Volume 40 | Number 56
wednesday, june 10, 2015 s u n
v a l l e y
Lightning ignites Croy Canyon fire
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IDAHO MOUNTAIN
Feds release salmon plan
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Youths rescued from cold-water tubing
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Ketchum delays new regs AND GUIDE
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County property values rose last year Property owners receive new assessments By GREG MOORE
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Express Staff Writer
laine County property values rose by 3.6 percent last year to nearly $8.9 billion, according to figures recently released by the county Assessor’s Office. The rise followed a 6.1 percent increase between 2012 and 2013, but total value remains well below the 2008 figure of $12.5 billion. Between 2013 and 2014, property values rose 6.3 percent in Ketchum to $2.7 billion, 3.5 percent in Sun Valley to $2.2 billion, 7.9 percent in Hailey to $829 million, 4.3 percent in Bellevue to $169 million and 23 percent in Carey to $25 million. The 2014 figures are used to compute 2015 property taxes. Assessment notices to property owners were mailed out in late May. The figures are preliminary pending challenges to the values made by property owners before the county Board of Equalization, which is composed of the three county commissioners. According to figures Darlene Young compiled by the Sun Valley Sun Valley Sotheby’s Board of Realtors, the numInternational Reality ber of units sold dropped by 5 percent between 2013 and 2014, though total sales volume by price was up 40 percent. “Pretty consistently, we’re seeing fewer transactions in general—the number of units sold, probably as a result of fewer distress sales taking place—yet higher sales prices for the sales we do have,” said Darlene Young, managing broker at Sun Valley Sotheby’s International Reality. For all sales reported to the board’s multiple listing service, the average sales price went from $424,927 in 2013 to $626,566 in 2014, a 47 percent increase. Tracking single family home sales in Hailey, sales were down by 16 percent in volume, yet the average price for those properties that sold went up from $272,649 to $330,514. In Ketchum, residential sales were up 100 percent in dollar volume, with the average sales price increasing 67 percent. However, McCann-Daech-Fenton broker Mike McCann said the overall increases last year were largely driven by a few sales of very expensive properties. Comparing year-to-date sales for 2014 versus 2015 shows an increase of 10 percent in sold volume, though average sales price has dropped 6 percent. So far this year, sales of single-family homes in Hailey have increased 74 percent in dollar volume,
“We’re seeing fewer transactions in general, yet higher sales prices for the sales we do have.”
See property, Page A12
The Wide World Beckons
Express photo by Willy Cook
A proud Nicole Penrose is all smiles as she leaves the stage Friday evening during Wood River High School’s commencement ceremony. She was one of 152 graduates in the class of 2015 and is slated to attend Arizona State University in the fall. On the stage, Karen Perez receives her diploma from school district officials and educators.
Wildlife collisions are on the increase Four deer hit last week on in the Wood River Valley By TERRY SMITH Express Staff Writer
The Blaine County Sheriff’s Office reminds motorists to be on the lookout for wildlife, as vehicle-vs.-animal collisions are on the increase in the Wood River Valley. There were four such accidents last week on or near state Highway 75 between Bellevue and the North Fork of the Big Wood River north of Ketchum. Two collisions occurred on June 3 and two on June 4. No drivers were injured. According to the Sheriff’s Office reports, one of the animals died at the scene, while the other three ran off. “Ordinarily they die later,” Sheriff Gene Ramsey said Monday. Total vehicle damage was estimated at more than $8,500. The first accident occurred at about 10 p.m. Wednesday, June 3, on Gannett Road south of Bellevue. That was
“This is still rural Idaho and we have animals moving back and forth across the area, and I would encourage people to be vigilant and stay alert.” Sheriff Gene Ramsey followed by a second accident that evening at about 11:45 p.m. on Highway 75 just north of the Sawtooth National Recreation Area office near the North Fork of the Big Wood River. The third collision with a deer occurred at 8:42 a.m. Thursday, June 4, north of Hailey in the area designated with a nighttime speed limit of 45 mph. A final accident occurred about 8 p.m. near the Highway 75 intersection
with Elkhorn Road. Ramsey said the locations of the accidents indicate that deer are on the move and crossing highways throughout the Wood River Valley, and not just at some of the typical accident “hot spots.” “This is still rural Idaho and we have animals moving back and forth across the area, and I would encourage people to be vigilant and stay alert,” Ramsey said. The Wildlife Crossing Committee, a subcommittee to the Blaine County Regional Transportation Committee, has recommended to the Idaho Transportation Department that “motion detector” flashing signs, to alert drivers about the presence of large animals, be placed at high-frequency animal collision locations along Highway 75. However, ITD has not procured funding for placement of the detectors. Terry Smith: tsmith@mtexpress.com