IN SANPETE, SEVIER AND WAYNE COUNTIES
Brice Wallace
Business Journal
The Utah Inland Port Authority board has another project area to consider, one that supporters believe could bring a slew of economic benefits to Central Utah.
The proposed Skyline Corridor Project Area in Sanpete, Sevier and Wayne counties will be considered for approval by the board at its Oct. 7 meeting in Richfield. At a recent board meeting at the Utah Capitol when the proposal was discussed, backers echoed that the creation of the project area could “ensure the community’s resilience and prosperity for years to come,” as stated in UIPA documents.
As proposed, the Skyline Corridor consists of a total of 1,420 acres in five zones but not in one piece of property. There are 31 scattered areas in Richfield alone. Areas in the project zone range in size from 0.22 acres to 330.12 acres in Ephraim, Gunnison, Salina and Richfield cities and in unincorporated Wayne County. Project area zones would have their own goals and objectives but could collaborate on larger projects, UIPA documents state.
“I think we have the land, and it’s flat and available,” Salina Mayor Jed Maxwell told the board about the town’s areas, “and with the help of the port authority in helping us develop that, we can make big things happen down in little Central Utah.”
While the three-county region has several major highways, it has no immediate access to the national rail network and thus is heavily reliant on truck traffic to move goods. UIPA documents say there is a collaboration possibility that could lead to a transload facility in the nearby Castle Country Project Area that would provide regional rail access along the Interstate 70 corridor.
The three-county region’s most common commodities are mining products, agricultural products and some manufactured goods. UIPA documents indicate that development in the Skyline Corridor Project Area could lead to economic growth and development, job creation, improved infrastructure, economic diversification, a more resilient local economy, a reduction of dependence on traditional industries, higher household incomes, enhanced overall quality of life, preservation of each community’s cultural heritage and natural beauty, fostered community pride, increased property values, enhanced public infrastructure, an expanded tax base and long-term economic stability, among other benefits.
Industries of focus and recruitment for the Skyline Corridor are light to medium manufacturing, technology and remote hubs, transportation and logistics, cold storage, agribusiness and ag processing, health care and senior services, and renewable energy.
Supporters see possibilities for using a reinvestment of a tax differential for both infrastructure and company incentives for targeted industries.
“We’re very excited, especially with Snow College being in this area, we’re excited to build a workforce pipeline that will become intergenerational,” Scott Wolford, UIPA’s vice president of business development, told the board. “We’re excited to work to recruit good companies with good-paying jobs that will allow the kids in these communities, if they choose, to stay and live close to family and build those intergenerational bonds that make up those strong communities. Mostly, we’re excited to bring to bear the powerful statutory tools that the Legislature has entrusted us with, on behalf of these communities.”
Abby Ivory, economic development coordinator for the R6 Regional Council, said “the possibilities and benefits are endless, are much anticipated and welcomed.”
“For decades, many of our residents have hoped to raise their families in these beautiful valleys, and to see their children have the opportunities and resources to stay and build their own families here. Approving this port project is the first step towards realizing those dreams,” she said.
Sean Lewis, Ephraim’s city manager, said the city has “economic disopportunities” because it’s not on the Interstate 15 corridor, lacks rail and “we don’t have companies beating down our door to come locate their headquarters in Sanpete County.” But it does offer fiber networks, infrastructure and educational opportunities, he added.
“The inland port project … is something that we can do to help grow businesses home-grown to Sanpete County,” he said, mentioning already successful companies that produce cookies, agricultural seeds and soap products.
“Our future is having somebody go to Snow College, get their degree, even go to another of Utah’s fine institutions of higher learning, and coming back and building a business from the ground up in Sanpete County, where they grew up, where they want to live,” Lewis said, “and this [project area] allows us to help those businesses grow up and thrive by providing infrastructure support.”
Gunnison Mayor Lori Nay said her city has been struggling to make its industrial park successful beyond its current companies.
“When this was formed, this (UIPA) board, I knew that was our ticket. … This is just the tools we need to make this happen, and I just really see good things happening there, because we get inquiries all the time but we don’t have the infrastructure,” Nay said. “We need to build it first, so this gives us the tools we need to make that happen, and we’ve been looking at that for a long time.”
Maxwell said studies have shown that by using Salina as a hub, trucking companies could reach 2.47 million people within four hours and more than 38 million within 11 hours.
UIPA board members were positive about the project area’s possibilities.
“This is a perfect opportunity, I think, for this area to really capitalize on what the Inland Port is trying to do and really be a shot in the arm to get some of these efforts going,” said Jefferson Moss, Utah House of Representatives majority leader.
Ryan Starks, the board’s vice chair and executive director of the Governor’s Office of Economic Opportunity, said the port serves as a “catalyst” to help local communities grow. “[I’m] super-excited for this, because this is exactly what Central Utah needs,” he said of the Skyline Corridor.
The Skyline Corridor Project Area would be the state’s 11th. Others are an area in Salt Lake County, including in the Northwest Quadrant of Salt Lake City and parts of West Valley City and Magna; the Iron Springs Inland Port near Cedar City; the Verk Industrial Park project area in Spanish Fork; the Golden Spike project area in Garland, Tremonton, Brigham City and other parts of Box Elder County; the Central Utah Agri-Park in three parts of Juab County; the Mineral Mountains project area, consisting of four zones in Beaver County in parts of Beaver City, Beaver County and Milford City; the Tooele Valley area; the Twenty Wells area in Grantsville in Tooele County; an area in western Weber County; and the Castle Country Project Area in Carbon and Emery counties.