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Inland Port Authority reports rail, transload activity and first recruited manufacturers at Iron Springs project area
Summary
The Iron Springs Inland Port Authority reported increased rail and transload activity, announced Hive Plastics as an incoming manufacturer, and described planning and tax‑increment strategies to fund infrastructure.
Danny Stewart, representing the Iron Springs Inland Port Authority, updated the commission on activity at the Iron Springs project area and the wider state inland‑port program. Stewart said two transload facilities — RailSync and Savage — are operational and that RailSync has processed more than 620 railcars and over 100 million pounds of steel and lumber in recent operations.
Stewart said Hive Plastics will open a 23,000‑square‑foot manufacturing facility in the Nickel Silver Hills park next month and expects to grow from a handful of employees to 15–20 in six months and 40–60 in the next four to five years. He said Hive and other tenants will use transload assets and that workforce training is underway with Southwest Tech.
On financing, Stewart explained how project‑area tax‑increment financing works: a portion of increased property valuation (the county keeps 25% as base tax revenue; the port captures 75% of the incremental value for reinvestment). He described a proposed incentive structure that would reimburse a portion of a company's property taxes (for example, 10–30% of the captured increment) tied to capital investment thresholds, and said funds captured by the port are earmarked for public infrastructure such as roads, sewer and other improvements needed to support development.
Stewart said the port is pursuing federal planning (RAISE) grants and market studies to help prioritize rail and road investments and that the port expects to trigger parcels for tax‑differential capture as buildings complete. He and staff discussed coordination with developers and noted ongoing recruitment activity for industrial uses within Iron County.
Why it matters: The inland‑port activities aim to bring manufacturing and logistics jobs to Iron County while using captured tax increment to pay for infrastructure; commissioners asked how incentives, job creation and impacts on schools and public services will be managed as projects move forward.
