Tooele County’s economic future lies within its many assets and resources, according to Theresa Foxley, CEO and president of Economic Development Corporation of Utah.
Foxley, along with Scott Hess of the Wasatch Front Regional Council, Tulinda Larsen from Deseret UAS, Tooele County’s tourism consultant Mike Deaver, and Tooele County Commissioner Shawn Milne, addressed a group of 40 local residents in the basement of the Tooele County building on Thursday. The topic was economic development.
“We focus on natural assets and what you are already good at,” Foxley said.
There is a lot of manufacturing strength in Tooele County, and with the launch of Deseret UAS, EDCU sees the county as a place for aerospace and defense related projects, according to Foxley.
She listed the county’s assets when it comes to new and expanding businesses. Those assets include: transportation access, lots of available real estate, a county that works well with the state organization, close proximity to the largest economy in the state — Salt Lake County, proximity to the Inland Port, affordability in real estate and construction, an airport located in the county, and a young population that gives employers confidence in longevity of the employee base.
One weakness in Tooele County’s economic future is the lack of a general plan that clearly defines what Tooele County wants to be, according to Foxley.
“Communities want to be respectful of their heritage and the things that make them unique and things that drive the quality of life for a community,” Foxley said. “But also there is this notion that there needs to be some future planning. Tooele County gets to be whatever Tooele County wants to be, and our job is to go out and market whatever that is.”
Foxley suggested that a general land use plan should preserve large sites for future corporate investment.
EDCU is a private nonprofit organization that works with local and state government and private industry to attract companies to Utah and spur the expansion of Utah businesses.
EDCU currently has 120 projects considering the state of Utah for expansion. It averages 30 to 40 closed expansions a year, Foxley said.
The Wasatch Front Regional Council supports a five-county economic development district that includes Weber, Davis, Salt Lake, Tooele, and Morgan counties, according to Scott Hess, a WFRC staff member.
The regional economic development district’s goal is to bring jobs to and retain jobs in the region.
That includes attracting businesses that offer high wages, retaining and expanding existing businesses, building and improving the region’s growth centers, encouraging entrepreneurship and innovation, increasing economic development capacity, and maintaining and improving the region’s high quality of life, according to Hess.
The Wasatch Front Regional Council’s role acts as a conduit for federal funding for economic development projects.
“We have a funding program from the federal government for infrastructure that will create jobs,” Hess said. “They can’t be hypothetical jobs. We’re talking about shovel ready projects.”
Tulinda Larsen, Deseret UAS executive director, spoke about the organization’s grand opening that occured last week.
Deseret UAS is a state-funded collaborative nonprofit effort of Tooele and Box Elder counties to bring unmanned aerial system, or drone, companies to both counties, according to Larsen.
Mike Deaver, Tooele County’s tourism consultant, spoke about a soon to be revealed branding and tourism campaign for Tooele County.
“Tourism, through growth in sales tax revenue and increased spending in our communities, is part of economic development,” Deaver said.
Brand development for Tooele County will not only promote tourism, but it will also help with economic development, according to Deaver.
Tooele County Commissioner Shawn Milne spoke about the recently announced Lake View Business Park.
The Lakeview Business Park consists of 900-acres east of Sheep Lane from the Utah Motorsports Campus and Deseret Peak Complex. It is being developed by the Salt Lake City-based Romney Group.
Preliminary plans for the business park show a mix of office, retail, industrial, distribution, and research and development businesses, as well as convenience stores, gas stations and hospitality businesses.
The concept plan for the business park shows over 60 buildings varying in size from 1.1 million square-feet to 35,000 square-feet. It also shows a rail line, built on existing railroad right-of-ways, providing rail access to the business park.
The business park will provide jobs for Tooele County residents and an increased tax base to help support local government and schools, according to Milne.