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MILFORD, Beaver County — The Utah Inland Port Authority continues to expand its reach into rural areas of the state.
The port authority's board of directors on Wednesday voted unanimously to approve the Mineral Mountains Project Area in Beaver County. For elected officials and community members alike, the project area signifies a way to create jobs and improve the economic outlook of a county that has experienced booms and busts.
"We struggle, we do great, we struggle," Beaver County Commissioner Tammy Pearson said. "But our roots run deep and we're determined to raise our families here. Our most precious resource is our kids and we're usually exporting. The opportunity to participate with the Inland Port Authority is an opportunity to import our kids back and bring our families back."
Others who spoke said they sometimes feel places like Beaver County and rural Utah, in general, are afterthoughts when it comes to economic development throughout the state. This feeling is one of the reasons that Ben Hart took the job as executive director of the Utah Inland Port Authority, he told KSL.com.
"When Smithfield (Food) left Beaver County, that was a significant happening not just in Beaver County, but there was a lot of ripple effect," Hart said. "I think we realized, as a state, we've got to do more to support our rural communities."
To Hart, the port authority has the ability to have a boots-on-the-ground, palpable impact on communities by reinvesting and attracting new companies to the area.
While everyone at Wednesday's meeting spoke in favor of a project area in Beaver County, they were also adamant about what kind of growth they want to see. Places like Utah County and other areas along the Wasatch Front have experienced rapid growth over the past few years, something that Beaver County doesn't want and likely couldn't handle if it were to happen.
"They're not looking for 1,000 new jobs or 4,000 new people moving in, they're just looking to make sure that they've got jobs for the people that are currently in the county and to keep their kids and grandkids there and that's exactly what we're hoping to achieve," Hart said. "They really just need enough jobs to ensure that their economy is going to keep growing."
The Mineral Mountains Project Area has several zones under construction — including in Milford, Beaver, Minersville and Milford Flats — making up a total area of approximately 19,820 acres.
Hart said the property tax differentials received by the port for the 25 years that the project area is expected to be around is approximately $40 million — which will be reinvested into the local community through recruiting and growing businesses along with improving regional infrastructure.
"When you talk about reinvestment back into the community, that can make a huge difference. That's our hope, is that we can synergize all of this investment, create good jobs for the community and I think what we saw with the announcement with Fervo (Energy) which will be in the project area, is that we've got a great start," Hart said.
Texas-based Fervo Energy announced in late September the world's largest next-generation geothermal energy project that will deliver 400 megawatts of 24/7 carbon-free electricity.
As far as a job infusion for Beaver County, Hart estimated it could be in the range of 400 to 500 new jobs created by the project area.
Despite the local support behind the Mineral Mountains Project Area in particular, a common critique of the port authority has been the rate at which it's establishing new project areas. However, Hart pushed back against these sentiments.
"We're not growing too fast. I would say these people are incredibly misinformed and don't understand the need not only in rural Utah, but also in more urban and suburban parts of the state to ensure that we're growing smart," Hart said. "Part of our charge is how do we take trucks off the road and how do we take carbon emissions out of the air?
"We're absolutely interested in making this state a much better place to live for our citizens from an environmental standpoint and an economic standpoint."
