing vacancies,” Brooks wrote in a post on the association’s website. “A third of all suburban malls are now on the “endangered list” as people are gravitating back to downtowns—not for the downtown shopping of yesteryear, but as the community’s central gathering place.” For an economy paced by tourism, there’s another layer. According to Destination Development, 80 percent of non-lodging tourism spending takes place in a city’s downtown core, making it essential to get it right. But first, you have to get locals on board. “If you don’t hang out in your own downtown, neither will your guests,” said Sun Valley Economic Outreach Director David Patrie, paraphrasing another of Brooks’ axioms. One way to encourage that: Take a page out of the Ketchum playbook with a “programmed plaza.” Brooks recommends having a place with 250 days of activities a year, tying the marketing message to experiences rather than sticks and bricks. With Forest Service Park and the town square, Ketchum stages events in two municipal spaces. Soon, The Community Library will add another. Its privately funded expansion on the east end of Fourth Street will feature a public promenade. At the other end of the valley, there’s Bellevue. The town has also seen its share of downtown growth, using a very hands-off approach. A big boost came from the new Silver Creek Hotel, which opened last year, said Bellevue Community Development Director Diane Shay. Along with the adjacent Atkinsons’ Market, the pair form an anchor on the north side of Main Street— checking another of Brooks’ boxes. Anchor tenants are places or things people will travel to visit; Patrie cites Atkinsons’ Ketchum, Hailey and Bellevue locations as textbook examples. Other businesses tend to pop up around them.

“Historically, it’s been a little bit of a challenge for businesses to come down here and open, because, in the past, this was such a sleepy little town,” Shay said about Bellevue. “Right now, these businesses are bouncing off each other. They’re complementing each other. I’m excited to see what the future brings.” The biggest thing she sees: redevelopment of old lots into new business. The city enforces zoning to combat sprawl, and not much else. “We’re seeing that happen automatically, and I’m thrilled about that,” Shay said. But, Bellevue is still sleepy on a Saturday, as Shay is quick to admit. And Patrie said the city has a lot of room for improvement: Sun Valley Economic Development gave Bellevue’s downtown a D grade, based on Destination Development’s criteria. (See the “Grading downtowns” sidebar.) To check more boxes, cities need to take a more active role, according to Sun Valley Economic Development Executive Director Harry Griffith. At some point, raising Bellevue’s grade will require a tighter focus, and a fleshed-out plan, and often that starts at City Hall. See DOWNTOWN, next page ä

Grading downtowns Sun Valley Economic Development graded each of Blaine County’s four downtowns based on the Destination Development Associations 20 criteria for success. Each category was rated on a scale from zero to three, making 60 points a perfect A+. Here’s how they stacked up: Ketchum: B+ (37 out of 60 possible points) Hailey: C+ (21) Bellevue: D (10) Carey: D- (7)

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D O W N T O W N V I TA L I T Y

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Housing stats ‘The 20 ingredients of an outstanding downtown’ The Destination Development Association surveyed nearly 400 downtowns to figure out what makes a vibrant district tick. Here are the 20 most common factors that led to success: 1) “Razor-sharp focus.” Start with something specific in mind. 2) An action plan. Work together to get stakeholders, landlords and businesses moving in the same direction. 3) Critical mass. A minimum of 10 eateries, 10 shops and 10 places open after 6 p.m. in a three-block strip. 4) Anchor tenants. Support businesses that people will travel to visit. 5) Consistent hours. Have businesses open on the same days, at the same times. 6) Places to live and stay downtown. 7) “Pioneers with vision.” It takes “patient money” to invest in downtown development. 8) A demonstration block that typifies the downtown vision. 9) Four-hour parking. 10) Public restrooms. Keep them open late, too. 11) A “programmed” plaza, with at least 250 days of activities each year. 12) Community gateways directing visitors downtown. 13) Wayfinding signs.

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14) Downtown gateways to “create a sense of place and sense of arrival.” 15) An “intimate setting,” with narrow roads, ample sidewalks and lots of crossings. 16) Perpendicular “blade” signs. Keep the size and style consistent. 17) Outdoor cafés. 18) Curb appeal, with a focus on retail beautification. 19) Continual activity. “Activities and entertainment bring downtown to life!” 20) Name the downtown. “A name makes it a destination, not a geographic designation.”

ä DOWNTOWN For Griffith, the best way forward is through public-private partnerships. “One side’s not going to carry the day,” he said. “We need to find creative solutions.” That’s a hard pitch. If stakeholders, many of them in direct competition, can’t see what you’re driving at, it becomes nearly impossible. They need a vision—they need, in Bradshaw’s parlance, a sense of place. “The only way for the tide to rise is for us to collaborate and work together,” he said. “We can’t tell people how to run their businesses, but we can educate them. “Fostering a sense of place and community gets people moving in the same direction. Even competing businesses will help each other if they understand what they’re doing it for.”

Bradshaw has a copy of the Brooks 20 ingredients tacked to the wall in his office, which is two flights of stairs and about 200 feet from the square. In his term as mayor, the City Council has added cabanas to it; next, he hopes to add outlets—anything, he said, to draw more people to the town’s hub. Success starts with filling those cabanas and tables and benches. But for Bradshaw, it quickly extends into something deeper. “It’s much broader than usage,” he said. “It’s about creating empathy, and understanding. People are not going to connect if they email each other every day. We want to make it easy for people to connect face to face, in a center for community connection. “It’s an important reminder to me that people basically want to be part of something bigger. Give us a chance, and a place, and we’ll rally for it.” EA

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T O U R I S T A C C O M M O D AT I O N S

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un Valley has no problem drawing huge volumes of tourists in the summer months, and this past summer was no exception. Competing resort destinations may look with envy at the Wood River Valley’s occupancy rates for lodging properties in July and August. In July, valley lodging properties such as hotels, condos and other units that accommodate visitors reported 13,653 room nights sold out of 20,918 available. That’s good for an occupancy rate of 65.26 percent. In July 2017, 11,867 room nights were sold out of 19,817 total, according to the tracking firm DestiMetrics. That amounted to an occupancy rate of 59.88 percent. In August 2018, 11,837 room nights were sold out of 20,913 available, for a 56.6 percent occupancy rate. In August 2017, 11,133 room nights were sold out of 19,682 available. That equated to an occupancy rate of 56.56 percent. But the valley’s destination-marketing organization, Visit Sun Valley, asks a key question: What about the other 10 months of the year? Can Sun Valley boost visitation in those months? And, as more of the valley’s housing stock gets snapped up for vacation

rentals and seasonally occupied units, Airbnb listings to rent an entire what effect will that have on the com- unit. That number grew to 600 in munity of full-time residents? December 2017. Sun Valley Economic Develop- Listings for a private room on ment has delved into the data on how Airbnb have hovered between the valley uses its housing stock, and approximately 25 and 75 through researched vacation that period, accordrental-listing webing to the analysis. sites such as Airbnb. analy“Look to when sis SVED’s SVED found compared the that the number of we’re hitting 50 Airbnb occupancy seasonally occurate with hotel percent. We only properties in the pied and vacation rental units River Valley outperform two Wood from 2015 to 2017, in Blaine County and found that each has exploded since months of the 1990. experienced similar entire year.” In 1990, the seasonal swings. During only one county had 1,087 Scott Fortner vacation/seasonal Visit Sun Valley, on lodging occu- month—February units. It had 2,907 pancy rates for July and August 2015—did the occupancy rate of entire r e nt e r - o c c up i e d Airbnb units exceed units and 5,506 owner-occupied units. that of the hotels’ occupancy rate. By 2016, the county had 6,426 That month, the Airbnb occupancy vacation/seasonal units, 2,851 rate hit 30 percent, while the hotels’ renter-occupied units and 5,857 rate was about 26 percent. owner-occupied units. At other times, the two rates The number of vacation/seasonal have been nearly identical, such units is a record-high, according to as June 2015, December 2015 and SVED. June 2017. SVED also analyzed data from In July 2015, the hotels’ occuAir DNA, which is compiled from pancy rate hit 60 percent, while listings and rentals of Airbnb units the Airbnb rate was near 50 perin Blaine County. In December cent. In July 2017, when the hotels’ 2014, the county had about 100 See LODGING, next page ä

HOTEL ROOMS & OCCUPANCY

Room Nights Sold DestiMetrics

Contacts: Scott Fortner / Hoteliers

Ketchum 220 East Ave • 208-726-6896 Source: DestiMetrics www.theupsstorelocal.com/2444

Committed to The Wood River Valley Since 1956

Housing Stock Utilization

HOUSING STOCK UTILIZATIONHousing Stock Utilization

Contacts: David Patrie / Harry Griffith / Property Managers Contacts: David Patrie / Harry Source – ACS 2012-16 Managers 5 yr est Griffith / Property The Sun Valley Village 2015-2016 Source – ACS 2012-16 5 yr est 208-622-3522 Ownership - down 27 units 2015-2016 Rental – down -189 units Ownership down 27 (6.2%) units FullRental time occupied households – down 189 units (6.2%) 216 units (2.4%) Full timedown occupied households Seasonal / Part-time occupied Event Venue & Meeting Space down 216 units (2.4%) units up 241 units (3.9%) Educational Programming Seasonal / Part-time occupied Member Benefits and Resources Record # of seasonal / part-time Garden Tour July units 13, units 2019 up 241 units (3.9%) A tourist attraction that locals love! Record # of seasonal / part-time units

Source: DestiMetrics

6,227

4,406

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T O U R I S T A C C O M M O D AT I O N S ä LODGING occupancy rate was 65 percent, the Airbnb rate was at 60 percent. Visit Sun Valley Executive Director Scott Fortner looked at the DestiMetrics occupancy report from June 2017 to June 2018 and offered some analysis. The DestiMetrics report included sample hotel and other lodging property-management companies, but didn’t account for Airbnb and other vacation-rental websites. Fortner said the sample is split about evenly between property-management companies and hotels. Only two months—July 2017 and August 2017—had occupancy rates above 50 percent. “Look to when we’re hitting 50 percent,” Fortner said. “We only outperform two months out of the entire year. July and August, we’re the envy of other mountain destinations. We’re underperforming in December, January, February and March. We have lots to grow.” Fortner said Visit Sun Valley wants to delve deeper into the total number of room nights available, and ascertain the product mix. Which is performing better at certain times of the year? Is a

single-family home or a four-bedroom condominium performing better or worse than a hotel room? Occupancy was up sharply in September 2018. Fortner said September and October offer easy opportunities to grow visitation to the Wood River Valley because of the frequently pleasant autumn weather, abundant colorful foliage and marquee events that draw tourists. In September, the occupancy rate tracked by DestiMetrics was 43 percent, a 20 percent increase from the September 2017 rate of 35.8 percent. The on-the-books occupancy—which tracks advance reservations—was up 7.1 percent for October, compared with the same month in 2017. However, on-thebooks occupancy for the upcoming six months of October to March was down 7.2 percent compared to the same time period in 2017-18. Fortner said air bookings were on pace, and plenty of time remains to improve winter months’ occupancy. “I do think September and October are going to be really good,” he said. “We’ll see how the winter shapes up. It’s hard to tell right now.”EA

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Housing stock data Sun Valley Economic Development has analyzed how Blaine County uses its housing stock, going back to the 1970s. Here is what SVED found: l

In 1970, the county had 1,359 owner-occupied units, with small numbers of renter-occupied and seasonal/vacation homes.

In 1990, the county had 5,506 owner-occupied units, 2,907 renter-occupied units and 1,087 seasonal/vacation homes.

In 2000, the number of owner-occupied units declined to 5,357, while renter-occupied units also dropped, to a total of 2,423. The number of seasonal/vacation units increased dramatically to 4,406.

By 2010, owner-occupied units grew slightly to 5,939 and renter-occupied units grew to 2,884. The number of seasonal/vacation units, however, mushroomed to 6,227.

In 2016, the number of owner-occupied units dipped slightly to 5,857 and the number of renter-occupied units declined to 2,851. Seasonal/vacation units grew again, jumping to 6,426.

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SHORT-TERM-RENTAL OCCUPANCY Occupancy Rates—STR vs. Hotel Rooms 70.0%

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Wednesday, October 24, 2018

EVENTS

Events draw crowds, business to valley at key times Marquee events generated $50 million in economic impact By PETER JENSENâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;Express Staff Writer

T %&& $ . %'. . %# . % $.%'. . $ $ . $. . . .) ( . . ' . ' .)%. !& . %$) ).*(. %'. . ' &&'%+ . . ., . . ( %&.) . . "% $.&'% ' #(. $ .' ) (. %'.-%* .

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Managing events Now the challenge has become that at certain times, the valley has too many events. Visit Sun Valley manages an events calendar, which Sun Valley Economic Development analyzed for 2017-18. It found 66 events, excluding private, business, family or small fundraising ones. Those 66 events were concentrated in the winter and summer, and accounted for 215 total event days, or 2.7 days per event. Visit Sun Valley Executive Director Scott Fortner said that to understand the impact of events, one needs to break them out into categories.

Women Film Fest

48 Straight

2010s Harvest Fest

Massive

Studio Tour Private Idaho

Ride Sun Valley N Rockies Folk DENT Source: Sun Valley Economic Development analysis

Marquee Events â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Start Up Timeline

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he Wood River Valleyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s eventsâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;from the mar- He said the first category should include events that quee to the cultural niche, and from the mas- move to town with a built-in audience, such as a bike race sive crowds to the small gatheringsâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;contrib- thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s been in other mountain towns already. The second category features home-grown events based in the Wood ute to the economy in crucial ways. Analysis from Sun Valley Economic Development River Valleyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s culture, such as the Sun Valley Summer shows that 12 marquee events such as Trailing of the Symphony, Wagon Days or Trailing of the Sheep. Sheep, the Sun Valley Summer Symphony, the Sun ValThe third is â&#x20AC;&#x153;surprise and delightâ&#x20AC;? events that visiley Film Festival and Rebeccaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Private Idaho created tors may stumble upon after theyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re in town for another $50.9 million in direct and indirect economic impact. reason. That includes the Ketchâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;em Alive music nights The symphony led the pack in the analysis, creat- at Forest Service Park, or Jazz in the Park. ing more than $11 million in total ecoThe final categories include large, nomic impact. That includes a little televised events such as the U.S. Alpine less than $2 million in direct economic Championships, which chose Sun Valâ&#x20AC;&#x153;You may get impact, and almost $10 million in indiley Resort as its host in 2016 and again rect impact. somebody whoâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s in 2018. Fortner also noted that some Trailing of the Sheep, the Sun Valmajor fundraising events have the abilnever been here, ity to draw crowds, such as the Sun Valley Film Festival and Rebeccaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Private Idaho followed, with each event generatbut theyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re tied ley Center for the Artsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Wine Auction. ing between $3 million to almost $4 milThe Allen & Co. Conference comes to the event. You to the resort every July. It would be lion in economic impact. The average among the 12 events tough to replicate, Fortner said. was $4,245,150, and the median was get the exposure. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s got its own built-in audience,â&#x20AC;? $3,571,870, according to the SVED Youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re introducing he said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;We get to host it. That is a very, very unique thing. That would be very analysis. The analysis relied on preyourself to a new difficult to duplicate anywhere else.â&#x20AC;? 2015 data for eight of the events. Because events now flood the calenaudience.â&#x20AC;? Historically dar, Fortner said, Visit Sun Valley tries quiet times to promote event synergyâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;where one Scott Fortner event pairs well with another. He said The events lure visitors to the valley Visit Sun Valley the Sawtooth Breweryâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Oktoberfest at times of the year when Ketchum, Sun event this year was able to achieve that Valley, Hailey and Bellevue were historically ghost towns, providing a needed boost to the bot- because it happened on the same day as the Sun Valley tom line for retailers, restaurateurs, hoteliers and other Half Marathon. The half marathon started at 9 a.m. on Saturday, Sept. 15, which dovetailed with the Oktoberbusinesses. That includes the Trailing of the Sheep Festival, which fest running all day in Ketchumâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Town Square. was launched in the late 1990s and has gained national â&#x20AC;&#x153;Events start to leverage each other,â&#x20AC;? Fortner said. as well as international renown. It anchors a weekendâ&#x20AC;&#x201D; He said â&#x20AC;&#x153;event fatigueâ&#x20AC;? is inevitable at certain times. That tests the valleyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s infrastructure and some commuas well as days leading upâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;in October. The Wagon Days parade in Ketchum was resur- nity membersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; patience. rected in the late 1970s, in part as a way to attract Fortner encourages event organizers to collaborate with Visit Sun Valley and other organizers on managtourists to town over Labor Day weekend. It may be difficult to understand to todayâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s residents, ing dates and times. accustomed to navigating crowds of thousands during â&#x20AC;&#x153;Thereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s starting to be points in time where thereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s the parade, but Ketchum was much quieter over Labor See EVENTS, next page Ă¤ Day weekend before the parade was revived in 1976. Former Ketchum Mayor Jerry Seiffert tracked the volume of sewage flows from homes and businesses within MARQUEE EVENTS â&#x20AC;&#x201D; the city, which offered a useful gauge of how many peo- START UP TIMELINE ple were in town at a given time. The last week of August and Labor Day weekend showed steep drop-offs, offerWagon Days Boulder Mtn Tour ing evidence that many people packed up and left after 1980s the peak summer tourism season wound down. Mary Austin Crofts, executive director of The Wine Auction Chamber of Hailey and the Wood River Valley, said Allen & Co she spent time in the valley in the 1970s and remembers Symphony how quiet the spring and fall seasons would be. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Businesses just closed,â&#x20AC;? Crofts said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;People took a trip some place. It was tough for people to pay their bills. A lot of people really, really struggled. Today, we Jazz Fest 1990s still struggle. Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s not nearly so hard today because of these great events like Trailing of the Sheep and the Jazz Festival.â&#x20AC;? She said The Chamber appreciates the economic ripple effect that drawing people to town for an event Writers Conf creates. Co of Fools â&#x20AC;&#x153;If theyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re spending the night, theyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re going to the Trailing restaurants,â&#x20AC;? she said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Theyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re going to the shops and Wellness Fest theyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re shopping. We all work together to really make Ketchum Alive that a big part of our economic health and vibrancy.â&#x20AC;? 2000s Opera Concerts Numerous marquee events started in the past 40 years, including a bevy that began in the 1990s. Those Ketchum Arts include the Sun Valley Writersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Conference, Company of Fools, Trailing of the Sheep, the Sun Valley Wellness Hemingway Fest Festival, Ketchâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;em Alive and the Ketchum Arts Festival. Elkhorn Concerts

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Wednesday, October 24, 2018

EVENTS ä EVENTS so much going on,” he said. “Everybody’s in their silos, making their decisions. We struggle with so much crammed in. You start to slice the pie up for everybody’s time. Some of those weekends in July, you’re like, ‘Oh my, there’s 10 things going on.’ Is there enough infrastructure to support that level of events?” Fortner said he’s concerned about events overloading a particular weekend, and possibly detracting from a visitor’s experience in the Wood River Valley. “I’m really more concerned about the experience,” he said. “Does it start to tax the experience and the services we provide? We try to monitor that.” Summer is the busiest tourism period for Sun Valley, and has been for many years. Fortner has identified winter as an opportunity to grow events and boost tourism. The Sun Valley Film Festival has grown to anchor a multiday period in March, as the winter ski season on Bald and Dollar mountains nears

the finish line. “Winter would be nice to have a few more events,” he said.

Blaine Co. Calendar Events

Blaine Co. Calendar Events BLAINE COUNTY CALENDAR EVENTS # Event Days by Category

# Events by Category

Quality of life

10 41 Calendar management aside, 32 8 Fortner said events in the valley offer benefits beyond a boost to 8 businesses’ bottom lines. Artistic, 6 22 cultural, intellectual and musical 46 events create intrinsic value for the residents who live in the valley full or part time. 63 29 He cited a week in early October as an example. Steve Earle & The Dukes played a sold-out show Food Heritage Intellectual Arts Food Heritage Intellectual Arts at Whiskey Jacques’ on Tuesday Sport Performing Arts Visual Arts Sport Performing Arts Visual Arts night, which was followed by a lecSource: Sun Valley Economic Development analysis basedSource: on Visit Sun Valley eventEconomic calendar Sun Valley Economic Development analysis based on Visit Sunon Valley calendar Source: Sun Valley Development analysis based Visitevent Sun Valley event cale ture from Pulitzer Prize-winning author and historian Jon Meacham MARQUEE EVENTS BY ECONOMIC IMPACT at the Church of the Big Wood on $12,000,000 Wednesday. The Sun Valley Center hosted Meacham’s sold-out lecture $10,000,000 in a partnership with The Community Library. $8,000,000 “They’re really interesting,” Fortner said. “They really add to $6,000,000 the quality of life. There’s enough local base here to support that. $4,000,000 There’s an economic impact.”EA Indirect (excludes multiplier)

Marquee Events by Economic Impact

Direct

$2,000,000

Marquee events timeline

Sun Valley Economic Development has compiled a timeline on when major events in the Wood River Valley got started. Some started (or restarted, in the case of Wagon Days) in the 1970s and ’80s, while many got their start in the ’90s. Here are the details: 1970s: Wagon Days, Boulder Mountain Tour

Economic Impacts Total $ Average $ Median $

* Based on pre-2015 data

1980-1985: Wine Auction, Allen & Co. Conference, Sun Valley Summer Symphony

Direct 6,823,163 $ 568,597 $ 185,903 $

Indirect Direct+Indirect 30,041,305 $ 36,864,468 $ 2,503,442 $ 3,072,039 $ 2,100,591 $ 2,682,516 $

Multiplier 10,400,615 $ 866,718 $ 492,840 $

Total 50,941,801 4,245,150 3,571,870

Source: Sun Valley Economic Development analysis Source: Sun Valley Economic Development analysis

1986-1990: Jazz Festival

Marquee Events by Participant Composition

MARQUEE EVENTS BY PARTICIPANT COMPOSITION # Unique Non-Residents

1991-1995: Sun Valley Writers’ Conference 1996-2000: Company of Fools, Trailing of the Sheep, Sun Valley Wellness Festival, Ketch’em Alive, Ketchum Arts Festival

Symphony Wagon Days * Trailing of the Sheep 4th July Hailey * SV Film Fest Private Idaho Nordic Festival * Ketchum Art Festival * Wellness Festival * Writers Conference * Wine Auction * Allen & Co. *

2001-2005: Opera concerts, Ernest Hemingway Festival, Elkhorn concerts (discontinued) 2006-2010: Family of Woman Film Festival, 48 Straight (discontinued) 2011-2015: Harvest Festival, Wood River Studio Tour, Rebecca’s Private Idaho, MASSV (discontinued), Ride Sun Valley

Events analysis Sun Valley Economic Development conducted analysis of the number of events listed on Visit Sun Valley’s calendar in the 2017-18 seasons. The analysis found 66 events, and broke them down by category and the number of days.

Here’s a look at what SVED found:

2,000 4,000 6,000 8,000 10,00012,00014,00016,00018,000

Visitors

29 of the events were related to sports, which accounted for 63 days.

2nd Homeowners Participants Data

10 pertained to visual arts, which represented 41 event days.

* Based on pre-2015 data

8 were based on the performing arts, which produced 46 event days.

Source: Sun Valley Economic Development analysis

8 were related to the Wood River Valley’s heritage, which accounted for 32 event days.

# Unique Participants # Event Days # Unique Visitors# Unique 2HO Total 63,774 194,767 42,597 11,849 Average 5,315 16,231 3,550 987 Median 2,095 6,796 1,443 503

Marquee Events – Strategic Value Proposition Source: Sun Valley Economic Development analysis

MARQUEE EVENTS — STRATEGIC VALUE PROPOSITION

6 were rooted in the intellectual arts, which accounted for 22 event days. Data

Wagon Days

5 were based on food, which accounted for 11 event days.

# Unique Participants Wagon Days * Trailing of the Sheep 4th July Hailey * Symphony SV Film Festival Private Idaho

# Unique Participants

Trailing of the Sheep

MarqueeEVENTS EventsBY byNUMBER NumberOFofPARTICIPANTS Participants MARQUEE

4th Ju

Event Sweetspot?

Welln

Writer

Ketchu Wine

Wago

4th July Hailey

Allen &

Nordic

Symphony

Private

SV Fil

Film Festival

2733/5872

Ketchum Arts Festival

Trailin

Symph

Private Idaho

Ketchum Arts Fesitval*

Nordic Festival Wine Auction

Nordic Festival *

Allen & Co

Wine Auction *

Writers Conference

Low

Writers Conference * Wellness Festival * Allen & Co. * -

5,000

10,000

15,000

20,000

25,000

Wellness festival Low

Direct & Indirect Impact $ per Unique Participant

* Based on pre-2015 data Source: Sun Valley Economic Development Source: analysisSun Valley Economic Development analysis

Source: Sun Valley Economic Development analysis

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Wednesday, October 24, 2018

R E A L E S TAT E

Real estate is booming, but for how long? Housing inventory limited by construction, land costs By TONY TEKARONIAKE EVANS—Express Staff Writer

he overall real estate sales volume increased 62 percent last year in Blaine County, from $307 million to nearly half a billion dollars, and the cost of homes continues to rise. Yet the inventory of available homes is insufficient in all the cities in Blaine County and many potential first-time buyers are likely being priced out of the market. After 18 months of brisk sales, the most recent data, from September, show a 35 percent decrease in sales from September 2017. Real estate broker Dan Gorham said the drop could be due to a lack of desirable housing stock, rising interest rates or a wider trend. He said home sales in Seattle dropped similarly in September, by 28 percent, yet home prices there increased 6.9 percent. During the housing boom, homeowners watched their investments grow by double digits each year, but Gorham said those days are over. “After the recession, buying in the Sun Valley area has become more of a lifestyle choice,” he said. “And the Wood River Valley continues to be an attractive place to live.” Yet rising home costs and diminishing inventory are creating a housing crunch for local workers. Data gathered from Sun Valley Economic Development and the Sun Valley Board of Realtors show climbing median home prices—about $110,000 higher in Bellevue and $100,000 higher in Carey in 2017 than they were in 2014. Interestingly, the north valley saw less-dramatic increases. Home prices in Hailey and Ketchum, considered more desirable, rose by about $50,000 and $70,000, respectively, Contact: Davidto Patrie/Harry Griffith/Bob from 2014 2017. Median home Crosby sale prices in Sun Valley, typically Source: SVED & SVBOR near the top of the market, were down slightly during the same period, from $535,000 to $495,000. “The median price for Sun Valley homes of all styles, including Elkhorn, for 2014 is an outlier data point,” said Sun Valley Board of Realtors Governmental Affairs Director Bob Crosby. “If you look at the years before then and especially since, the median home price for Sun Valley fluctuates around the mid to upper $400,000s. Due to the post-recession time lag that the

Months of Supply

recovery in real estate markets expe- proportion of remodels and multirienced, data from 2015 forward is family dwellings (apartments and much more dependable in under- condominiums) and a drop from standing current trends, and for the number of single-family dwellthat period Sun Valley is experienc- ings built in 2016. ing steady but sustainable growth in Ned Burns, a real estate agent, Markets median home price.” Bellevue CityRental Councilman and Contacts: Nathan Harvill of Despite local variaincoming president tions and buyer prefertheSource: Sun BCHA Valley Board ences, real estate sales of Realtors, said high “After the have been brisk overconstruction costs and recession, all in recent years, flat wages are limiting with 22 percent more buying in the development. “If someone could transactions last year than in 2016. Increasdrop 100 homes in Sun Valley ing demand for homes Bellevue costing under area has seems to have driven an $325,000, I could sell increase in the median virtually immebecome more them single-family or condo diately,” Burns said. price, from $350,000 of a lifestyle “But people can’t in 2016 to $425,000 afford to build on choice.” in 2017. vacant lots and sell Real estate agents them at a profit. Very Dan Gorham are quick to point out few builders can price Real estate broker that anomalies can a new home for retail skew sales-volume data sale at less than $200 during a limited time period. For per square foot.” instance, the Limelight Hotel sold The average value of a newly per14 $2.5 million units in 2017, total- mitted single-family home in Blaine Contacts: County in 2017 was $754,277, ing about $35 million in sales, Gorincluding land cost. ham said. Bob Crosby/Realtors A challenge for new homebuyers Burns said that in the past few Source: SVBOR could be the relatively flat increase years, homeowners with increased in recent home construction in equity since buying after the recesBlaine County during the past four sion are remodeling rather than sellyears, averaging 474 new building ing and buying a more expensive permits issued per year. Last year’s home. total of 507 building permits, still There has been a clear trend durwell below the peak of 665 in 2007, ing the past four years of an increase was composed of an increasing See REAL ESTATE, next page 

Blaine County Residential Sales

RENTAL MARKETS 2017 Median Advertised Rents 3500

3000

4BR+, 2550

2500

2000

3BR, 2000

1500

2BR, 1400

1000

1BR, 1000 Studio, 825

500

0 Studio

1BR Ketchum

Single Family/Condo Sales ($000 & #)

419

$800

625

532

$365

'14

'15

$350

$265

$200

$228

'11

'12

'13

'16

Source: SVBOR

RESIDENTIAL SALES BYSaleCITY Median Price by (MEDIAN) City $800 $700

5.3 Source: SVBOR

$500

4.2

Bellevue

$400

Carey

$300

Hailey

$200

Ketchum

$100

Sun Valley

$Bellevue

0 Sun Valley

Ketchum

Hailey

Bellevue

Source: SVED & SVBOR

'11

'12

'13

'14

'17

$160

$165

$243

$197

$307

Carey

$99

$85

$110

$101

$201

Hailey

$148

$159

$201

$251

$305

Ketchum

$588

$290

$439

$500

$673

Sun Valley

$374

$460

$400

$535

$495

Residential Sales Volume by City RESIDENTIAL SALES BY CITY (VOLUME)

Source: SVBOR

Blaine County Residential Sales by city

$300,000

$250,000

$200,000

$150,000

RESIDENTIAL SALES CITY (TRANSACTIONS) Residential BY Sales Transactions by City 800 700

Contact:

600

Bob Crosby / Realtors

500

Source: SVBOR

400

No data for 15-16

300

Other/Unknown Sun Valley Ketchum

Bellevue

200

Hailey

Carey

100

Hailey

$100,000

Ketchum

$50,000

'17

Median

Blaine Co.

658

$305

3.3

$365

538

$425

$600

545

$400

Contact: Bob Crosby / Realtors No data for 15-16

4.2

456

$600

Supply Shortage < 6 months supply 5

4BR+

Median Advertised Rent (All)

BLAINE COUNTY RESIDENTIAL SALES

Healthy Market = 6 months supply 6

3BR Bellevue

Average

Blaine County Residential Sales by city

Hailey

Source: BCHA

Months of Supply - Dec 2016 MONTHS OF SUPPLY (DECEMBER 2017) Homes < $450k

2BR

Sun Valley

'05

'06

'07

'08

'09

'10

'11

'12

'13

'14

'17

Bellevue

33,853

10,854

18,079

8,123

8,031

7,818

8,689

14,796

16,623

8,346

15,672

Carey

$3,183

$1,280

$1,755

$936

$330

$241

$488

$915

$572

$366

Hailey

$94,81

$64,95

$47,81

$31,10

$26,09

$29,08

$28,89

$47,15

$41,27

$35,92

$68,74

Ketchum

$272,2

$190,0

$186,7

$78,51

$58,60

$83,23

$75,41

$80,88

$84,05

$103,5

$216,7

Sun Valley

'05

'06

'07

'08

'09

'10

'11

'12

'13

'14

Other/Unknown

UnincBC

Sun Valley

137

125

143

Ketchum

214

134

118

113

140

124

198

Hailey

222

159

118

111

128

232

178

133

193

Carey

Bellevue

Source: SVBOR Missing 2015 and 2016 data.

$2,008

Bellevue

'17

Source: SVBOR Missing 2015 and 2016 data.

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Wednesday, October 24, 2018

R E A L E S TAT E have a six-month supply of available homes. When measured in Decemin the construction of multi-family ber 2017, Ketchum came up short dwellings in Blaine County. Last with a 5.3-month supply. Hailey had year saw 11 multi-family dwell- a four-month supply. Bellevue and ings permitted, a nearly 50 percent the unincorporated parts of Blaine increase over 2016 and a 100 per- County had 4.2 months of sales cent increase over 2015. inventory, with Sun Valley showing But that won’t lead to a prolifera- only a 3.3-month supply of homes. tion of affordable units. Sun Valley’s Renting is of course an option, Diamond Back townhomes on Trail but finding a place for a family on Creek Road make up a fair share of a budget can be a struggle. Accordthose permits. They ing to data supplied would be considered by the Blaine County multi-family, yet are Housing Authority, “People can’t very high-end dwellthe median four-bedafford to build room home in Blaine ings. Twenty-nine units have sold in rents for on vacant lots County recent years, yield$2,550 per month. A ing $25 million to and sell them at two-bedroom home $45 million in sales in Hailey, the biga profit.” so far, Gorham said. gest town in the valThe future of ley, averages $1,400 Ned Burns the real estate marper month. Sun Valley Board of Realtors ket is hard to pre One data point dict, but according that could surprise to data gathered by the Sun Val- some readers is that the least expenley Board of Realtors, the supply of sive advertised rentals for one- and homes available for sale will come two-bedroom homes are in Haiup short. The organization says a ley, not in Bellevue, where they are healthy real estate market should trending higher.EA

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'12

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Source: City and County building depts Compiled by SVED.

BLAINE COUNTY RESIDENTIAL SALES

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658

'16

538

'15

545

'14 '13 '12 '11 '10 '09 '08 '07

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E C O N O M Y: R E L O C AT I O N S

Are relocations a key to the economy?

RELOCATION BY ECONOMIC BY HOUSEHOLD TYPES Relocation Economic ImpactsIMPACTS by Household Type Annual Economic Impact by Household Income Type *

For Info/Additional Perspectives: • Household Type generally segmented into lower, moderate and higher income categories based on household income • Lower category represents homeownership at $400k or lower market price • Higher category represents homeownership at $1.9m or higher market price

$180,000 $160,000 $140,000 $120,000 $100,000 $80,000 $60,000 $40,000 $20,000 $-

Lower

Moderate

Housing Expenditures

Higher

Other Expenditures

Source: Sun Valley Economic analysis based on select organizational data Source: Sun Valley Economic analysis based on organizational data

RELOCATIONS BY LOCATION & INCOME

Relocations by Location & Income Private Sector Organizational-Led Relocations by Region*

Private Sector Organizational-Led Relocations by Household Income Category *

6. 4%

12. 11%

28. 19% 52. 47%

9. 6%

82. 55%

46. 42%

21. 14%

3. 2%

Lower Household Income

West Coast

Southwest

Intermountain

Moderate Household Income

Midwest

East Coast

International

Higher Household Income

Source: Sun Valley Economic analysis based on organizational data Source: Sun Valley Economic analysis based on select organizational data

To find the next Scott, first recruit the people who will found it By MARK DEE—Express Staff Writer

he block-long building at 110 Lind- forced to come here, or sent here for their say Circle is an office built for a job. They want the small town, the culmountain town. Wood and steel and ture—and they want to bring their kids into terraced stone, “the old Scott building,” as it.” it’s locally known, is among the largest in Many of them, Reed said, came as kids Ketchum’s light-industrial district—a part themselves. Often, she sees a “generational of town that has been light on industry since move,” when the children of longtime visithe structure’s namesake tenant pulled up tors or second-home owners decide that this is where they want to start a family. its last stakes for Salt Lake City in 2014. Scott Sports, a company founded 60 years Her description jives with Griffith’s ago in Sun Valley on the strength of the first research, conducted in collaboration with tapered aluminum ski pole, had become Visit Sun Valley, a local tourism board. baked into how many people envisioned the Together, they came up with a “Visitor north valley’s year-round economy. If not Conversion Pyramid,” roughing out the driven by outdoor recreation and tourism, it path someone takes from prospective visiwas sort of recreation-adjacent; Scott, along tor to homeowner to local business owner. with Smith Optics—another gear company It starts by casting a wide net: According to started in the area—made toys for people the study, it takes 3 million targeted visitors who like to play outside. And in the pro- to produce 10 full-time residents, and one cess, it sent a lot of workers home with a new business. paycheck. Visit Sun Valley has a pretty good idea Now, both are gone, taking jobs and a of where to find those 3 million. It breaks big chunk of Ketchum’s industrial identity down the area’s target market into four catin the process. Scott left its 28,000-square- egories: “the affluent and outdoorsy travfoot space for Ogden, Utah, before the build- eler,” “the avid activity participant,” “the ing turned 7 years old. Smith split between culture seeker” and “the active and fun-lovClearfield, Utah—a 20-minute drive south ing family.” In general, they’re wealthy folks of Scott’s new digs—and Portland, Ore., a from big coastal cities, making upwards of $100,000 annually and skiyear later. “As much as we liked ing at least four times per (The most matches? [Ketchum], we started to “Instead of spending year. Boston. See sidebar.) outgrow it,” then-Scott USA Marketing Director all our time chasing Still, the biggest pinch in the pyramid comes when Nic Sims told the Idaho the big hit, we’re it’s time to turn secondMountain Express at the owners to full-time time. Utah, he said, was realizing that singles home locals. Though one in every more efficient, with proximity to the Salt Lake City 50 regular visitors will buy and doubles are airport. And, the mouna vacation property, only good for economic one in 100 of those sectains were still just up the road. owners moves development, too.” ond-home For years after, Sun here year-round. Valley Economic Develop“That’s the longest Harry Griffith Sun Valley Economic Development ment—a nonprofit focused bridge to cross over,” Griffith said. “From a finanon attracting and retaining business—chased “the next cial commitment standScott” or “the next Smith,” the sort of big- point, that’s the big one. You’re talking about ticket outdoor company that could ballast a uprooting your life, and taking on the comlocal economy otherwise subject to seasonal plexity of getting here on a regular basis.” As the economy evolves—and, with it, the whims. But moving a company to Ketchum is mentality of its employees—that’s becoming different than starting one here. Executive less of a barrier. Director Harry Griffith often spoke before Griffith remembers how he decided on local governments about close calls, trophy the valley. As executives at BP, Griffith’s job fish that struck the lure but didn’t bite. So, and that of his wife took them around the after years of chasing, SVED is changing world. They were looking for a home base course, and aiming smaller. as well as an investment—somewhere both “We’re recognizing that home runs of try- they, and the value of their property, would ing to get the next Smith with its 80 employ- appreciate. ees to uproot from Utah or Colorado and Now, he says, that sounds a bit come here is a tough story to sell,” Griffith old-fashioned. said. “Instead of spending all our time chas- “We’re seeing a different generational ing the big hit, we’re realizing that singles mentality,” he said. “Why did people buy and doubles are good for economic develop- second homes 20 years ago? Maybe they ment, too.” wanted an escape from the city. Or, an The small-ball approach doesn’t target anchor, for when a job moved them around businesses but rather families, supporting every few years or so. Today, I think people what’s already here to draw new blood from are less committed to ‘one life, one job.’ And other areas. they’re less interested in finding a place that “We’re not going to stop trying for that will appreciate in value than a place that will big corporation, but the world’s a lot more add value to their lives now.” competitive for those deals,” Griffith said. Others see it, too. Ask Lee Roquet, chief “Given who we are, we’re not going to com- customer officer at the Ketchum office of pete with Michigan for a manufacturing Yellowfin Business Intelligence, a worldplant. It’s not in our DNA. But if we can wide data analytics company. Yellowfin has get 10 more families a year spending their offices in Melbourne and Sydney, Australia; money here, instead of in Seattle? That adds Tokyo and Osaka, Japan; suburban London; Johannesburg, South Africa; Porto Alegre, up. For us, that would be a good job.” Which raises the question: Who’s relocat- Brazil—and Ketchum, Idaho. ing to the Wood River Valley? And—more Roquet was part of the team that convinced Yellowfin founder Glen Rabie to importantly—why? That starts with acknowledging the obvi- locate the company’s North American headous: No one is being transferred from corpo- quarters here, instead of in Salt Lake City, as rate to the Sun Valley office. initially planned. “It’s a choice,” said Stephanie Reed, a real Over the past decade, Roquet said, almost estate agent at Coldwell Banker Distinctive all aspects of the software business have gone Properties in Ketchum. “They’re making digital, including sales. That change allows a choice for their lifestyle. No one is being See RELOCATIONS, next page ä

un Valley’s Top Market Opportunities – Index Scores for Key SUN VALLEY’S TOP MARKET OPPORTUNITIES — INDEX SCORES emographic * FOR KEY DEMOGRAPHIC* * Index Base=100; target household income >$100k and >4 days skiing/year

SEA 168

DEN 216

SFO 211

NYC 121

CHI 92

DC 213

BOS 346 PHL 107

PHX 112

LAX 86

HOU 98

Source: Visit Sun Valley

RELOCATIONS BY KEY ORGANIZATION Relocations by Key Organization Blaine Co Private Sector Organizational-Led Relocations 35

For Info/Additional Perspectives: • Approximately 200 total family relocations to SV area over 10 years for/with private sector educational & sport organizations

• Such relocations generally younger more affluent demographic with average of 3.5 people per household

• Additional public educational sector relocations estimated at 105 per year for the same 10-year period

0 2008

2009

2010

Community

2011

2012

SV Ski Academy

2013 SVSEF

2014 Sage

2015 Syringa

2016

2017

• Syringa Mountain School is not private

2018

Montessori

Source: Sun Valley Economic analysis based on organizational data Source: Sun Valley Economic analysis based on organizational data

Visitor Conversion Pyramid VISITOR CONVERSION PYRAMID 1

Business

1:10

Full Time Residents 2nd

1,000

Homeowners

50,000

Repeat Visitors

200,000

1st Time Visitors

3,000,000

Target Visitors

1:100 1:50 1:4 1:15 1:2

7,000,000

Potential Visitors Source: Sun Valley Economic & Visit Sun Valley analysis

Source: Sun Valley Economic & Visit Sun Valley analysis

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E C O N O M Y: R E L O C AT I O N S ä RELOCATIONS people to move away from industry hubs—which align closely with Sun Valley Economic Development’s target markets—even as they continue to explode in popularity, and price. Now, as Roquet put it, “in tech, it doesn’t matter where you live.” “In the past five years, it went from, ‘Holy crap, it’s impossible to get people to relocate in the tech sector,” to getting 900 applications for a single job,” he said. “People want out of L.A. and San Francisco. They’re done with Portland and Seattle.” That doesn’t surprise Reed, the real estate agent. “Going into our feeder markets, it’s interesting to see how crowded they’ve become,” she said. “The people I’ve spoken to seem to want a little bit of space, and a slowdown in the pace of life. That’s something this valley provides.” Part psychology, part sociology, the shift is subtle, Griffith said. But it could be significant for reaching his relocation goals. In managing Yellowfin’s local hiring and human resources, Roquet has noticed it, too. “More and more, I hear people asking, ‘What am I doing this for?’” he said. “The underlying thing is they want to raise their kids in a place that has values—where they can look out the window and see exactly why they’re living here.” For the audience with that kind of flexibility, opportunities for their children are a key driver. According to Griffith, 200 families have relocated to the Sun Valley area for private school and sports organizations. They skew younger, and richer, than Blaine County writ

Sun Valley’s top market opportunities Visit Sun Valley identified 11 metropolitan areas as key areas for its audience, based on the portion of residents with a target household income over $100,000 who ski more than four days per year. Some are familiar, though the highest-scoring cities remain largely untapped. Here’s the list, in order: 1. Boston 2. Denver 3. Washington, D.C. 4. San Francisco 5. Seattle 6. New York City 7. Phoenix 8. Philadelphia 9. Houston 10. Chicago 11. Los Angeles

large. Overwhelmingly moving from the West Coast, more than half are high-earners, meaning they purchase homes at $1.9 million or higher. At that income level, a family contributes nearly $160,000 in annual economic impact to the local economy, Griffith said. Public schools tend not to tap the same millionaire market, but as a bigger institution, they do draw in larger numbers. Over the past 10 years, the Blaine County School District added 1,887 students between first and 12th grade, an average of nearly 190 per year. (That number excludes new kindergarteners, most of whom, presumably, already lived in the county.) Public schools weren’t included in Griffith’s study, and the district doesn’t keep household-income data on families. But the secretaries who enrolled new students did include notes on 627 of them. About 40 percent came from within Idaho, while nearly 43 percent moved from out of state, paced by California. The remainder—about 18 percent—enrolled from abroad. Compared to private organizations, public schools are less likely to be the main reason for a family relocation, but they do play a role. The School District doesn’t ask why a new student is signing up, though Communications Director Heather Crocker says it weighs heavily in parents’ calculus. “We’ve not gathered information why, but we’ve heard anecdotally that the public school system is a draw,” she said. “Realtors always say people look at schools before they look at homes, and I think there’s truth in that.” Good thing, because prospective families can count on schools being there. Depending on their budget, housing may not. “I’ve been shocked with the amount of talent we’ve been able to grab,” Roquet said. “The problem is they have no place to go. We’d like to add six more in the next 12 months, but I don’t think they’ll find a place to live. If people can’t get at least something, we’ll have to think about another office in a place where that’s not a barrier. “For us as a community, it’d be fantastic to see more operations like Yellowfin. It would be cool to have more little companies that can support a local economy separate from tourism. But people need to be able to live here. It’s a double-edged sword—what makes this place so unique and special also makes it hard to support a yearround business.” The issue’s right there in Visit Sun Valley’s pyramid. Second homes and short-term rentals are key to converting guests into locals, but they also stall the process—and challenge SVED’s revamped, onefamily-at-a-time approach. The endgame of that is this: Assemble enough talent in one place, and the next Scott will start like the first one did, right here. It’s like gravity: Get the right people together, and the rest falls into place. First, though, you need to get them here to stay. These days, Yellowfin occupies part of Scott’s old office building. It shares an address with a yoga studio, another three-person company and a fair amount of empty space. For Roquet, there’s plenty of room to grow. “As a software company in the middle of nowhere, that’s exciting,” he said. “I know I’m never leaving this valley. I’m glad I can help build something in it.” EA

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DEMOGRAPHICS

Retiree numbers rise while labor force declines Hispanics sustain Blaine County’s population By ALEJANDRA BUITRAGO—Express Staff Writer

he population in Blaine County is getting older, according to a recent data analysis by the nonprofit organization Sun Valley Economic Development. In April, Forbes magazine tapped Sun Valley as one of the top 25 places to retire, and in 2013, the town was on its list of the best places to retire rich. Between 2010 and 2016, the age group of 64 and up rose 53 percent throughout Blaine County. The second highest increase was the age group 55 through 64, with a 13 percent rise, indicating that retirees are heeding Forbes’ lists and making the Wood River Valley their new home. While Blaine County has always been praised for its vast, mountainous beauty and world-class recreational activities, it won’t be able to maintain those activities without an abundant labor force. Between 2010 and 2016, the population of the prime workingage groups decreased. The population of 20- to 34-year-olds dropped 23 percent and that of 35to 54-year-olds dropped 12 percent, mirroring a problem that’s facing the entire state. By 2024, the Idaho Depart of Labor projects, there will be a 49,000-employee shortage throughout Idaho. Based on a 16-year population trend, Sun Valley Economic Development forecasts that the 64-andup age group will increase in Blaine County from its 2016 population of 3,423 to 6,092 in 2038, a 311 percent increase. The forecast projects that the two prime working-age groups will drop 30 percent and 48 s: percent, respectively, with 3,900 atrie fewer working-age people by 2038, ts: riffith a decrease of 37 percent. atrie The demographics of the increase r Blaine in County’s the 64-plus age group and the c population, Griffith decreasewe inwould the prime working-age ng population. groups are or Blaine County’s “cause for concern,” according Sun Valley Economic c population, wetowould Development Outreach Director ing population. David Patrie. Though there are external factors contributing to the bleak forecast, including an aging population nationwide, Patrie said the trends are more pronounced here than in other parts of the country. “[Forecasts] are what would happen if we didn’t do something to change those,” Patrie said. “That’s not our fate. Forecasts can and will change.” Patrie said there are policy changes that could help attract more working-age residents. With an aging population and a dwindling labor force, Ketchum Mayor Neil Bradshaw believes those numbers illustrate the importance of creating affordable housing Population loss: in Ketchum. Bellevue 6.4% “We need more housing to create Sun Valley 0.7% a larger work force for businesses,” Source: ACS 2016-2016 Bradshaw said. est Population TheGain: Chamber of Hailey and the Wood River Valley Carey 4.1% is bringing in experts to discuss Hailey 0.7%with their members ways that those age forecasts Ketchum 7.8% can be avoided. Uninc BC 4.9% Chamber Executive Director Mary Austin Crofts said mem31% of BC residents live in unincorporated bers are having a hard time findBlaine County ing employees. She says that lack of labor is due to a lack of affordable housing. “We’re working on a membership

ne County ene&County Ethnicity

e & Ethnicity

Blaine County Population by City

Blaine County Race & Ethnicity by City

meeting in November bringing in 172 people from 4,272 in 2010 to people that know about housing to 4,444 in 2016, according to the help provide housing as quickly as American Community Survey conducted by the Census Bureau. At possible,” Crofts said. She says that when the recession the same time, the white population hit, “everyone stopped building, so decreased from 16,660 to 16,481. Hispanics account for 20 pernow we’re way behind.” Crofts also said that phenom- cent of Blaine County’s population. enon is not exclusive to the Wood Most—2,355 in 2016—live in HaiRiver Valley, but is a problem being ley, making up nearly 30 percent of faced by places such as Big Sky, the city’s population. In 2017, HisMont., and Jackson, Wyo. panic students accounted for 43 per The need for more housing has cent of the Blaine County School been ongoing. Ketchum currently District enrollment. has several projects coming down If not for the county’s growing the pike. One is on a lot next to the Hispanic population, it would be YMCA and is awaiting approval losing population and experiencing from the Idaho Housing and a dwindling labor force. Finance Association for tax-credit Bellevue and Sun Valley both financing. experienced overall population In September, the Hailey City losses between 2015 and 2016, Council approved a Downtown Res- while Carey, Hailey, Ketchum and idential Overlay District, which will unincorporated Blaine County all allow 50 housing units per building experienced increases. in an area encompassing the down- Thirty-one percent of Blaine town from Albertsons grocery store County residents live in the unincorporated part of the county, south to the post office. In Bellevue, new development which includes Gannett, Picabo and is contingent on a possible annex- Triumph. ation of a portion of land coming Hailey holds the biggest portion from the Flying Hat Ranch owned of the prime working group, with by the Eccles family just north of a total of 3,811 people in 2016, town and the proposed Strahorn according to the American Comsubdivision in Slaughterhouse Can- munity Survey. Sun Valley is the yon, currently on hold while a new graying jewel of the valley, with 602 traffic-impact study is done at the residents 64 and over, more than 40 request of the City Council. percent of its population, in 2016. As age group populations evolve Overall, Blaine County expein the Wood River Valley, ethnic rienced a 1.1 percent population group demographics are shifting as increase between 2016 and 2017, from 21,791 in 2016 to 22,024 in well. The Hispanic population 2017, according to SVED. Racerose & Ethnicity

Blaine County Income Distribution

16,481

'10

1207

Ketchum

111

2536

183 0 White

Latino

Hailey

5578

2355

125 Other

Carey

448

Bellevue

113

1,550

10%

20%

30%

705

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

100%

Source: ACS 2016-2016 est Income Distribution by City BLAINE COUNTY HOUSEHOLD INCOME BY CITY

Sun Valley

120

Ketchum

127

233

480

238

290

517

558

968

<$25k

Hailey

684

628

$25-50k $50-75k >$75k

Carey

Bellevue

158

345

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

297

60%

70%

80%

90%

100%

Source: ACS 2016-2016 est

4,444

Blaine County Age by City

'16

Sun Valley

BLAINE COUNTY AGE BY CITY Age Distribution by City

BLAINE COUNTY RACE ETHNICITY Race &&Ethnicity '16

Race & BLAINE COUNTY RACE &Ethnicity ETHNICITY BY CITY

16,481

4,444

16,669

4,272

Sun Valley

Ketchum

287

285

227

187

491

602

740

620

583

<20 yrs 20-34 yrs

'10

16,669

4,272

35-54 yrs

Hailey

'00

16,531

'00

2498

1378

2433

1041

16,531

>64 yrs

2,030

20%

40%

60%

80%

100%

20%

40%

60%

80%

100%

White

Latino

Other

White

Latino

Other

Carey

170

Bellevue

Source: ACS 2016-2016 est

113

805

10%

20%

121

388

30%

40%

720

50%

60%

244

70%

80%

195

90%

BLAINE COUNTY POPULATION BY CITY

100%

Source: ACS 2016-2016 est

Blaine County Age Distribution

25,000

BLAINE COUNTY AGE DISTRIBUTION

Blaine County Age Distribution

20,000

6,430

6,423

15,000

David Patrie

'10

5345

'00

4961

3048

5992

3365

3423

Sun Valley

1406

1408

1398

2689

2706

2917

Ketchum Hailey

Source: ACS 2012-2016 5yr 5,129

2000 median 37.4 yrs

3958

6837

2957

2232

Carey Bellevue

3003

10,000

5599

UnincBC

Harry Griffith 1427

'16 6,505

5,972 Contacts:

55-64 yrs

2,030

5,000

708

2010 median 38.8 yrs

1,616

2,955

9382016

545

7960 working age) 20-54 year olds (prime 2523 down 2.5% 2015-2016

2200

180 1454

2109

1425

1016

537 537 '70

median 42.9 yrs 8002

3813

6872

1863

1482

8058

6200

2010 – 2016 trends <20 3687

yrs

20-34

up 4.8% 513

1,016

0 35-54 1,275

1,876

'80

'9055-64

'00

>64

604

539

561

2,287

2,514

2,352

'15

'16

down 23.0% down 12.4% up 13.8% '10 up 53.4%

Source: ACS surveys

20%

<20 yrs.

40%

20-34 yrs.

60%

35-54 yrs.

80%

55-64 yrs.

100%

>64 yrs.

Source: ACS 2012-2016 5yr

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Economy has improved but county is still recovering from Great Recession By ALEJANDRA BUITRAGO—Express Staff Writer

eported sales in Blaine County continue to rise, while wages continue to inch forward but remain below the national average, according to a report by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, a division of the U.S. Department of Labor. The average weekly wage in Blaine County is $778, $374 below the national average. According to Sun Valley Economic Development, between 2010 and 2017, all taxable sales in Blaine County increased 2.7 percent annually, from $675 million to $846 million. The average income of Blaine County residents, including money generated both within and outside the county, is 88 percent higher than the national average, according to the Department of Labor. According to Jan Roeser, economist for the Idaho Department of Labor’s South-Central Region, the wage increases depend on businesses and how generous they are with their employees. Roeser said that because Idaho has adopted the federal minimum wage of $7.25 an hour, some businesses take advantage of that to pay their employees the minimum, even though their revenues may be solid enough for them to afford a higher wage.

Roeser said that in some business sectors, such as leisure and hospitality, which saw a 14 percent increase in jobs between 2013 and 2017, wages are often low in exchange for other benefits, such as ski passes or the opportunity to live in a prominent mountain town for a season. “Wages don’t seem to increase in that industry at all,” she said. That being said, “a lot of people recall good experiences working in Blaine County. If you want to have hiking and skiing and the ambiance, you would have to choose that.” The 10-year wage increase between 2010 and 2017 for the leisure and hospitality sector in Blaine County only rose $3,400. SVED reported a 5 percent year-over-year job increase in Blaine County between 2011 and 2017, with 12,543 jobs reported in 2017. The 2017 number is comparable to where the county was in 2003, but is still off by 8 percent from the peak year of 2007, when it boasted a whopping 13,694 jobs just before the recession hit. The increase in jobs is a sign that the economy is doing well, according to David Patrie, SVED’s development outreach director. However, Roeser said some people were hopeful that the economy would “return See ECONOMY, Page 16 ä

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BLAINE COUNTYBlaine JOBS BY Jobs CITY County by City 7,000

6,000

ADVENTURE IS CLOSER THAN YOU THINK! 5,824

5,754 5,380

5,000 4,477

4,504

4,693

4,705 4,137

4,499 4,021

4,578

4,580

4,215

4,143

1,398

4,727 4,114

4,517 4,232

4,807

4,898

4,458

4,426

5,078 4,630

4,000

3,000

694 2,000

1,000

1,486

1,568

1,425 1,262

1,319

1,394

1,134

1,189

1,196

1,112

1,038

236

1,027

185

229

199

171

116

901 168

'06

'07

'08

'09

'11

'12

1,246

901 169

955 229

'13

'14

1,350

1,230

1,332

1,093

1,142

1,217

238

191

218

'15

'16

'17

Bellevue

'10 Carey

Hailey

Ketchum

Sun Valley

Source: Idaho Department of Labor

BLAINE COUNTY BUSINESSES BY CITY 900

800

NEW Terminal entrance on the north end. 770

748

737

712

711

700

600

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Blaine County Businesses by City

688

bor

17%) wth

1,239

559

564

574

666 596

564

543

588

582

532

519 487

500

577

479

582

591

500

470

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400

300 203

212

204

197

200

100

34 '06

190

37 '07

'08

'09

'10

Bellevue

Carey

188

171

28 '11

Hailey

142

29 '12

28 '13

Ketchum

154

152

159

30 '14

37 '15

33 '16

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39 '17

Sun Valley

Source: Idaho Department of Labor

* 2014 SVED study

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Wednesday, October 24, 2018

BUSINESS & JOBS  ECONOMY to pre-recession levels” quicker than it has. “[It] used to be a much more vibrant economy than it is now,” he said. A prime example of that would be the construction sector. Over the past five years, construction jobs have increased by 40 percent, but are still little more than half the number estimated in 2007 when the economic bubble burst. Overall, every city in the county has experienced year-over-year job growth, with outliers being Sun Valley, which is still 0.7 percent below its jobs rate from 2011, and Carey, which has had a 15 percent increase between 2011 and 2017. That increase cannot be attributed to any one new employer that has cropped up in Carey since 2011, Patrie said. In 2017, there were 1,553 businesses in Blaine County, with Ketchum leading the valley at 666, just above Hailey at 591 businesses. There’s been a 17 percent increase of 228 businesses after six years of decline or low growth. Though the county is well below its peak of 1,823 businesses in 2005, every city in the valley experienced business growth between 2016 and 2017, with the county as a whole reporting $846 million in sales in 2017. Those figures include only sales reported in Blaine County; merchants with headquarters outside the county report their sales in their headquarter county. Ketchum reported the highest numbers of sales at $381 million, a $19 million increase from 2016. Wages in Ketchum rose from $198 million in 2016 to $206 million in 2017. In Hailey, there was a reported $255 million in sales in 2017, a drop from its 2016 figure of $259 million. That reduction was attributed to the closing of King’s variety store on Main Street. Despite the loss in sales, Hailey increased its wages from $198 million in 2016 to $214 million in 2017. A minute portion of that wage increase came

from a $15 minimum wage for all city employees, which went into effect Oct. 1, 2016. Other wage increases came from a variety of sectors. Wage growth throughout the valley, according to Patrie, happened in the construction sector, the financial services sector and the education and health sector, impacting a combination of blue- and white-collar workers in the valley. In Bellevue and Ketchum, every financial quarter in 2017 experienced an increase. In Bellevue, that increase was attributed to the opening of a new hotel, Silver Creek Hotel on Main Street, and the closing of a grocery store in Carey. Patrie said it can be assumed that Carey residents are now driving to Bellevue to do their grocery shopping. In Ketchum, the quarterly increases were loosely attributed to an increase in tourism dollars. Sun Valley experienced a $12 million increase in economic activity during its third financial quarter (July to September) in 2017 compared to that quarter the previous year. Patrie said he could not attribute that increase to any particular event, but he believes the valley is doing a better job of making its fall shoulder season stronger with Contacts: David Patrie, Harry events such Griffith, as the Trailing of the Sheep FesIdaho Tax tival and the Sun Valley Jazz Festival. Sun Commission, Merchants Valley experienced an $11 million decrease Only reflects in sales in itsDisclaimer: fourth financial quartersales (Octoreported in Blaine County. ber to December) between 2016 and 2017, Merchantsto with HQ outside of which was attributed a lack of snowfall Blaine report sales from their in 2017 in comparison to 2016. HQ county. Lastly, income from self-employment has continued to rise since 2010, banking in at $217 million in 2016 from 3,620 workers. Those include freelance graphic designers and attorneys who work for themselves rather than a firm. In addition, data from Sun Valley Economic Development showed that for the first time, Blaine County reached a $2 billion “gross domestic product” in 2017, based on wages, sales, self-employment income and real estate rental proxy. EA

Reported Sales

Blaine Jobs by Category BLAINE County COUNTY JOBS BY CATEGORY 2013

2017

BLAINE COUNTY JOBS

All Other, 1,236 , 11%

All Other, 1,351 , 11%

Construction, 1,260 , 11%

Government, 1,386 , 11%

Government, 1,382 , 12% Leisure/Hospit ality, 2,721 , 24%

Finance, 420 , 4%

Finance, 401 , 3%

Leisure/Hosp, 3,091 , 25%

Educ/Health, 1,137 , 9%

Education/Hea lth, 1,081 , 9%

Professional, 1,362 , 12%

Construction, 1,765 , 14%

Professional, 1,550 , 12%

Retail, 1,919 , 17%

Retail, 1,862 , 15%

Source: Idaho Department of Labor

REPORTED SALES $900 $846 $850 $798

$807

$800

$824

$750 $700

$675

$689

$699

$704

$650 $600 $550 $500 $450 $400 '10

Mountain Humane’s 2016

EC O N O M I C I M PA C T ON BLAINE COUNTY

'11

'12

'13

Unadjusted

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2017 Dollars

Source: Idaho Department of Labor Disclaimer: Only reflects sales reported in Blaine County. Merchants with HQ outside of Blaine report sales from their HQ county.

For more information on Mountain Humane and the benefits it brings to the community, visit wagthefuture.org.

Did you know that Mountain Humane makes a significant annual contribution to the vitality of our local economy? An in depth analysis of Mountain Humane revenue, expenses and operations resulted in a total economic impact of $5.3 million for Blaine County made up of direct and indirect benefits of our labor, goods, and services. 2016 Economic Impact from Sun Valley Economic Development Corp.

($1,761,366) Core Expenditures ($1,788,417) Economic Multiplier ($1,487,455) Adoption Impact ($252,917) Events Expenditures ($50,719) Capital Improvements ($9,418) Other

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100 Croy Creek Road Hailey, ID 83333 (208) 788-4351 www.wagthefuture.org