Emery County CRA hears developer pitches, housing‑foundation plan as solar projects promise housing funds

Emery County Community Reinvestment Agency members heard on Jan. 14 presentations from a developer, a solar project representative and a proposed Housing Foundation about ways to deploy housing set‑aside dollars generated by recent renewable energy projects.

Teresa Voxey, chief of staff for R Plus Energies, told the CRA the company's Green River Energy Center project will trigger a 20‑year agreement that "we expect to set aside some $8,000,000 in affordable housing set aside," and said her parent company, The Gardner Group, is willing to partner with the county on multifamily and workforce housing development.

Why it matters: Emery County's CRA has begun to receive increment from utility‑scale solar and storage projects; the board must decide how to use housing set‑aside dollars so funds benefit local residents and the county's workforce as large employers expand.

Developer pitch and local site

McCoy, a landowner and developer who identified a 19‑acre parcel near Orangeville, asked the CRA to consider using CRA funds for main infrastructure — sewer, water, roads, curb and gutter — to enable a 44‑lot subdivision he proposes to phase in. McCoy said he holds 42 water shares tied to the property and that "I've had 30, 40 people reaching out looking for building lots, ready to build." He described a phased approach: a roughly 22‑lot phase one with estimated infrastructure costs he described variously from under $1 million for that phase up to $2.2–3 million for broader work, and a central 1.5‑acre lot that he suggested could host a park or recreation facility.

McCoy said some items remain unresolved: annexation into Orangeville City (he cited Utah Code provisions he has reviewed), a proposed sewer alignment that would cross neighboring parcels (he described verbal easement commitments), and the need for additional water shares or other arrangements because two shares per lot may be required. He said grant programs exist to cover a portion of sewer/water costs and suggested the CRA funds be used to run main lines and leverage those grants.

Housing Foundation and program design

Brandy Grayson, CEO of the Utah Association of Counties' housing initiative, and Dan Hammer, a consultant and former executive director of the Governor's Office of Economic Opportunity, presented a draft concept for a nonprofit Housing Foundation that would accept housing set‑aside dollars from counties and award grants to projects meeting local priorities.

Grayson said the housing plan drafted for the county is intended to be adopted by the commission and serve as a guiding tool for use of the set‑aside. Hammer outlined a two‑track approach: federally defined "affordable housing" (0–80% of area median income) relies on federal programs such as low‑income housing tax credits and often produces multifamily rental projects; the Foundation would instead emphasize "attainable" or workforce housing in the 80–120% AMI band. Hammer described a likely program model in which the Foundation would make competitive grants to offset up to roughly 30% of project costs so developers could deliver for‑sale or for‑rent units affordable to workers, and suggested parameters such as lot‑size caps and occupancy restrictions to keep funds targeted to workforce needs.

Grayson and Hammer emphasized the goal of keeping housing set‑aside dollars in the counties where they originate, to be leveraged with other state or federal programs, and discussed possibilities for pooling funds across participating counties with a true‑up mechanism so each county's money ultimately benefits its community.

School district building program

Neil (surname not specified), a member of the Emery County School Board, described reviving a previous high‑school construction program in which students earned credit while building starter homes. He said the district owns seven lots that already have services and fiber runs and that the district would seek a modest startup grant from CRA funds to relaunch a revolving program that would produce a small number of homes and training opportunities for students.

Budget, distributions and votes

During the meeting the CRA approved several procedural and budget items. The board: - Approved the Dec. 17, 2024 meeting minutes (roll call recorded as: Todd Huntington; Dennis Wilmer; Jordan Leonard; Jay Humphrey; Jacob Sharp; Kim Jensen; motion passed). - Adopted the amended 2024 Emery County CRA budget and the 2025 CRA budget after staff explained the amendments reflect newly triggered projects (Castle solar triggered in 2024; Hunter and other projects estimated for 2025). - Approved 2024 distributions of collected real‑property increment as outlined by staff (the distributions reflect amounts collected to date from the Castle solar project and the Hunter project; Hunter's participation agreement requires a reimbursement request that typically occurs the following April).

Board members and staff repeatedly noted that the Green River Energy Center's set‑aside will trigger in 2026 and that current balances come from other projects (Castle and Hunter). Staff said about $88 million could flow through project areas over the next 20 years across multiple projects, with Emery County's anticipated set‑aside funds estimated in the multiple millions; exact annual receipts will vary as projects trigger.

What the CRA did not decide

No final commitment was made to McCoy to fund full subdivision infrastructure; multiple board members said they were interested in housing but uneasy about paying for developer infrastructure that traditionally is the developer's responsibility. The board asked staff to continue gathering information, requested additional documentation (easements, engineering, annexation status) and noted possible grant leverage that could reduce CRA expenditures.

Next steps

Staff and presenters agreed to continue follow‑up: McCoy was advised to coordinate with Orangeville City on annexation and to work with Megan (county staff) on required mailings; the Housing Foundation presenters said they would circulate the draft housing plan and options for the Foundation's governance and grant criteria. The CRA noted it could schedule a special meeting if needed before the next quarterly meeting to consider specific funding requests.

Quotes (selected)

"We expect to set aside some $8,000,000 in affordable housing set aside," Teresa Voxey, chief of staff, R Plus Energies.

"I've had 30, 40 people reaching out looking for building lots, ready to build," McCoy, landowner/developer proposing the Orangeville site.

"The idea behind [the Housing Foundation] is to keep those local dollars in the local community," Brandy Grayson, CEO, Association of Counties' housing initiative.

"The grant would subsidize the costs so you can deliver a product at that price point," Dan Hammer, consultant and former executive director, Governor's Office of Economic Opportunity.

"We would really like to start that [school build] program again," Neil, Emery County School Board member.

Ending

The CRA accepted the staff budget recommendations and directed additional due diligence on the Orangeville proposal and the Housing Foundation draft. No final project funding commitment for McCoy's subdivision was made during the Jan. 14 meeting. The CRA will receive further information from staff and presenters and may convene sooner than the next quarterly meeting if a formal funding request is ready for consideration.