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Emery County board funds master plan, recommends holding $95,000 for industry recruitment
Summary
Board members approved work on a 100-acre industrial park master plan paid from COVID-era funds, freeing roughly $95,000. The board recommended the county commission hold the unallocated money so commissioners can contract a recruiter or retain a headhunter to pursue larger employers.
Emery County Economic Development Board members on April 8 said they will commission a roughly 100-acre industrial park master plan near the San Rafael research center and recommended county leaders hold $95,000 that was freed after the master-plan funding was secured.
Jordan, who presented the master-plan proposal, said the plan would cover drainage, buildable parcels and produce a one-page marketing sheet for outreach to prospective businesses. "We'll probably be sending out requests for qualifications within the next week or two," Jordan said; he estimated an engineering contract could be in place within one to two months.
The master plan will be paid from COVID-era funds, Jordan said, which "opens us back up to the $95,000" previously earmarked for the plan. Board members debated options for the newly available money: some urged using it for direct business-improvement grants, while others argued it should be reserved to hire a contractor or headhunter to recruit large employers to the county.
Brock, stressing the need to expand the tax base, said attracting one or two large industrial partners would create dozens of jobs and more local tax revenue than many small-grant recipients can provide. "We gotta land a big business here that can employ a bunch of people," Brock said. Several members urged the board to prioritize building a credible site package and then contract a recruiter to sell that product to industry.
Board members also discussed the political and funding effort required to protect larger state allocations tied to energy and infrastructure projects. Members raised concerns that a $20 million site-survey budget item in the governor's plan could be reallocated to other counties unless Emery County actively advocates for the project.
The board unanimously (voice vote) moved a recommendation that the county commission hold the unallocated $95,000 so commissioners can use it, if they choose, to retain a recruitment contractor or headhunter; the motion passed and will be forwarded to the commission. The board said finishing the master plan and producing outreach materials is the immediate priority.
The board will return to the topic as the master-plan procurement and any contractor proposals proceed; if the commission finds a contractor before the board's next meeting, members said they would consider a special meeting or a commission action to move the work forward.
