KETCHUM - For most of the seven candidates running for two Ketchum City Council seats, revitalizing the city tops the list of the things they hope to accomplish if elected.

Some focus on hotels, some on branding the valley more effectively, others on diversifying the city's economy to include more location-neutral businesses.

Incumbent Baird Gourlay, 52, running for his third term, has owned PK's Sports in town for 28 years. He saidhe has realistic plansto explore revitalization options, including expansion of the city's recreational offerings; he looks forward to hearing more ideas.

"I don't think there's that much difference in what some of the younger guys want to do in terms of revitalizing, but it'll be interesting to see if there's funding to do it, if there's mechanisms that are legal to do it," he said.

Gourlay said the Urban Renewal Agency, created in 2006, will provide a source of income to help councils well into the future accomplish their goals, including revitalization. "The URA is an absolute windfall for the city," he said.

Other candidates disagree, including former Ketchum Mayor Ed Simon, 62, who has lived in the valley 31 years and has also held office as a city councilman and housing commission chairman.

"The number one issue that I have is the fiscal irresponsibility of this city government," he said, referring to the URA debt and other financial policies.

He questions the legality of some recent council decisions, and supports a council-manager form of government, as compared to the current council-mayor form. "It depoliticizes many issues and leaves many issues in the hands of someone who's trained in those."

Lee Chubb, 56, a systems analyst who has lived in the valley 17 years, has similar feelings. "The URA ran up an enormous debt in a very foolish manner," he said. "They (the council) are not being honest about it."

Chubb sees an interconnected system of improvements - to marketing, housing, the arts and non-tourist businesses - as the best way to revitalize.

"We don't want to be like all the other resorts, we want to be better than all the other resorts," he said, suggesting that Ketchum's happy, inspired residents set it apart when it comes to tourist experience. "The defining characteristic of a community is to honor the needs of the other people in it."

Nina Jonas, 37, who has spent most of her life in Ketchum and owns the Rickshaw restaurant, said diversifying the economy and retaining and attracting young people are her priorities.

"(In the newspapers) there are pages and pages of 'jobs needed' and five 'help wanted,'" she said, saying that isn't entirely attributable to the down economy nationally.

Jonas said she hopes her long residence in the area will help her mediate between different interest groups. "To participate in change is way more effective than not participating in change at all."

Clarion Inn owner Peter Lewis, 43, who has owned businesses in the city since 1990, said Ketchum needs to streamline its development approval process, while at the same time improving the city's infrastructure. He said if potential hotels had been approved before the economy tanked, their construction would be pumping money into Ketchum.

"They (the council) really need to break down the barriers and allow our economy to get going again," he said. "As a resort, we are not competing against each other as hotel owners, we as a resort are competing in all facets against other resorts, and right now we don't have a full spectrum of hotel offerings."

Jan Hegewald, 30, a full-time valley resident for seven years and member ofthe Ketchum Community Development Corporation, agrees with Lewis on the importance of hotels, and with Jonas on the importance of involving young people.

"There are a lot of issues on the table that could affect the valley for years into the future. The building blocks are in place to create a vibrant, sustainable and economically viable community," Hegewald said. "We all know what we have in the valley, and we have to market that better."

Also running is Carter Ramsey, who did not reply to requests for an interview from the Times-News.

Ketchum City Council members earn $20,400 a year, as well as dental, vision and medical insurance, long-term disability insurance, worker's compensation insurance, Public Employee Retirement System of Idaho benefits and the option to have a 401(k).

Ariel Hansen may be reached at ahansen@magicvalley.com or 208-788-3475.