Police merger in north valley?

Sun Valley officials want to discuss consolidation with Ketchum

By :JON DUVAL

Sun Valley City Councilman Dave Chase said Thursday that the city, along with the entire Wood River Valley community, needs an aggressive reaction to what he termed an "economic iceberg." In order to do so, money must be spent on attracting more visitors to stimulate the tourist-based economy. However, those funds aren't sitting in a piggy bank in City Hall, he noted.

At a Sun Valley City Council meeting, Chase suggested that one source of funds could be found in merging the Sun Valley and Ketchum police departments. Ketchum currently has a vacancy for the chief of police position and Chase said that this could be the perfect time to create a single department, and thus give the ability to redistribute money elsewhere.

Chase said that he is interested in commencing an exploratory discussion with Ketchum officials. Sun Valley Mayor Wayne Willich said he would contact Ketchum Mayor Randy Hall to delve into the issue further.

For more on this developing story, see the Wednesday, Nov. 19, edition of the Mountain Express.