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In The Beginning…
Vision: The future of Box Elder County rests upon the solid legacy of work, faith, family, and beauty with reverence for the land. The future will be comprised of technological advances, generation of jobs, enhancement of commercial, industrial and agricultural productivity, with increased opportunities for safe, stable neighbor hoods of diversity and beauty reflecting our uniqueness.
Mission: Protect, Diversify, and expand the County's economy while preserving and enhancing the quality of life.
Genesis of Community Development: The Economic Development Office was established in November 1990 with Robert Valentine as the first Director. The Tourism Council was established in August 1991 and the Housing Committee was established in March 1997. The Community Development office was established in February 2000 bringing together the following partners: Planning, Economic Development, & Tourism & Housing.
From the Economic Development Annual Meeting in August 2000, one of our goals was to educate our Box Elder County Citizens on what is happening in our Community Development Department (DD); thus this newsletter. Since this is our first newsletter, let us orient you as to how CDD is structured. Encapsulated in CDD are: Economic Development, Planning, Tourism, and Housing. Garth Day is our Director of CDD, Susan Thackeray is Project Coordinator for Economic Development, Beth Gurrister is the Tourism Chair and the Affordable Housing Chair, with Ed Tugaw as our Housing Chair. CDD reports to the Box Elder County Commissioners and the are assigned as follows: Royal Norman, Planning; Suzanne Rees, Tourism & Housing; and Steve Holmgren, Economic Development. The CDD office is located at 102 West Forest Street in Brigham City which we jointly share with the Bear River Water Conservancy District.
Another of our goals is to dispel any misconceptions our citizens may have about the happenings in the County. Please do not hesitate to e-mail or call and talk to us if you have any questions regarding our departments.
Garth Day: gbday@boxelder.org
Susan Thackeray: beced@boxelder.org
Beth Gurrister & Joan Hammer: tourism@boxelder.org
Elizabeth Ryan-Jeppsen: eryanjeppsen@boxelder.org
Office Phone: (435) 734-2634
Introduction of New Economic Development Board Members
At the Board meeting held on March 7, 2001, Chairman Ed Skrobiszweski introduced the two newest members, Steve Rush from Utah Power & Light (replacing Rick Lungman) and Kris Leavitt from GSI and ikruz.com, (replacing Lee Welch). Kris Leavitt will be serving as the Media Committee Chair.
From September 1990 to May 1995 Steve Rush was the UPL District Manager for Davis County and from May 1995 to May 1997, he served as UPL General Business Manager for Davis County. From May 1997 - May 2000, Steve was the UPL General Business Manager for Weber/Davis. Steve is currently the UPL Regional Community Manager for Northern Utah at Utah Power, which includes Box Elder, Rich, Cache, Weber Davis, & Morgan Counties. He graduated from Weber State University in Economics and is involved in the communities on the following: Utah Defense Alliance-Vice Chairman, Southwest Defense Alliance-State County Representative, Ogden/Weber Chamber of Commerce-Board Member, and Weber Economic Development Corporation-Board Member.
Kris Leavitt moved to Box Elder County in 1994. She now lives in Fielding, Utah and has been working in the Telecommunication field for the past six years. Kris' current job is at GSI and ikruz in Bear River City and is the head of operations for ikruz. She is married and has three children. Kris is the Media Chair for Box Elder Community Development.
(Complete Board Member list at end of Newsletter)
Creating Our Strategic Plan
Our Strategic Plan was created by using three basic components. First, a vision - we look into the future and describe what we want to see. It is what we hope for and what we want our community to become.
Second, the interpretation of existing forces or trends which are at work around us. More simply stated, the framework and processes that we must work within.
Finally, a sound plan will leave room for the unexpected. The many changes over the past years could not have been predicted. Since it is likely that important unexpected factors will emerge in the future, a plan is a vision of the future, influenced by current forces, with room for surprises.
If we plan ahead and work together, we can ensure that the coming changes will make Box Elder County an even better place to live. However, if we do not plan now to guide our future, we could face undesirable sprawl, decreasing natural resources, a crumbling infrastructure, and a deteriorating quality of life for our residents.
The decisions we make and the work we do today will affect our County far into the twenty-first century. That is why it is important now to establish a solid foundation for a bright future for Box Elder County. This plan is an important step in that process.
Please e-mail or call our office if you would like a complete copy of our Strategic Plan.
(435) 734-2634
Producing Balanced Growth
At Community Development, one of our goals is to balance population growth and economic development strategies that will capitalize on unique local resources and on technological advances. This will create jobs and build a strong, diversified economy.
Objective For The Future
Diversify and balance economic growth throughout the County which will:
- Provide jobs and end "out-migration"
- Attract diverse industries
- Strengthen and expand existing businesses
- Provide for affordable housing
- Strengthen the tax base
We plan to accomplish these objectives by following these actions:
Action 1: Determine the job proportion
desired in the following areas: Manufacturing, Agriculture, High Technology,
Tourism and Retail. We will complete this by the continuing efforts of
the Business Expansion and Retention program (BEAR).
Action 2: Identify specific support services that will provide a wide array of information to assist in all facets of development including land acquisition and assessment, infrastructure, training, etc.
Action 3: Designate areas for industrial, business, office park and retail centers.
Action 4: Identify creative incentives that will attract and retain quality businesses to Box Elder County.
Community Development’s Activity Updates
Pointe Perry will be located on 1100 South on the west side of the I-15 exchange. It includes over 100 acres. Pointe Perry is a themed development and will host a major outdoor sporting goods retailer. The more desirable pieces of property are still to be mitigated. There are sixty acres to the north side of the interchange that are being negotiated with the Bird Refuge which the developers have been pursuing.
Heritage Highway 89—The Tourism Council is working with BRAG and Cache County to bring heritage tourists into our area starting at the Weber/Box Elder County Border and up Hwy. 89 through the Fruitway into Logan and Cache Valley. There will also be loop areas in Box Elder to visit. Brochures should be available by the end of 2001.
The Kitchen
Incubator concept was developed by BRAG & USU Extension and
will be targeted toward fruit and vegetable growers in Box Elder and Cache
Counties. This Kitchen Incubator needs to be approved by the County and
State and also receive Federal approval. The Kitchen Incubator
will also provide small businesses and entrepreneurs marketing help with
development, labels, and anything related to getting their business and/or
product up and going.
The catalyst for the Telecommunications Committee came about from several presentations at the Utah Rural Conference last September in Cedar City. The message was clear: telecommunications is the next significant infrastructure paralleling that of the railroad in the late 1800's and the interstate freeway system in the 1960's. Any community without adequate telecommunication infrastructure (high bandwidth, multiple providers, redundancy) will not thrive.
Commissioners Suzanne Rees and Steve Holmgren asked Jeff Packer, All Pro Realty, to chair a County Telecommunications Committee. This Committee began with about fifteen members from government and business. Cache County is also participating with the redundancy issue. Participation is growing with every meeting as more expertise is needed and the need is becoming critical.
Another catalyst was the move of Flying J Headquarters. Brigham City and Box Elder County met often with Flying J leaders and offered many options, but we could not stem the tide. Although lack of adequate telecommunication infrastructure is not the only reason for Flying J's departure from Box Elder County, it is one of the significant reasons. Many businesses today, including manufacturers, require high bandwidth to operate their business and communicate with suppliers and customers.
The State of Utah has also become aware of this critical infrastructure need in rural Utah. Because Box Elder and Cache counties had Telecommunications Committees already in place, we were able to take advantage of the very short lead time the State of Utah gave us to prepare an RFP for “Smart Site” status, which we won. The values of this “Smart Site” status are: 1). Initial funding from the State Dept. of Community and Economic Development, 2). Inclusion in the State RFP sent to the Federal Telecommunications Opportunities Program (TOP) Grant, and 3). Access, inclusion, and the marketing potential in Governor Leavitt's Silicon Valley Initiative program, which may be the most important benefit.
With the “Smart Site” designation completed, the Telecommunications Committee has now come back to our main goal: obtaining the high bandwidth and the redundancy that is so crucial for attracting the type of high quality telecommunication jobs we are seeking. The Committee is asking all the communities in Box Elder County to sign a Resolution, along with the County Commissioners, to show their support our quest for adequate telecommunication infrastructure here in Box Elder County.
In the 1970's, the term “Economic Development” had become an integral part of our language without having a clear definition. The goal of economic development, however, is now clear; it is the creation of jobs and wealth for our citizens. Because of this goal, Economic Development has become a competitive activity. Nations compete with other nations, states compete with other states, and counties, cities and towns compete with each other. Each wants an increase in the number of good paying jobs, for a growing population. Our mission is to diversify our County economy while working with each city and town to bring about the level of economic development they desire.
Tourism Committee
The Tourism Committee meets monthly and consists of members from the large tourism venues in Box Elder County: Bear River Bird Refuge, Willard Bay, and Golden Spike Site along with private tourism businesses and local government representatives. Much of the focus at the present time is on the 2002 Olympics and activities that will focus on that event in our Box Elder County area and the Golden Spike Empire region of Box Elder, Weber, Davis and Morgan Counties.
Ed Skrobiszweski - Chairman
Ron Hancock (Large Employers) - Vice Chair
Commissioner Steve Holmgren
Beth Gurrister (Tourism & Affordable Housing)
Richard Kimber (County Planning Commission Chair)
Ed Tugaw (Housing)
Ron Crump (Bus/Serv)
Barney Williams (Retirees)
Orson Boyce (Agribusiness)
Steve Rush, Utah Power & Light
David T. Kano, Mayor (Brigham City)
Councilman Cliff Green (Brigham City)
Max Weese, Mayor (Tremonton)
Councilman Stan Stokes (Tremonton)
Kris Leavitt (Media)
Clark Siddoway - School Board Rep.
Richard Garrett (President, Bear River Chamber 2000)
Cindy Monson, Exec. Director (BC Chamber)
E. Blaine Williams - Director, Bear River Chamber
Craig Stewart, Employer Relations Rep.
Jerry Mason - Honorary Member
Farrell Jensen-Honorary Member
Staff
Garth Day, Community
Development Director
Susan Thackeray, Project Coordinator
Elizabeth Ryan-Jeppsen, Dept. Secretary
Joan Hammer, Tourism Secretary
Office Phone:
(435) 734-2634