Commission approves interlocal agreement for Eagle Mountain data‑center project with infrastructure and timeline conditions

Utah County commissioners voted May 22 to approve an interlocal cooperation agreement with Eagle Mountain for the proposed Sweetwater Industrial Park data‑center project, known in materials as Project Steeplechase, subject to added contractual protections and contingent approvals from major taxing entities.

Eagle Mountain city staff and outside consultants described the project as an anchor data center on roughly 480 acres that would front an estimated $100 million in on‑site and area infrastructure. Teresa Foxley of the Economic Development Corporation of Utah and city officials said the company will fund major electrical, water and roadway work and argued the development would expand the county's industrial tax base and future job growth.

Commissioners repeatedly endorsed the county interest in the infrastructure benefits but pressed for explicit contractual safeguards. The chair put the issue plainly during debate: "Without a performance guarantee, I'm a no," he said. Commissioners sought written language that (1) caps the total project‑area term at 40 years, (2) conditions tax‑increment payments for future phases on completion of infrastructure as described in the city's development agreement, and (3) ties triggering dates and benchmarks to concrete infrastructure milestones so the county is not committed indefinitely if phases do not proceed.

Rocky Mountain Power representative Michael Lang described the grid work and its schedule, telling the commission that some major equipment — including transformers — carries long lead times: "It takes 18 months," he said, describing the substation and transformer timeline. County staff and city counsel agreed to attach the city's development agreement and infrastructure exhibits as contract exhibits and to add language that makes phase payments conditional on infrastructure completion.

The interlocal agreement programmed phased tax‑increment financing: materials discussed 100% personal‑property participation and 80% real‑property participation for certain phases, and commissioners debated how base‑year calculations and phase expirations affect taxing entities. Commissioners also required that the county's approval be contingent on the Alpine School District's and Central Utah Water's approvals.

After the parties agreed to add the infrastructure‑completion clause, explicit 40‑year language, and the contingency for major taxing entities, a commissioner moved to adopt the interlocal agreement with those edits. The motion passed 3–0.

What happens next: county counsel and city staff will incorporate the agreed contract language (infrastructure exhibit attachment, 40‑year cap, and conditional triggers) and circulate final documents for the required taxing‑entity approvals.