November 22, 2005

A Publication of the Economic Development Corporation of Utah, edcUTAH.org

 PRESIDENT'S MESSAGE

 Rural Economic Development
Though the majority of Utah’s population lives and works along the Wasatch Front, by no means is this 100-mile corridor the state’s only source of economic development. On the contrary, Utah’s rural communities have incredible resources available, often complementing those within the Salt Lake, Ogden-Clearfield and Provo-Orem MSA’s. Today’s feature story speaks to that fact, and touches on EDCUTAH’s recent efforts to further explore these urban communities and economic development opportunities.

In addition, this issue includes a number of ED-oriented stories of the past week, and our first Investor Spotlight. As always, if you have comments, suggestions or topics you’d like to see in Economic Review, please send your comments by clicking the “Comments” button on the bottom of this page.

Enjoy this issue, and all the best to you and yours this week of Thanksgiving.

FEATURE STORY

EDCUTAH’s Economic Development Efforts Aren’t Limited to the Wasatch Front


These are exciting times at EDCUTAH! Earlier this month the staff completed two important road trips to rural Utah, visiting with government leaders and economic development representatives from Vernal, Price, Moab, Nephi, Ephraim, Delta, Richfield, Cedar City and St. George.

During the trips key staff members from EDCUTAH met with:
  • Delynn Fielding, Carbon County ED and Governor’s Rural Partnership Board
  • Irene Hansen, Duchesne County ED and Governor’s Rural Partnership Board
  • Bill Johnson, Uintah County/Vernal ED
  • Nancy Dalton, representing Utah Small Cities, Inc.
  • Mike McCandless, Emery County ED
  • Ken Davey, Grand County/Moab area ED
  • Glenn Greenhalgh, Juab County ED
  • Kevin Christensen, Ephraim ED
  • Millard County Commissioner Daron Smith and Linda Gillmor
  • Gary Church, Millard County ED
  • Malcolm Nash, Sevier County ED, and county officials
  • Terry Keyes of Cedar City/Iron County ED
  • Scott Hirschi of Washington County ED
EDCUTAH’s rural road trips achieved four key objectives:
  1. Further expanded EDCUTAH’s relationship with rural government and economic development leaders.
  2. Introduced projects of specific interest to rural Utah.
  3. Increased EDCUTAH’s knowledge of issues important to rural economic development.
  4. Introduced and promoted the Certified Sites Program.
A great deal is being done to strengthen economic development in rural Utah by various entities. With its statewide charter, EDCUTAH can be the catalyst to bring rural economic development opportunities to the forefront.

Because EDCUTAH has developed excellent relationships with national site consultants, it can assist rural economic development/community development leaders to properly align their assets with site consultant requirements and market rural development availability to a broader audience.

To strengthen its connections throughout the state, EDCUTAH has created a new position in its organization, Director of Public Development, and appointing Mike Flynn to fill this position. Having been an EDCUTAH project manager for the past two years, Flynn appreciates the potential for economic development beyond the Wasatch Front. He will be leveraging EDCUTAH’s experience and resources to help overcome the hurdles that often get in the way of economic development initiatives.

Flynn will work closely with rural leaders to help them understand the criteria necessary to be successful with their economic development initiatives; to help them better utilize incentives; and to capitalize on the developing Certified Sites Program. He will step up efforts to insure EDCUTAH remains a valuable resource to all parts of the state.

Site consultants sometimes express specific interest in rural Utah. The companies they represent do not need or want locations near a big city, and look to capitalize on the benefits rural communities offer, such as the availability of inexpensive land, quality of life and greater incentive opportunities, where incentive threshold requirements are often lower in rural settings. In addition, EDCUTAH is working to help even more site consultants discover rural Utah and consider it for possible expansion or relocation.

Time-to-market pressures require the state to gather site-specific information and have it prepared for site consultant use in advance of an actual project opportunity coming to a county. EDCUTAH believes Utah’s Certified Sites Program will be a boon to the entire state by proactively assisting community leaders to better understand the criteria used by site consultants in their selection processes, helping community decision-makers identify project assets, strengths and weaknesses, and resolve roadblocks to economic development. A future issue of the Economic Review will provide greater detail about the Certified Sites Program, which will help accomplish this goal.

Following the rural road trips, it is safe to say that EDCUTAH now has a greater understanding and appreciation of the economic development issues facing rural Utah and the fact that the issues are not necessarily the same as those facing the Wasatch Front. However, not only does each community offer its own economic development challenges, but each also offers a unique opportunity for the right type of business.

INVESTOR SPOTLIGHT

Name:  Phil Thompson

Occupation/Company:  Industrial Supply Co.

Company's Mission: To understand our customers’ business.

Phil ThompsonEducation:  LaSalle Extension Business Law.

Growing up:  Salt Lake City/Park City.

Family:  Five children:  Melissa (40), Amanda (37), Kellie (35), Jessica (30) and Matthew (20).

Hobbies:  Going to the gym five days a week/skiing.

Motivations/Ambitions:  To make the successful transition from success to significance.

Why economic development is important:  It is the lifeblood of every community and the dream of every family that opportunities will be available that are even better than those we had.

Hottest economic development issues you see (either for the state or for your company):  Understanding what diversity means and doing something positive about it.

Improvements in economic development you’d like to see: Including small, disadvantaged and minority-owned businesses in EDCUTAH and helping them, through mentoring and stewardship, to play an important roll in everything we do.

Proudest moment:  Developing a multi-racial management team that can compete with anyone at any time.

Most embarrassing moment:  I wouldn't know where to start, but it would be safe to say that many things couldn't be discussed in a polite society.

Favorite book:  The Old Testament.

Favorite mentor:  There are four! Steven Covey, Stein Eriksen, Spence Eccles and Reverend France Davis.

Your Personal Motto: It’s not easy being a man; if it were more guys would actually try it.

Anything Else You'd Like to Share:  "Delight in the Lord in He will give you the desires of your heart." (Psalms 37:4)

IN THE NEWS

EDCUTAH CEO Speaks to ASPA Chapter


EDCUTAH President and CEO Jeff Edwards was the guest speaker at the November luncheon of the American Society of Public Administration, Utah Chapter. Edwards highlighted the state’s economic development and business development climate, EDCUTAH’s business recruitment efforts, Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr.’s economic development initiatives, and the “Three T’s” of Utah economic development:
  1. Talent – Attract and retain!
  2. Technology – The state is looking for homegrown talent to solidify industry views that Utah is the place to do business.
  3. Tolerance – The state needs to overcome misperceptions and demonstrate to outsiders that Utah is a place of diversity with a large language skill base.

Business Headlines from the Past Week

Micron Could Add Hundreds of Jobs to Lehi Plant in 2007

- A joint $500 million deal between Micron Technology Inc. and Intel Corp. to provide flash memory for Apple's iPods could bring hundreds of jobs to Utah and result in the ramping up of Micron's Lehi facility. The $700 million, 2,100-acre, 12-building Micron campus along Traverse Ridge currently employs 500 memory product testers. (D-News) (SL Trib)

Utah Job Growth the Best Since '97

- New construction projects and a booming professional business sector created 39,600 new Utah jobs in the 12 months ended Oct. 31, a growth rate of 3.5 percent, reports the Utah Department of Workforce Services. Utah's new jobs represented 2.1 percent of all of the new jobs added in the United States over the past year. (D-News) (SL Trib) (Daily Herald)

Utah's Population Jumps; Growth Rate Could Ensure 4th Congressional Seat

- Utah's population has topped 2.5 million — the growth rate being driven largely by a record number of people moving into the state. Utah gained an estimated 40,647 people through migration between July 1, 2004, and July 1, 2005, which is more than double the net in-migration — the difference between people moving in and out of the state — for the previous year. It's also the largest net in-migration in the state's history and a sign of a strong economy. (D-News) (SL Trib)

Utah Power Purchase Okayed; MidAmerica Will Invest $5 Billion to Bolster Electrical System

- MidAmerican Energy Holdings Co., part of the Warren Buffett's business empire, has moved a step closer to its $9.4 billion acquisition of PacifiCorp, dba Utah Power. MidAmerican has promised to invest heavily — a minimum of $1 billion annually for the next five years — to bolster PacifiCorp's electrical system in Utah, Idaho, Wyoming, Washington and Oregon. (SL Trib) (Press Release)

High Prices Spur Mini Coal Boom, Aid Carbon County Economic Development

- Good times are back at the Skyline coal mine in Helper, Utah. Two years ago Arch Coal Inc. closed the mine and laid off 200 workers because the price of coal was just too cheap to justify extracting. Now, a mini coal boom has caused St. Louis-based Arch to invest about $40 million to reopen the mine and bring back the local miners. (D-News/AP)

Swedish Home Furnishings Giant Ikea May Have Selected Draper Location

- Those in the know aren’t talking, but it appears Swedish home furnishings giant Ikea has selected Draper for its first Utah store, near the intersection of Interstate 15 and Bangerter Highway. The world's largest home furnishings retailer, with more than $18 billion in sales a year, may purchase nearly 40 acres of prime commercial property with freeway visibility. An Ikea store would be one of the largest retail stores in the Salt Lake Valley. (SL Trib)

Ogden’s Old Greyhound Building Will House Startup Businesses

- Ogden-based MarketStar Corp. and venture capital firm Grow Utah Ventures plan to open a business incubation center in the old Ogden Greyhound building on historic 25th Street.  The center will accommodate up to 25 people in several individual businesses at any one time. It will be the initial home base for many of the 100 companies Grow Utah expects to help launch over the next five years. (Standard-Examiner)

Fed Money a Boon for North Utah County

- The 2006 appropriations act would bring $21 million to Utah and $6.3 million for transportation and other projects to the state's 3rd Congressional District, which includes most of Utah County. (D-News)

Growth in Population, Income Fuel Development

- The Wasatch Front is home to a spurt in retail development, mixed-use development, downtown redevelopment. No fewer than three shopping complexes are under way or in planning stages in southern Salt Lake County...(D-News)

Sandy Firm Pays $46.8M for Geneva Site

- A Sandy-based real estate developer was the winning bidder in an auction for Geneva Steel's 1,700 acres of land. Anderson Development LLC's offer of $46.8 million for the industrial site beat out a bid of $46.6 million by Utah Lake LLC, which had the financial backing of New Jersey-based Prudential Real Estate Investors. (D-News) (Herald)

GOED Dangles $4.1M in Incentives to Lure Two Businesses, 1,000+ Jobs to Utah

- The state is dangling up to $4.1 million in incentives to lure two companies to move their corporate headquarters to Utah, along with potentially 1,100 jobs. The Governor's Office of Economic Development (GOED) Board approved the tax rebate incentives but did not identify the companies. (D-News)

Call Centers Find Utah a Great Place to Grow

- Call center operators are expanding along the Wasatch Front, adding jobs that in some cases pay much more than the entry-level positions that traditionally have dominated the industry. (SL Trib)

Six Rural Counties Get GOED Funds

- Six rural counties will receive funding under a new program to help disadvantaged rural communities. The Governor's Office of Economic Development Board (GOED) approved funding for six of 12 applicants in the Business Development for Disadvantaged Rural Communities Grant Program. (D-News)

CALENDAR

Nov. 23

GOED Tech Breakfast (Click here for more information)

Nov. 24

Happy Thanksgiving

Nov. 29

EDCUTAH Tour of Tooele County

Dec. 1-2

TM2 Conference (Click here for more information)

Dec. 7

GOED Open House

Dec. 8

Utah County ED Roundtable

Dec. 15

EDCUTAH Holiday Open House (EDCUTAH Offices)

Jan. 11-13

"What's Up Down South" ED Forum (St. George)

Feb. 10-12

EDCUTAH Site Consultant Event (Park City)

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