Strategic Plan Flip

IRONCOUNTYSTRATEGICEconomic Development PlanPrepared by:CEDAR CITY / IRON COUNTYOFFICE OF ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

IRON COUNTY, UTAH In 1923 the President of the Union Pacific RailroadCompany said of our residents, “I find a people who are conquerors of their enivronment; a people who haverisen above failure to success, who have learned to worktogether, and who have dreamed a dream and labored to see its fulfillment through their children.”

TABLE OF CONTENTSIntroductionMission / Economic Development TeamIndustry ClustersManufacturingRenewable EnergySmall Business DevelopmentTourismOngoing ChallengesVision Iron CountyIncentivesGoals

Page 4 Iron County Strategic Plan 2018IRON COUNTYUTAHHEALTHY NUMBERSThe current economic state of Iron County is mostlypositive. The Utah Department of WorkforceServices reports that our year-to-year change innonfarm jobs has increased steadily since the end ofthe recession in mid-2009. We experienced a surgein job growth beginning in 2016 that has slowedsomewhat, but has continued in 2017. The UtahDepartment of Workforce Services reports that IronCounty added more than 870 jobs between March2016 and March 2017 for a gain of 5.1 percent. Morerecent numbers show a steady increase of 333 jobssince the first of the year. Currently, theunemployment rate has dipped below 4 to 3.9%.which is below the current National unemploymentrate of 4.1% and closer to Utah’s 3.3%. Utah DWS alsoreports that first-time claims for unemploymentinsurance show no signs of labor force distress.RETAIL & TAXABLE SALESIron County’s gross taxable sales grew by a healthy5% year-over-year increase for the first quarter of2017. A few large retailers that have strugglednationwide have closed or are closing locations in Iron County, including Sports Authority, Rue 21 andSears. However, new retail stores have also been opening in Iron County, including Sportsman’sWarehouse, TJ Maxx, Ross Dress For Less, Boulevard Home Furnishings, Deseret Industries, Hibbett Sportsand a new Harbor Freight Tool store. Locally-owned Lin’s Marketplace added an additional 10,000 squarefeet to their Cedar City location and the store underwent a major redesign in the past year. Vacancy ratesof retail properties have dropped to just 5% as of June 2017.

Page 5 Iron County Strategic Plan 2018CONSTRUCTION PERMITSDwelling unit permits in Iron County have climbed dramatically and steadily from only 94 in 2012 to338 in 2016. Construction permitting for 2017 is keeping pace with strong figures for the same timeperiod in 2016. Nonresidential building permits have slipped only slightly despite an extraordinarilystrong performance during the same period in 2016. +8.8% GROSS TAXABLE SALES INCREASE +333 NONFARM JOBS ADDED - OCT YTD 233 DWELLING UNIT PERMITS - AUG YTD 3.9% UNEMPLOYMENT RATE - OCT 17Iron County has backed off the blistering job JOB GROWTHgrowth pace of 2016. However, employmentexpansion remains strong and currently In Iron County, construction, manufacturing,clocks in at a more sustainable level.” private healthcare and social services and leisure and hospitality services added the most newLecia Langtston, Utah DWS Economist jobs, with only professional and business services experiencing a signicant loss of jobs.

Page 6 Iron County Strategic Plan 2018CEDAR CITY - IRON COUNTYECONOMIC DEVELOPMENTDanny Stewart OUR MISSIONEconomic Development DirectorCedar City Corporation Provide rich business resources for10 N Main Street, Cedar City, UT 84720 retention, expansion, and recruitmentMobile: 435.592.01111 while focusing on our unique communityOffice: 435.865.5115 strengths, assets and [email protected] OUR PRINCIPLESB< rad AbramsEconomic Development Coordinator FOSTER COLLABORATIONCedar City Corporation10 N Main Street, Cedar City, UT 84720 Fostering cooperation, communicationMobile: 435.327.1337 and coordination of city, county andOffice: 435.586.2770 community [email protected] EXPAND OPPORTUNITIES< Recruit quality businesses that provide higher wages and beneftis to their employees. IMPROVE INFRASTRUCTURE Improve and maintain a healthy infrastructure to encourage vital economic growth. INCREASE TOURISM Explore opportunities to raise awareness of Cedar City and Iron County through the arts, recreation, events, film and culture.

Page 7 Iron County Strategic Plan 2018CEDAR CITY - IRON COUNTY ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT COMMITTEEThe Cedar City / Iron County Economic Development Committee is empowered to adviseand make recommendations to the Cedar City Mayor, the Cedar City Council, and the Board ofIron County Commissioners related to new and existing strategies for economic developmentwithin the City and County and to support projects that foster, promote, and enhance localeconomic development efforts. MIKE BLEAK Iron County Commissioner MAILE WILSON Cedar City Mayor TERRY HARTLEY Cedar City Council CRAIG E. ISOM Director of the SUU Business Resource Center SPENCER JONES Central Iron County Water Conservancy District STEPHAN ALLEN President of the Iron County School Board

Page 8 Iron County Strategic Plan 2018INDUSTRYCLUSTERSLooking ahead, the greatest opportunities for economic growth in Iron County lie mainly in fourindustry clusters, which will guide this strategic overview. MANUFACTURING RENEWABLE ENERGY Light Industrial & Distribution Utility-Scale Solar Attracting new manufacturing With rapid expansion and and distribution to Iron County new opportunities on the is a critical part of our overall horizon, solar energy has economic strategy. Plastics and emerged as an important aerospace manufacturing have part of Iron County’s thrived here and are a natural fit economic future. for Iron County. SMALL BUSINESS DEV. TOURISM Tech & Entrepreneurship Recreation, Events & Film As the knowledge economy Our proximity to National continues to develop, Parks, Monuments, and entrepeneurs and freelancers Forests, as well as numerous are seeking practical resources, state-managed parks and collaborative spaces and recreation areas, makes our sincere support. area ideal for the tourism industry.

Since the iron mine closure,Industrial and Manufacturingrecruitment has remained a toppriority and continues to bringgood jobs to our area.

Page 10 Iron County Strategic Plan 2018LIGHT-INDUSTRIALMANUFACTURINGA TOP PRIORITY of the top counties in the state to one of the lowest, creating an opportunity for theRecruiting manufacturing and industrial manufacturing industry to fill the gap. Since itscompanies to Iron County has been one of the genesis, the Iron County manfacturingtop priorities of the Cedar City – Iron County community has steadily grown into theOffice of Economic Development since its Southwest Region’s main manufacturing hub,formation in 1988. For decades, one of the with A-list companies such as Genpak, Americancounty’s top employers was at the Iron Mine in Pacific Corp, Metalcraft Technologies and GAF.Central Iron County, where high-paying jobs wereplentiful. In the early 1980s, mining operationsceased and almost overnight Iron County’saverage monthly income plummeted from one Fall 2017 Beaver, Garfield, Iron, Kane and Washington Counties Manufacturing Employment and WagesLARGEST EMPLOYERS Industry Name (Code) 2016 2016 Avg. Dec. 2015 to Dec. Employment Monthly 2016 % Change in 1. Genpak Manufacturing (31) Wage 2. RAM Manufacturing Food Manufacturing (311) 5,022 $3,279 Employment 3. Viracon Beverage and Tobacco Product Manufacturing (312) 353 $2,756 4.8% 4. Wilson Electronics Textile Mills (313) 25 $2,269 45.0% 5. American Pacific Corp Wood Product Manufacturing (321) 89 $3,291 -4.8% 6. Metalcraft Technologies Printing and Related Support Activities (323) 252 $2,458 10.7% 7. Litehouse Chemical Manufacturing (325) 81 $2,734 7.2% 8. Deseret Laboratories Plastics and Rubber Products Manufacturing (326) 376 $4,412 4.8% 9. Smead Manufacturing Nonmetallic Mineral Product Manufacturing (327) 518 $3,390 5.4% 10. Stampin’ Up Fabricated Metal Product Manufacturing (332) 578 $3,221 7.0% 11. Bway Corporation Machinery Manufacturing (333) 851 $3,199 6.4% 12. St. George Truss Company Computer and Electronic Product Manufacturing (334) 130 $3,664 -10.5% 13. Western Quality Foods Transportation Equipment Manufacturing (336) 341 $4,537 15.5% 14. Sunroc Building Materials Furniture and Related Product Manufacturing (337) 319 $3,276 -0.9% 15. Reid Ashman Manufacturing Miscellaneous Manufacturing (339) 432 $2,765 -1.3% 16. Newera Manufacturing Total Area Nonfarm Payroll Jobs 451 $2,912 13.6% 17. Riverwoods Mill Manufacturing (31) as a % of Total 86,357 $2,749 -0.9% 18. Express Group Holdings 5.8% 5.6% 19. Timberline Cabinet Doors 119.3% 20. Innovative Yacht Builders 21. Atkore Plastic Pipe Corp

Page 11 Iron County Strategic Plan 2018MANUFACTURING MEANS JOBS to attract GAF Roofing and Mueller Industries to Iron County, and to retain and expand Décorworx,The Cedar City – Iron County Office of Economic in Cedar City. State and local incentives were alsoDevelopment works closely with the Governor’s created to ensure that MSC Aerospace’sOffice of Economic Development, the SyberJet operations will remain in Cedar City,Economic Development Corporation of Utah, and bringing hundreds of new jobs in the near future.other statewide partners to promote theseproperties for new businesses. We havesuccessfully partnered with GOED and EDCUtah164+ Twenty years ago, Decorworx started as a small sign and banner shop in a rentedJOBS space on Cedar City’s Main Street. Jeff Dansie, the company’s founder, found a niche in retail interior design and became a preferred vendor for independent supermarket cooperatives across the country and internationally. Now, Décorworx has revitalized a historic building in the heart of Cedar City’s historic downtown and will be creating 164 new jobs over the next several years. 100+ JOBS 30+ Mueller Industries, the global copper-tubingJOBS manufacturer has recently renovated the former Cerro Copper building and has created over 70 new jobs in 2017. Charlotte Pipe’s Cedar City facility manufactures PVC pipe and distributes to the western United States. The company just completed construction of a 150,000-square foot addition with plans to add 30 new jobs this year.

Page 12 Iron County Strategic Plan 2018MMAANFNAUCTFUARICNGTUBYRTIHNEGNUHMISBETROS RYYear Employment Avg. % of Utah Number of Payrolls % of Total % of Total Monthly Avg. Monthly Establishments (Millions) Area Jobs Area Payroll Wage Wage2009 4,081 $2,932 92.5% 275 $143.6 5.8% 7.1%2010 3,754 $2,952 91.3% 257 $133.0 5.5% 6.8%2011 3,920 $3,014 91.2% 255 $141.8 5.7% 7.0%2012 4,068 $3,082 91.0% 266 $150.4 5.7% 7.1%2013 4,134 $3,121 91.2% 269 $154.8 5.6% 6.9%2014 4,394 $3,225 91.8% 283 $170.1 5.6% 7.1%2015 4,826 $3,212 88.7% 300 $186.0 5.9% 7.2%2016 5,022 $3,279 88.5% 308 $197.6 5.8% 6.9%152+ Food service industry leader Genpak manufactures and distributes foam andJOBS plastic food containers in 18 locations across the country. Cedar City has been home to Genpak for 20 years. In that time, the company has expanded five times and is southwest Utah’s largest manufacturer. Recently, Genpak purchased a vacant building located adjacent to their Cedar City plant and have added 72 new jobs and plan to add 80 new jobs over the next 24 months. 1000+ Metalcraft Technologies, Inc. has built and distributed metal aircraft JOBS components for more than 30 years in Cedar City. The company recently purchased SyberJet out of San Antonio, Texas, and has moved the bulk of their assembly operations to Cedar City. The SyberJet SJ30 is the world’s fastest business-class jet. MTI and SyberJet are subsidiaries of MSC Aerospace. Last summer, SyberJet flew its first SJ30 aircraft completed in the Cedar City plant. Plans for this company include the creation of 1000 new high-paying aerospace jobs over the next several years.

Page 13 Iron County Strategic Plan 2018BUSINESS EXPANSION & RETENTIONIn addition to recruitment of new industrial and manufacturing companies, theCedar City – Iron County Office of Economic Development is working closely with GOED and theSouthern Utah University Business Resource Center to improve local Business Expansion andRetention (BEAR) efforts in the County. In the past few years, we have helped several small companiesin Iron County to qualify for Rural Fast Track Grants and that will add new jobs to our economy. Wehave numerous small- to mid-sized manufacturers that expect to grow in the next few years and weare working to become more familiar with each of these companies and their needs; helping them toidentify the challenges they need to overcome in order to grow.BUILD-TO-SUIT PROPERTYIndustrial and manufacturing jobs are key to Iron County’s continued success and we are still workingto attract new manufacturing companies here. We currently do not have any large-scale office and/or warehouse spaces that would accommodate prospective companies, but we do have thousands ofacres of land in the county with rail access and industrial-scale utilities already in place. PORT-15 UTAH A local developer has partnered with the Utah School and Institutional Trust Lands Admin- istration (SITLA) to develop more than 740 acres in western Cedar City as “Port-15 Utah.” Charlotte Pipe, a PVC pipe manufacturer and distributer from North Carolina, has a production plant in Port-15 Utah, and there are still more than 500 acres available in this shov- el-ready business park.

Page 14 Iron County Strategic Plan 2018SOLAR GROWTHRENEWABLE ENERGYUTAH’S SOLAR CAPITAL more than 700 megawatts of renewable energy and more than a billion dollars has been investedIron County is ideally situated geographically for in the construction of these projects. At the peaksolar energy development. In the past several of construction in 2015 and 2016, more than ayears, more than 12 utility-scale solar energy thousand laborers were employed by solarpower plants have been built in Iron County, companies in Iron County. Today, about 20making our county the leader in solar energy full-time positions exist because of these projects.production in Utah, with 17 projects in IronCounty comprising of more than 7,000 acres ofland. Together, these projects are generatingUTAH RED HILLS RENEWABLE PARK Scatec Solar North AmericaIn Jan 2015, Scatec Solar broke ground on 700acre utility-scale solar project called the RedHills Renewables Park. This 80 MW project hasbrought in $140 million in capital investment andan estimated $5.3 million in tax revenue over thenext 20 years.APPALOOSA SOLAR 1Onyx Renewable EnergyThis 200 MW utility-scale solar project, northeastof the Three Peaks substation, is set to beginconstruction in 2-3 years with a projected $204million in capital investment, generating anestimated $1.4 million in tax revenue overthe next 20 years.

Page 15 Iron County Strategic Plan 2018The success of utility-scale solar here is largely due permitting, planning and creating projectto Iron County’s abundant solar resources and our incentives. Our current infrastructure ofwillingness to recruit these projects. Iron County is electrical substations is approaching capacity forthe first county in the state to create local solar projects, but as solar companies continueproperty tax incentives to assist with the creation to find opportunities to be successful here, Ironof solar projects, and the county works very well County will continue to foster renewable energywith these companies from start to finish, with growth. IRON COUNTY SOLAR PROJECTS 1. Utah Red Hills Renewable Park 80 MW 2 Buckhorn Solar 3 MW 3. Cedar Valley Solar 3 MW 4. Beryl Solar 3 MW 5. Enterprise Solar 80 MW 6. Sun Edison 1 - Fiddlers 9 MW 7. Sun Edison 1 - Quichapa 9 MW 9. Granite Mountain West 50 MW 10 Granite Mountain East 80 MW 11. Iron Springs Solar 80 MW 12. Three Peaks Solar 120 MW 13. Appaloosa Solar 1 200 MW 7400 ACRES 717 MEGAWATTS $42 MILLION IN NEW TAX REVENUEIN IRON COUNTY SOLAR HAS GENERATED MORE THAN$1 BILLION IN CAPITALINVESTMENT

Page 16 Iron County Strategic Plan 2018SMALL BUSINESSDEVELOPMENTTHE ENTREPRENEURIAL SPIRIT in Iron County. Companies such as Construction Monitor, WebMD, Casino Game Maker, StaheliFor more than a decade, small technology-based West, and many others that are thrivingand entrepreneurial-run businesses have sprung nationwide and globally.up in Iron County as in many other parts of the Although our workforce and current broadbandstate. Because we are home to Southern Utah infrastructure are good, we could improveUniversity and Southwest Technical College, and accessibility to affordable broadband for smallbecause we have good broadband internet businesses and startups. In addition, we canaccess, Cedar City and Iron County are well spotlight Iron County’s potential as a techsituated to continue to foster these kinds of industry hub with a university presence, skilledbusinesses and to recruit more of them into our workforce and innovative professional network.area. SUU BUSINESS RESOURCE CENTERTECH UP SOUTHERN UTAH The SUU Business Resource Center continues toTech-Up Southern Utah an educational support be a major asset for Iron County’s small businessgroup that has developed organically in Cedar development and helps grow our local econo-City, has been meeting regularly for nearly a my. This center offers valuable tools and trainingdecade. This group provides an opportunity for to our local small business community and theyentrepreneurs to network and tap into local have helped numerous small businesses to thrivetalent. From this incubator-like group of in Iron County. Each month, they bring togetherprofessionals, a sub-committee called “Tech2” community partners to continue to improve smallhas formed and is actively working to market Iron business development in the county. The SUUCounty as a great alternative for companies BRC is key in Iron County’s strategy to assist locallooking to offer their employees a better quality entrepreneurs to create and grow business here;of life. With affordable housing, air pollution and however, critical funding is necessary for thislong commutes, many tech companies are program to continue to assist businesses.starting to consider rural remote workers as aviable option.Tech2 is also working to organize the currententrepreneurial ecosystem, with a website thatwill spotlight the tech collective and the manyactivities and startups that are finding success

Staheli West’s DewPoint Steamer was invented by CedarCity resident, David Staheli, and has revolutionized theagricultural industry with a steaming method thatprovides the necessary moisture for hay, allowing farmersto harvest without waiting for nature’s dew.

Page 18 Iron County Strategic Plan 2018FILM, EVENTS, & RECTOURISMTOURISM’S IMPACT destination in Iron County and a reason for visitors here to extend their stay. New OHV trails in IronTourism has long been a part of Iron County’s County and a new mountain biking trail system ineconomy and today it continues to play a Cedar City appeals to an even greater audience ofsignificant role. Iron County has been a tourist recreation enthusiasts, and Cedar Breaks Nationaldestination for more than a century. Monument’s Dark Sky designation is attractingOur proximity to National Parks, Monuments, and even more tourists to the area. The Church ofForests, as well as numerous state-managed Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints’ temple in Cedarparks and recreation areas, makes our area ideal City will serve a broad regional area of southernfor the tourism industry. Utah and Nevada residents who will travel to Iron County regularly and we anticipate this willIT’S IN THE NUMBERS increase visitation in the area. The community had nearly a 170,000 visit the community this fallLast year, more than $8 billion in tourism for the temple open house.dollars was spent in the state of Utah. Iron Countytook in a significant amount, as visitation was up TOURISM BUREAUat each of our major tourism venues, includingCedar Breaks National Monument, Brian Head Ski The Cedar City – Brian Head Tourism Bureau isResort, Kolob Canyons, Frontier Homestead State recognized as one of the state’s finest tourismPark, and the Utah Shakespeare Festival. organizations. Maria Twitchell and her staff workTourism visitation in 2016 was the best year ever closely with neighboring counties and with thein Iron County. Our lodging occupancy averaged Utah Office of Tourism. Through marketing61% compared to the state’s average of 60% last strategies, the bureau’s mission is to attract moreyear, and tourism-related tax revenues increased overnight visitors to Iron County, to extend theirby about 25% from 2015 to 2016. The Brian Head stays and to encourage repeat visits for theFire in 2017 impacted tourism during June and economic prosperity of the county. The Office ofJuly (two of our top months). But the ski area was Economic Development works closely with theundamaged and we anticipate a strong winter Tourism Bureau to promote Iron County.recreation center for the 2017-2018 season. Similarly, we are currently working jointly with theThe recent completion of the Beverly Center for Utah Film Commission to establish a local filmthe Arts, which is now home to the Utah commission in our region to attract even moreShakespeare Festival and the Southern Utah tourist-related investment.Museum of Art, gives visitors to the area a new

In 2016, leisure and hospitalitysales in Iron County jumped12% from $87.9 million to $98.4million.

Page 20 Iron County Strategic Plan 2018ONGOINGCHALLENGES01 WAGE DISCREPANCIESThe positive news in Iron County does not negate ongoing challenges that we face economically. At thetop of the list is the average monthly wage discrepancy between Iron County and the rest of the state.At the beginning of 2010, Iron County’s average monthly wage was 71% of the state’s monthly average.Back then, the average Utahn made $3,173 per month compared to Iron County’s $2,259. In the firstquarter of 2017, Iron County’s monthly average slipped to 69% of the state’s average wage. Iron County’saverage is now $2,616 compared to the state’s $3,762. While the state’s average wage increased by $589per month in the past seven years, the average wage in Iron County increased by just $231.02 INTERGENERATIONAL POVERTYAnother serious issue in Iron County is Intergenerational Poverty. Thousands of Utah families are livingin intergenerational poverty — a situation of poverty and public assistance use that continues fromone generation to the next. As part of the Intergenerational Welfare Reform Commission, The UtahDepartment of Workforce Services is working with multiple Iron County organizations, state agencies,and other key partners to understand intergenerational poverty and reduce the number of childrenwho remain in this situation as adults. Iron County is one of five counties in the state experiencing thegreatest impact of this issue. Currently, 47% of children in Iron County in IGP situations are at risk ofremaining in poverty as adults. The perennial low wage problem in Iron County compounds ourintergenerational poverty risk.03 BRIAN HEAD FIRE The recent Brian Head Fire, which destroyed more than a dozen homes and burned nearly 72,000 acres, cost about $34 million dollars to contain in June and July 2017. The Federal Emergency Management Agency will cover 75 percent of that cost and Iron and Garfield Counties, along with the state, will pay for the remaining 25 percent. “Beyond just putting the fire out, there’s the air quality impacts, the water quality, the fishery, the tourism industry, and all of the other things, and they all fit into the economy,” said Jason Curry, spokesman for the Utah Division of Forestry, Fire and State Lands. “Those effects linger for years and years.”

Page 21 Iron County Strategic Plan 201804 WATER Iron County is one of the most arid counties in the second driest state in the U.S. In 2016, the state water engineer announced that over appropriated water rights in Iron County and several years of lower-than-average snowpack were cause for the creation of a groundwater management plan. At that time, it was estimated that 28,000 acre feet of water was being drawn from the Cedar Valley aquifer while less than 20,000 acre feet was being replenished back into the aquifer. In the past year, Iron County, Cedar City, and the Central Iron County Water Conservancy District have created a number of aquifer recharge projects in several locations in the county, but the actual success of these efforts is yet to be measured. Early indications are that recharge basins built in 2017 were successful in returning more than 1,300 acre-feet to the valley’s aquifers. Our limited water resource impacts potential growth and new business opportunities, so this issue continues to be an economic concern. In 2016, the Cedar City – Iron County Office of Economic Development was approached by two manufacturing companies that were interested in building new facilities here. These companies were interested in Iron County because of our railroad and interstate highway access and our proximity to their customers throughout the western United States. Nearly 700 new high-paying jobs would have been created, however, both companies required large quantities of water for their manufacturing processes and after evaluating numerous options with our local water specialists, it was determined that Iron County’s limited water resource could not support their needs.05 UTAH PRAIRE DOG The Utah Prairie Dog was listed as an endangered species in 1973 and downgraded to threatened status in 1984. Through 2014 the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service managed the species, making development in Iron County difficult for many years. In November of 2014, a U.S. District Judge ruled in favor of “People for the Ethical Treatment of Property Owners” (PETPO) in a suit against the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. That ruling stated that because the Utah prairie dog was only found within the state, the Commerce Clause did not allow the federal government to interfere with Utah’s own management efforts. The ruling placed the prairie dogs under the protection of the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources. In March 2017, the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals overturned the 2014 ruling, placing the prairie dogs back under federal control. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is currently working with the state of Utah, counties and other partners to prepare a General Conservation Plan that integrates with the state’s successful management plan, meets the Endangered Species Act legal framework, and provides a streamlined process for developers or landowners to obtain take permits for development projects. Iron County and its partners hope the General Conservation Plan will meet near-term needs, with the long-term goal to replace the GCP with a locally-driven conservation strategy to, ultimately, delist the Utah Prairie Dog.

Page 22 Iron County Strategic Plan 2018VISION IRON COUNTYGOALS1-YEAR VISION: 2019The Governor’s Office of Planning & Budget estimates Iron County’s population to be in theneighborhood of 55,000–56,000 in the next year.Describe where you would like your county to l Southern Utah University is constructing abe economically one year from now. new business building and they are working tol We would like to continue on our current better integrate their facilities and their programstrajectory of economic growth at a manageable with the community. The school of businesspace. recently organized a local entrepreneurshipWhat challenges would you like to overcome? council. We plan to work with this group tol We hope that Federal Prairie Dog explore new local business opportunities.management will closely match the state’s What economic growth would you like to seemanagement strategy for the past couple of happen?years, allowing continued development on l Healthy growth is occurring in Iron Countyprivately-owned property with minimal as Southern Utah University continues to growobstruction. We are encouraged by the federal and as new residents continue to move here forgovernment’s new direction. We hope to see the various reasons. We would like to see continuedspecies delisted as an endangered species. growth in each of our business cluster areas toWhat opportunities would you like to take help balance this growth.advantage of? Are you interested in short-term recruitmentl The Cedar City Chamber of Commerce is or expansion?initiating its Vision 2050 program, including Iron l We are more interested in long-term projects,County, Cedar City, Southern Utah University, and though the promise of more utility-scale solar willother community entities, both private and bring with it short-term expansion in thepublic, to coordinate vision and strategic construction of these projects. This has proven toplanning. The Chamber is currently exploring be beneficial over the past several years.Envision Utah’s process to guide this planning.

Page 23 Iron County Strategic Plan 2018 LOCAL BUSINESS EXPANSION & RETENTION l Development of local incentives matrix facilitated by EDCUtah. l Development of Iron County Export Plan per World Trade Center Utah specifications.MANUFACTURINGRENEWABLE l Creation of Appaloosa 1 Solar Incentive. ENERGY l Initiation of new First Solar Project Area Plan. l Completed standardized administration program for all CDA/CRA Project Areas at county level.SMALL BUSINESS l Complete local BEAR strategy with SUU Business DEVELOPMENT Resource Center. l International Economic Development Council training on business expansion and retention in January, 2018. l Develop local incentive structure for Cedar City’s Coal Creek CRA Project Area to encourage job creation & community improvement.TOURISM l Cedar City Events – Tour of Utah, Haute Tour, Cedar City Half Marathon, etc. l Completion of Rural Tourism “How To” Conference in partnership with Cedar City – Brian Head Tourism Bureau and Cedar City Chamber of Commerce. RETAIL DEVELOPMENTl Completion of a new Iron county retail market study, in conjunction with EDCUtah and Southern Utah University.l Completion of Better City study and intial phase(s) of implementation In the Cedar City Historic Downtown.l Completion of NACo Creative Placemaking training and initial planning from this training.

Page 24 Iron County Strategic Plan 2018 NEW BUSINESS DEVELOPMENTMANUFACTURING l Complete Iron County Megasite Certification - Port 15 or Iron Springs Industrial Park. l Complete Economic Development Website Update with focus on: Available Property Search, Workforce Development, Transportation, Infrastructure, Incentives, etc. l Partnership with Washington County to work with First Solar to bring a new 200 MW utility-scale power plant to western Iron County’s southern boundary with Washington CountyRENEWABLE ENERGYSMALL BUSINESS l Initiation of Entry Point broadband program analysis. DEVELOPMENT l Establishment of relationships with Utah’s Silicon Slopes, Provo’s One Million Cups program, etc. l Partnership with Iron County’s “Tech Up” group to promote Iron County as a prime location for technology startup companies, using case studies of existing successful companies, and promoting our quality of life, quality of resources and quality of air. l Continued collaboration with the SUU Business Resource Center and the SUU Entrepreneurship Council in the annual Best Business competition and other small business endeavors.TOURISM l Expand involvement with the Utah Film Commission, including the creation of an Iron County Film Commission and the development of a website highlighting various locations and our collaborative efforts with the state.

Southern Utah University’scontinued growth has positivelyimpacted Iron County’s economyover the past two years. In March of2017, the state reported that SUUled the state’s universities in growthfrom 2015 to 2016 with a 13.6%increase in total enrollment .

Page 26 Iron County Strategic Plan 20185-YEAR VISION: 2023Population: Kem C. Gardner projections place Iron County’s population around 55,000–57,000 in the nextfive years (59,900 – 2025, Kem C. Gardner Research Brief 2017)Describe where you would like your county to agribusiness opportunities here could providebe economically five years from now. important new jobs.l We plan to see Iron County continue on our What kind of infrastructure and othercurrent trajectory of healthy, consistent growth enhancements is the county considering tothroughout the county, with balanced growth help with economic growth?within our core business clusters. We anticipate l The development of new water resourcesthat our aerospace opportunities within the from western Iron County and from the WahWahManufacturing/light industrial cluster will Valley are crucial to Iron County’s ability to grow.experience growth as the Syberjet program l New manufacturing projects will increase useprogresses, and as SUU expands into Aerospace of our rail infrastructure.Pathways Programs in concert with Southwest l The recently-completed 5700 West industrialTechnical College and the Iron County School belt route will make the I-15 exit 51 moreDistrict. appealing for development and will benefitWhat kind of mid-range opportunities exist industrial-zoned areas of the county and Cedarwithin your county that can help you achieve City. The future completion of the northernyour goals? portion of this corridor will be even morel The expansion of our Aerospace Pathways significant.Program and the availability of airport-adjacent l Increased utility-scale solar power projects areproperty creates numerous job-creation increasing the size of our local substations as well.opportunities. It is anticipated that more electrical transmissionl Megasite Certification will allow us to pursue and distribution infrastructure will continue tolarge-scale manufacturing opportunities. increase along with the growth of these projects.l The potential for new retail development in l The Cedar City Regional Airport is akey areas of the county should see movement tremendous resource to Iron County andwithin the next five years. continued airport improvements will open newl Rich Iron Ore deposits in Iron County are opportunities for growth and job creation.a resource still waiting to be tapped. New and l Development and expansion of trails systemsincreasing demands for iron will eventually play a will be very beneficial to the tourism & recreationrole in our growing economy. aspects of our economy. We anticipate increasedl Iron County’s agriculture sector has been key visitation to the county as these trails make theto our economy since settlement in 1851. New county a destination to a broader audience.

Page 27 Iron County Strategic Plan 201810-YEAR VISION: 2029Population: (71,687 – 2030, Governor’s Office of Planning & Budget, 2012 projections)Describe where you would like your county to we are Utah’s number one utility-scale solarbe economically five years from now. power producer.l If we achieve our plans to help create more l Agribusiness projects could grow to be moreprimary employment through business prominent in Iron County’s future.expansion and recruitment, then we anticipate What developments or land representthat the gap between the state’s average and strategic growth opportunities for the county?county’s average wage will be narrowing. l Port 15 Utah’s shovel-ready, rail-served 500l Iron County’s economic diversity, paired with acres is key to industrial growth, as is thenew jobs created in the next decade will neighboring Iron Springs Industrial area withstrengthen and stabilize our economy. 418 rail-served acres.l Increased population will also increase the l The 5700 West industrial belt route has directnumber of higher-paying health care professions I-15 access at Exit 51. This is beneficial to the Portin the county, helping to narrow the wage gap. 15 and surrounding industrial-zoned properties,Other primary employment will also spin off the and property along this corridor is valuable forgrowth in our target clusters, adding to our job business development. As the northern sectiondiversity. of this belt route is completed, more propertyWhat type of long term opportunities is your and new freeway access will become even morecounty working on? valuable at Exit 71 or at a new access between Exitl Creative collaboration between Iron County, its 62 and 71.communities, Southern Utah University, l Property near the Cedar City Regional AirportSouthwest Tech, the Cedar City Chamber of has strategic growth opportunity asCommerce, and state agencies, are helping us aerospace-related businesses become morefocus our strategies collectively. The Chamber’s involved in our educational pathways program inVision 2050 program will help these entities coor- Iron County. In particular, 100 acres to the northdinate planning into a shared vision. and west of the airport could providel The infrastructure plans mentioned in the growth opportunities.Five-Year Vision statement will need to l Interstate-15’s Exit 62 has nearly 100 acrescontinue throughout the coming decade. prime for retail development.l Innovations in solar electricity storage anddistribution could dramatically change the worldwithin the next decade. Iron County’s embracingof these technologies could be very beneficial as



Page 29 Iron County Strategic Plan 2018IRON COUNTYINCENTIVE STRATEGYIron County’s strategy or philosophy with regard Head, and other parts of the county to encourageto offering incentive opportunities is pro-active. new job creation and investment in the area.As we plan for new business recruitment, localbusiness expansion and retention efforts, NEW EDTIF MATRIXrenewable energy and tourism opportunities,we plan to utilize all the national, state and local The Cedar City – Iron County Economicincentive tools that are available in order to pro- Development Committee will meet with expertsmote continued, healthy growth. We view these from the Economic Development Corporation ofincentives as a way to help us be more relevant Utah in early 2018 to create a new matrix to steerin the extremely competitive world of economic the creation of local EDTIF incentives. We havedevelopment. We understand that our commu- created a number of project areas and incentivesnity’s economic health is sustained and improved in the past, but each of these have beenby seeking healthy growth by emphasizing our negotiated on a case-by-case basis. A newcounty’s strengths and assets and by creating matrix will allow us to more accurately plan forother incentives to encourage investment here. local incentives based on new job creation, wage levels and capital investment.PROJECT AREAS OTHER INCENTIVESIron County has utilized the creation of local Iron County has been designated as a recyclingproject areas to create incentives from new market development zone and the qualifyingproperty tax increment for numerous projets. parts of the county are also designated as anEach of our utility-scale solar projects were built enterprise zone. We use these designations,with the creation of a dozen project areas and whenever possible, to help companies wherelocal incentives of up to 70% of new increment applicable. We also work very closely with GOEDfor up to 15 years, depending on the size of the and EDCUtah in the creation of EDTIF tax creditproject. We have found that these incentives were incentives at the state level as an economiccrucial to make these solar projects happen. The development tool. As was previously mentioned,County, and our local taxing entities, are willing the Rural Fast Track Grant is also an effectiveto consider these kinds of incentives if there is tool that we have used a number of times in Ironsignificant capital investment in the county and County to help companies to grow and createbased upon job creation. Project areas and local new jobs. Currently, all of Iron County with Cedarincentive programs also exist in Cedar City, Brian City exempted, qualifies for this program.

Page 30 Iron County Strategic Plan 2018REACHING OURGOALSHOW THE STATE CAN HELP US REACH THEM01 LEADERSHIP & ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT TRAININGThe Cedar City – Iron County Office of Economic Development and our local elected officials couldbenefit from training in economic development principles, practices, resources, data, demographics,and opportunities. Topics of interest could include Utah redevelopment law, Utah incentives, federalprograms, state agency programs, educational resources and public finance tools. At the very least, itwould be helpful to receive education about GOED’s programs, including: l EDTIF Tax Credit l Enterprise Zones l Industrial Assistance Fund l Life Science & Technology Tax Credits l Recycling Market Development Zones l Rural Fast Track l Utah High Cost Infrastructure Tax Credit l Utah New Market Tax Credit02 INCREASE ENTREPRENEURSHIP & BUSINESS RESOURCE CENTER SUPPORTUp to 90% of new rural job creation comes from expansion of existing local businesses, and from localstartup businesses. Support resources for business startups and expansions need to be significantlyenhanced and assistance provided for developing entrepreneurial communities and networks.Business Resource Centers and Business Incubators can be important catalysts for new businessstartups, and have a proven track record of helping existing businesses grow and expand.03 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY JOB PARTNERSHIPS & IT PATHWAYS TRAININGMany Information Technology jobs can be performed from Iron County locations that have sufficientbroadband capacity. A major effort should be initiated to engage Utah’s vibrant IT cluster/SiliconSlopes businesses in partnering with the State to place IT jobs in rural areas of the state. Because thiswill require a trained rural workforce, it is also imperative that the State’s new Information TechnologyPathways program has a strong rural focus, with a goal of delivering world-class computer coding andother IT classes to every rural Utah grade school, middle school, and high school (and it can bedelivered at minimal cost online).

Page 31 Iron County Strategic Plan 201804 FUNDING FOR RURAL FAST TRACK & BEARThe Rural Fast Track (RFT) grant funds and BEAR funds are almost depleted because they are a setpercentage of the Industrial Assistance Fund (IAF) account, which hasn’t been replenished since 2014.It is critical that RFT and BEAR be removed from the IAF, and receive dedicated line-item funding toensure their ongoing viability. It is also preferable that RFT and BEAR have separate funding lines, ratherthan being combined. The RFT program needs approximately $2.5 million of annual ongoing fundingto maintain its current usage level, and BEAR needs approximately $350,000 to $400,000 per year.05 CREATE A RURAL EDTIF INCENTIVE THAT INCLUDES INFRASTRUCTURE DEVELOPMENTOf course, this proposed change would be without adversely affecting the existing EDTIF IncentiveProgram, which has benefited multiple projects in Iron County. The State should explore the possibilityof a rural incentive that could combine or blend the High Cost Infrastructure Tax Credit incentive witha rural EDTIF incentive to address both operational and infrastructure costs of a business locating in arural setting. Water resource development is especially crucial in Iron County.06 REVISIT THIRD CLASS COUNTY QUALITFICATIONS FOR RURAL FAST TRACK GRANTSOne of Iron County’s greatest economic challenges is our county’s low wages. Our average monthlyhousehold income is currently less than 70% of the state’s average wage and that gap continues towiden. Because Cedar City’s population is over 20,000, businesses in the city cannot qualify for RuralFast Track Grants. Our greatest potential for primary job creation in Iron County is within Cedar City’sboundaries. By allowing RFT Grants in the Cedar City boundaries, it would encourage businesses tooffer higher-paying jobs in an area where the majority of our population resides, and help us to begin tonarrow the overall wage gap in Iron County.07 MARKET IRON COUNTY TO WASATCH FRONT BUSINESSESThere is great potential for Wasatch Front businesses to expand their operations through satelliteoperations in Iron County. The State could develop a marketing strategy that targets Wasatch Frontbusinesses and highlights the advantages of doing business in a rural community. Additionally, anincentive package should be developed, specifically targeting Utah businesses. As part of this incentivepackage, consideration should be given to modifying Rural Fast Track Grants so they could be used tocover the moving and startup costs of Utah businesses that expand to a rural location.

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