On Wednesday, July 17, the Carbon County Commissioners met for the regularly scheduled meeting. On the Agenda was an item that was a long time in the making for the county, the final approval of a plan by the Utah Inland Port Authority (UIPA) to build a new inland port in Carbon County.
This is a process that got started picking up traction back in May, and since then has snowballed into what could prove to be an extremely beneficial move for the Carbon County economy, which has seen a decline due to federal regulations regarding coal mining and looming power plant closures. To hear more regarding the initial stages of this plan you can view the first story on the matter by Castle Country Radio here.
The second step of this process was approval from the UIPA, which traveled to Carbon County to hear statements from local leaders regarding both the Carbon County Port and a potential port in Emery County. You can view the story regarding that meeting here.
The final steps of this process were the approval of an interlocal agreement between Carbon County and the UIPA and the adoption of the Castle Country Project Area plan. Shanny Wilson, the Carbon County Economic Development and Tourism Director, presented the plan to the Commissioners.
Wilson explained to those in attendance,” When we first started having conversations with the UIPA, we were focusing on bringing infrastructure out to Ridge Road and other areas of the county.”
The inland port also comes with a tax break, instead of a 25/75 differential split, once the county brings in the industry using the inland port it will be a 50/50 split, with 50% coming back to the county while the other half goes back into the infrastructure bank to pay to help further development with the UIPA.
“We’ve heard a lot about the inland port now for several years, and there has been a lot of controversy surrounding it.” Said Commissioner Larry Jensen,” But the State Legislature has authorized the port to use a pot of money for infrastructure in rural parts of the state. So we find here part of the challenge with the companies looking to come here, when they put their finance packages together they’re on the short end, kind of like putting a down payment on a vehicle or home … Each of them finds themselves on the short end and unable to move forward with their project because they don’t have enough cash in hand.”
Commissioner Jensen went on to explain that with the UIPA’s help, they have a pot of money that can be used to provide things like power systems and natural gas, giving companies the resources and infrastructure to move into the area.
“It was nice to have the inland port board come down and pass that here in Carbon County.” Said Commissioner Tony Martines, referring to the board meeting where the UIPA came down to approve the project area plan.
The two commissioners following this discussion approved the interlocal agreement unanimously.
The second item that needed to pass was the adoption of the Castle Country area plan. This plan includes 40 acres for Wellington Microtech, 270 acres for Savage Companies, and 30 acres on the south side of Wellington for the Longhorn project, which is looking to bring a truck stop among other things on the road out to Nine Mile Canyon.
The Commissioners commend Wilson for her hard work and dedication in working with the UIPA to bring more industry and jobs to the area. Following this they approved the area plan unanimously.