Brice Wallace
The new executive director of the Utah Inland Port Authority wants the authority to produce a long-term vision for its project area, and is calling for it to be “something that’s very palatable in terms of understanding.”
At a recent port authority board meeting, Ben Hart stressed the need to refine some of the language that authority officials use.
“Verbiage and wording matters,” he told the board.
The issue arose, Hart said, when he talked with stakeholders. Among other things, they called for the authority to produce a long-term vision and planning, ensure things are moving forward, and communicate the authority’s overall value proposition.
“There’s a dynamic here related to the terminology and what exactly we’re trying to express,” he said. “So I think as we get into this, one of the things we need to take a hard look at is what we’re calling everything, right?”
For example, the Utah “inland port” will be a rail facility in a “project area” in Salt Lake City’s Northwest Quadrant. Hart said he tends to use “Utah Port Authority,” without the “inland” word, “because it gives the overall organization a name and an identity” and that people who have spent time on the East Coast know what a port authority is.
Using certain language to distinguish terms is important “to cleaning up some of the confusion” about the authority, he said.
And while the Northwest Quadrant is a top priority, considering rail transportation opportunities in rural parts of the state is part of the authority’s broader role, he said.
“I want to get away from the verbiage around ‘satellite ports.’ I want make sure that we’re using terminology that really describes what our mission and vision is, regionally, as we look at the facilities that we’re really trying to use to empower local economies,” Hart said.
Among areas of the state that have expressed an interest in improving the movement of goods are Cedar City, St. George and portions of Tooele, west Weber, Millard, Beaver, Carbon and Box Elder counties.
Hart added that the 16,000-acre project area in the quadrant will be more than just about logistics.
“As we talk about this, getting back to a vision for what the 16,000-acre project area can be is really, really critical,” he said. “Logistics is going to be an important part of that, but it’s not the defining part of that. And I think as we move toward the broader economic vision of what this area can become, it has endless potential, and I think a master plan and strategy is important in getting us there.”
Hart hypothesized that the authority’s core missions are to identify and develop strategic rail projects to enhance shipping options for the direct benefit of Utah business, in the form of lower costs, faster speed to market and expanded market access, and to optimize economic development in certain areas with strong logistics in conjunction with local partners.
To those ends, he wants to see the authority develop a new strategy with clear objectives; develop a long-term master plan for the Northwest Quadrant area; revisit short-term objectives and pause large-dollar projects; refocus on key missions; and create strategies for short-term, critical action items, as needed.
That strategy, he said, should be simple and able to put into practice. The Northwest Quadrant master plan should be focused on “making sure we’re working off a united vision that I think everyone can get behind and that really gives us guidance in terms of how do we best position the Northwest Quadrant for future economic success.”
He called for the authority to move forward “to produce that long-term value that I think this port authority really has the ability to do,” but also called for its work to be deliberate and targeted.
“I know we’ve got a few items that are hot topics that we’ve got to stay ahead of, but at the same time, can we be very deliberate and visionary in what we’re trying to accomplish and any of the facilities and infrastructure that we ultimately plan to build?” he said.
“I think what this comes back to is, how do we make sure that we’re aligned with those value propositions that provide the most benefit for the citizens of the state of Utah and those in the neighborhoods and communities that surround the project areas?”
The port authority has undergone several changes in the past few months. They include a reformation of the authority board, the move of its executive director to a newly created position of president, the president announcing his retirement, and Hart taking over as executive director.