Sun Valley City Council Meetings: February 9 & 10, 2010

On Tuesday, February 9, 2010 at 10:00 am we have a special Council meeting to work on the City’s Capital Improvement Program. This will be an excellent opportunity for the public to see what the Mayor is proposing for the Capital Plan.

On Wednesday, February 10, 2010 at 10:00 am we will have a special Council meeting in Executive Session to discuss a legal matter. There is no expected public portion of this meeting.

To see the full Agenda and Council Packet for the 2-9-10 meeting, click here.

You can also listen to this or any other Council meeting live, or later on the internet at this link.

You can always see the full Council schedule and additional information at my website.

Understanding Sun Valley Local Option Tax, Tourism Marketing and ROI

At the January 21, 2010 City Council meeting, fellow Councilman Bob Youngman gave an excellent presentation on his research analysis of Sun Valley’s historic Local Option Tax (LOT) revenue generation from tourism marketing relative to past performance, competing resorts, and non-resort economies.

His fine work, supported with thorough and factual information, confirms my suspicion that the return on investment of our LOT in tourism marketing has been unacceptable. This data now gives the City the opportunity to begin a process to thoroughly evaluate, with the help of an independent marketing consulting firm, current Chamber marketing efforts and strategies funded with the LOT generated in Sun Valley.

I encourage you to read Councilman Youngman’s introduction to his analysis on his website at this link, then view his slide show presentation below.

I have also placed a link to the audio portion of the January 21, 2010 City Council meeting where you can listen to Councilman Youngman’s presentation. Click here for that audio. His presentation begins at minute 15:00 and ends at minute 43:00 of the meeting.

Sun Valley City Council Meeting January 21, 2010

On Thursday, January 21, 2010 at 4:00 pm we have our regular monthly Council meeting.

Along with normal business and reports, the principal items of consideration this month include:

• Authorization to allow the Mayor to enter into a Memorandum of Understanding regarding public safety communication governance.
• Amendments to City Council Powers and Authorities, and Code of Ethics.
• Action on Ordinance 425 regarding rezoning around Harker Center.
• Action on Ordinance 421 regarding water conservation regulations proposed by the Water & Sewer District.

To see the full Agenda and Council Packet for the 1-21-10 meeting, click here.

You can also listen to this or any other Council meeting live, or later on the internet at this link.

You can always see the full Council schedule and additional information at my website.

A Great Day for Sun Valley

It was a great day for Sun Valley, as we saw the result of real democracy in action today. Bob Youngman and I were sworn in to our City Council positions this morning by Mayor Willich.

The people spoke loudly during the City election this past November 3^rd. They have told us clearly what they expect from their government. It is now up to us to act according to their wishes.

It is an honor to serve the people of Sun Valley.

Here are a few photos from today’s ceremony.

Mayor Willich administers the Oath of Office, as Councilman Dewayne Briscoe observes.

Mayor Willich administers the Oath of Office to Bob Youngman.

It’s official.

Councilmen Youngman and Ribi confer.

Special Sun Valley City Council Meeting January 5, 2009

On Tuesday, January 5, 2010 at 10:00 am we have a Special Council meeting.

The main purpose of this Special Council meeting is to swear in the newly elected Council Members from the general election this past November.

Obviously this is a very special meeting for me as I will be one of the two Council members taking the Oath of Office. The other will be Bob Youngman. I am extremely happy that Bob was elected to the City Council. His help last spring in the effort to stop the consolidation of Sun Valley into Ketchum was invaluable and he will make an excellent Council Member. He has worked very hard to prepare for his Council position and I believe he is already more knowledgeable about City operations than some others with whom I have served.

At this meeting we will also conduct some additional business including electing a new Council President, filling vacancies on the Planning and Zoning Commission and other appointments. I have had the honor to serve the past two years as your Council President, a position I have not taken lightly. It kept me very busy working closely with Mayor Willich and attending a great number of meetings on behalf of the City. I will be nominating fellow Council Member Dewayne Briscoe to be Council President for the next two years. Councilman Briscoe has done a very good job attending to his Council duties and I have found working with him over the past two years to be a rewarding experience. Together we have accomplished many of the necessary legislative tasks needed to move the City forward.

As your Councilman, I look forward to keeping my focus on those things that really matter and which make Sun Valley so special and a great place to live. We now have a much stronger Council that I believe has the ability and commitment to accomplish, in a positive environment, a great deal of the necessary work we have outlined. It is truly an honor to serve you and I appreciate the great vote of confidence you have placed in me.

To see the Agenda and Council packet for this meeting, click here.

You can also listen to this or any other Council meeting live, or later on the internet at this link.

You can always see the full Council schedule and additional information at my website. The complete 2010 regular Council meeting schedule is now on my website.

Holiday Wishes from Sun Valley!

Sun Valley’s Dollar Mountain Turns up the Heat

I spent some time on Sun Valley’s Dollar Mountain today for the opening of their new Terrain Park. This is really big for Sun Valley, a truly historic turn for the resort and the City. It will certainly put Sun Valley on the map for snowsport terrain parks in the future. It comes at a great time as our City’s working relationship with the Company has never been better.

 “Holy Cow” “Aaaaaaamaaazing” “Sick” “This is aaaaawsoooome”

Those were just a few of the many shouts of joy I heard from the hundreds of kids and many slightly older “kids” who were there today to give the new Park a try. Car loads from Boise came over to check it out as well. The parking lot was completely full all day, and the bus was busy as well. It looks like the Park has something to offer for every ability level, making Dollar a happening place to be.

Monster jumps, kids catching the biggest air of their lives, families watching on. The expressions on the faces of the kids were the best part, especially those who had just landed their biggest jumps ever!

Here are a few photos I took today.

Both the Idaho Mountain Express and the Twin Falls Times-News did nice stories about the new Terrain Park.

Here is a link to the Express story.

Here is a link to the Times-News story.

Sun Valley City Council Meeting the Week of 12/14/09

We have one City Council meeting in Sun Valley the week of December 14th.

On Thursday, December 17, 2009 at 4:00 pm we have our regular monthly Council meeting.

Along with normal business and reports, the principal items of consideration this month include:

• Authorization to allow the Mayor to enter into an economic development Contract with Sustain Blaine.
• Second Reading on Ordinance 425 regarding rezoning around Harker Center.
• Second Reading on Ordinance 421 regarding water conservation regulations proposed by the Water & Sewer District.
• Public Hearing on proposed Ordinance 427 to remove minimum density standards from Development Code.
• Public Hearing on Glassmeyer Plat Amendment.

To see the full Agenda and Council Packet for the 12-17-09 meeting, click here.

You can also listen to this or any other Council meeting live, or later on the internet at this link.

You can always see the full Council schedule and additional information at my website.

Sun Valley City Council Meeting the Week of 12/7/09

We have one City Council meeting in Sun Valley the week of December 7th.

On Wednesday, December 9, 2009 at 10:30 am we have a Special Council meeting.

The purpose of this Special Council meeting is for the Council to continue the process of evaluating a draft five-year Capital Improvement Program (CIP) developed by City staff and the City engineer. We held two initial meetings, one on November 30, 2009 and one on December 1, 2009 to begin the process.

At the two initial meetings we discovered the draft CIP needs considerable organizational work before the Council even can begin its process to truly deliberate and prioritize the projects being proposed to us. We anticipate a number of Council workshops and public meetings necessary to review, finalize and ultimately adopt a Capital Improvement Program. That work will begin after the new year.

The draft plan is not in a form that is presentable to the public at this point, and the Mayor has decided not to put it online at the City website yet. As soon as City staff has put the preliminary draft CIP online, I will post a link to it below. If you have any questions about the draft CIP at this time, please call me and I will be happy to discuss them with you.

To see the Agenda for this meeting, click here.

You can also listen to this or any other Council meeting live, or later on the internet at this link.

You can always see the full Council schedule and additional information at my website.

Sun Valley City Council Meetings the Week of 11/30/09

We have two City Council meetings in Sun Valley the week of November 30th.

On Monday, November 30, 2009 at 1:00 pm, and then again on Tuesday, December 1, 2009 at 10:00 am, we have Special Council meetings.

The purpose of these Special Council meetings are for the Council to begin the process to evaluate a draft five-year Capital Improvement Program (CIP) developed by City staff and the City engineer. In July of this year the Council began its part of the process by adopting evaluation criteria for the CIP.

We anticipate a number of Council workshops and public meetings necessary to review, finalize and ultimately adopt a Capital Improvement Program. As soon as City staff has put the preliminary draft CIP online, I will post a link to it below, along with agendas for the meetings.

To see the Agenda for these meetings, click here.

You can also listen to this or any other Council meeting live, or later on the internet at this link.

You can always see the full Council schedule and additional information at my website.

Sun Valley City Council Meeting the Week of 11/9/09

We have one City Council meeting in Sun Valley the week of November 9^th.

On Thursday, November 12, 2009 at 4:00 pm we have our regular monthly Council meeting. It has been moved up one week from the normal time to accommodate Thanksgiving travel plans for some members and staff.

Along with normal business and reports, the principal items of consideration this month include:

• Authorization to allow the Mayor to enter into Contracts with the Chamber, Mountain Rides, Ketchum Parks and Recreation and for prosecution of misdemeanors and infractions.
• Funding request from Blaine County Housing Authority.
• Adoption of the final Denovo Independence Findings of Fact.
• Public Hearing on rezoning around Harker Center.
• Public Hearing on water conservation regulations proposed by the Water & Sewer District.

To see the full Agenda and Council Packet for the 11-12-09 meeting, click here.

You can also listen to this or any other Council meeting live, or later on the internet at this link.

You can always see the full Council schedule and additional information at my website.

Thank You!

Thank You!

Great thanks to all who have supported me and who voted for my re-election. I appreciate your confidence in having me continue to serve our fine City.

I will continue to use my best efforts on your behalf to keep the City of Sun Valley the greatest resort community in America in which to live.

Nils

Election Results – 2009 Sun Valley City Council

The Sun Valley City Council election held on November 3, 2009 produced the following official results:

Candidate	Votes	Percentage	Status
Nils Ribi	382	77 %	ELECTED
Bob Youngman	327	66 %	ELECTED
David Barovetto	115	23 %
Milt Adam	113	23 %
Steven Poindexter	13	3 %

A total of 499 Sun Valley citizens voted in the election.

The Sun Valley City Council met on November 4, 2009, and acting as the Board of Canvassers, approved the Abstract of Votes prepared by the City Clerk and certified the election.