More jobs, better roads top priorities in coming year in Davis County

With a median income higher than the Utah average and an unemployment rate lower than the national average, Davis County is continuing to recover from the recession, Commission Chairman John Petroff Jr. said Tuesday.

But he added, "Even though we are doing better than average, we still need to do better. And we will."

The state’s low tax rates have made the area a prime location for expansion, according to Petroff. He said the Davis Unified Economic Development Group — which includes county and city leaders, real estate agents and others in the financial field — helps in the effort by identifying sites for various types of projects.

He also praised the nearly 900 Davis County employees, saying they provide services efficiently and work hard to sharpen their skills by getting certifications or continuing their education. Many are considered experts in their fields, he said.

Facts and statistics provided by Petroff include:

• Davis County, which is made up of 15 cities and Hill Air Force Base, covers 304 square miles and had approximately 312,000 residents as of 2011.
• The estimated median household income in 2010 was $64,840 in Davis County and $54,740 in Utah.
• The county unemployment rate as of December was 5.2 percent, one of the lowest in the nation.

Petroff, who spoke for about 10 minutes, has posted more information about the state of the county on www.co.davis.ut.us/. Salt Lake Tribune

Olene Walker Housing Loan Fund Board Approves Funding for 497 Affordable Housing Units in Utah

The Olene Walker Housing Loan Fund Board approved $6,933,092 in low interest loans for housing projects throughout the state of Utah during a funding meeting held here on January 24.

Salt Lake County will be home to many of the approved projects, other projects will be constructed in Grand and Weber Counties. Department of Workforce Services

Fuel Your School Program Benefits Nearly 700,000 Students in Nine Communities across the U.S.

Chevron U.S.A. Inc. and DonorsChoose.org today announced that its Fuel Your School program funded $4.49 million, benefiting local classroom projects at 1,733 K-12 public schools across the country and impacting a total of 697,904 students in 2012.

Through Chevron's Fuel Your School program, 5,673 teachers in nine markets received critical classroom resources.

Through the Fuel Your School program, Chevron contributed $1 for purchases of eight or more gallons, up to a total contribution of nearly $5 million, between Oct. 1 and Oct. 31 at participating Chevron and Texaco stations in nine U.S. markets, including Salt Lake and Davis counties. In total, $4.49 million dollars were generated to benefit [nationwide] public school classroom projects posted on DonorsChoose.org.

The purpose of the Fuel Your School program is to help support and improve critical education programming and materials, particularly in the STEM subjects - science, technology, engineering and math - to help prepare students for the growing number of technical jobs in the modern economy, including possible engineering positions at Chevron. Market Watch

Council May Fund Ogden Canyon Pipeline Project with $6M Bond

Source: Standard Examiner

Ogden is considering issuing up to $6 million in bonds to pay for the remaining phase of the Ogden Canyon water pipeline project.

The city council voted Tuesday night to approve a resolution that sets the parameters for funding the bonds and sets a public hearing on the matter for Feb. 5.The bonds will not exceed $6 million, a 3.5 percent interest rate or a term of 25 years.

The state of Utah Department of Environmental Quality, Drinking Water Board has already offered to purchase the bonds. The city had previously issued $4 million in bonds to go toward the project.
The state drinking water board also agreed to purchase those bonds at an interest rate of 2.6 percent for a term of 20 years.

It is also expected that $13 million in bond funds will be requested in fiscal year 2014 to pay for the design and construction of a new water treatment plant near the eastern end of the canyon. The water line project began in early November. The city hired Brigham City-based Whitaker Construction for the $8 million project, which is expected to wrap up by April.

The 24-inch pipeline, nearly 100 years old, winds through Ogden Canyon and carries water from Pineview Reservoir to thousands of Ogden residents.

City officials say it’s a major water supply line to the city, but it’s in poor condition, and repairs just can’t be put off any longer.

Ogden City Engineer Justin Anderson said that when this project is finished, it will ensure continual water service for years to come. Standard Examiner

F-JM has majority interest in Maverik

FJ Management Inc., formerly known as Flying J, announced Thursday that it is acquiring a majority interest in Maverik Inc.

FJ Management and Maverik will operate independently with their current respective management teams.

Headquartered in Ogden, FJ Management is a diversified holding company with interests in petroleum refining, travel centers, transportation credit processing and TAB Bank, serving the commercial finance needs of small and medium businesses from coast to coast.

Maverik was founded by Reuel Call in Afton, Wyo., in 1928 and has grown to nearly 250 stores in 10 states to become the largest independent fuel marketer in the Intermountain West. Standard Examiner

Como Springs Hotel by the banks of Weber River?

Matthew Godfrey, Morgan City’s economic development consultant, is “very confident” he has found a developer who wants to build a hotel in the area.  However, Godfrey says a letter from the Morgan County Council supporting improvements along the banks of the Weber River near Como Springs and the county fairgrounds would go a long way in bringing a hotel project to fruition.

“I have two people who will build the hotel, people willing to invest in the community,” said Godfrey, who is not at liberty to release the names.  “They need to see the county’s commitment.”

Godfrey said that two studies to verify the economics of a hotel in other city locations “do not validate demand.”  However, a hotel in the Como Springs area has “tremendous potential,” he said. 

Godfrey, with Better City, presented a map of the Como Springs area complete with a 60-room hotel/reception area, hot springs pools, water slides, cable park for wake boarding and water skiing without a boat, small splash pad, volleyball court, picnic area, parking lot, RV park, campground, and snow tubing hill with a “magic carpet” lift. Godfrey said developers would like to start construction within a year.

A majority of the county council voiced support of the plan, but most want public input before they make formal approvals or dedicate money to the project.

Councilman Lyle Nelson said the county could dip into the $14,000 flood account money, as well as economic development funds. The item will be on the council’s Aug. 21 agenda. Morgan County News

Ogden approves $108,000 to promote airport, Allegiant Travel Company

With commercial flights scheduled to take off in September, the city is giving the Ogden-Hinckley Airport a little boost.

Earlier this week the city council voted to amend the city’s Outdoor  Recreation Company Assistance Program to allow money from the  program to be pushed to the airport and the Allegiant Travel Company,  who on Sept. 20 will begin commercial jet service between Ogden and  Phoenix, twice a week.

Specifically, the city will take $108,000 from its Business Promotion/Direct Marketing account and use it to provide matching funds for cooperative advertising between the city and Allegiant.

The ORCA program began in 2008 to recruit and provide assistance to outdoor companies moving to Ogden.

Under the new proposal, the name of the ORCA program will be changed to the Relocation Assistance Program. Standard Examiner

Hearings on impact fees in Davis County scheduled

Davis County and four cities that are part of the South Davis Metro Fire Agency are holding hearings next week to take public comment on a proposal to revise one-time impact fees for fire and emergency medical services.

The hearings are scheduled for Tuesday, Aug. 7. The county hearing will take place at 10 a.m. at the Davis County Memorial Courthouse, 28 E. State St. in Farmington. The other hearings are slated for 7 p.m. at City Hall in Centerville, 250 N. Main St.; North Salt Lake, 10 E. Center St.; West Bountiful, 550 N. 800 West; and Woods Cross, 1555 S. 800 West.

Click here to see the fire impact fee facilities plan and analysis. Salt Lake Tribune

Sallie Mae Bank Awards $90,000 in Utah Scholarships to Future Engineers, Nurses, Respiratory Therapists and Teachers

Sallie Mae, the nation's No. 1 financial services company specializing in education, today announced that its wholly owned subsidiary, Sallie Mae Bank, has awarded a total of $90,000 in scholarships, the largest award amount in its six-year history. The 21 undergraduate recipients are pursing engineering, nursing, respiratory therapy or teaching programs at a higher education institution in six Utah counties.

Since the scholarship program began in 2006, Sallie Mae Bank has awarded nearly $450,000 in scholarship assistance to students attending colleges in Cache, Davis, Salt Lake, Tooele, Utah and Weber counties. Recipients were required to submit a one-page essay detailing their educational goals. MarketWatch

Salt Lake and Ogden Receive $1.3 Million to Revitalize Contaminated Properties

At an event today along the North Temple corridor in Salt Lake City, Utah, U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency Regional Administrator Jim Martin presented the Mayors of Salt Lake City, Salt
Lake County and Ogden City with $1.3 million in grant awards to advance the assessment, cleanup
and redevelopment of properties. The grants are part of $69 million in EPA Brownfields funds
awarded to 245 communities nationally to advance property revitalization, job creation and
economic development.

"Salt Lake and Ogden have built a strong coalition that is taking a strategic approach to cleaning up
properties and opening new doors for investment and job creation," said EPA Regional
Administrator, Jim Martin. "These funds will not only protect public health by removing
contaminants like petroleum compounds, arsenic, and lead from urban neighborhoods, they will help
restore dozens of properties to productive use.” Environmental Protection

Utah doctors are making house calls — at work

When Futura Industries announced its plan for curbing health costs Jeanette Frandsen was skeptical. Today, she’s a living testament to the benefits of the latest trend in workplace wellness, the on-site medical clinic.

Were it not for a routine trip to Futura’s clinic in 2011, Frandsen might have put off her mammogram for another year, oblivious to the cancer growing in her right breast. Instead, she caught it early and was able to treat it surgically, sparing her the cost and painful side effects of radiation and chemotherapy.

The company doctor is on the march. Such practices dissolved mid-century, resurfacing in the ‘80s mostly to treat on-the-job injuries.

Now employers are staffing full-service clinics focused on wellness and prevention. And they’re popping up in settings as diverse as Clearfield-based Futura, a mid-sized aluminum extractor, Utah furniture retailer R.C. Willey and municipalities like Sandy city.

Convenient and low-priced, the clinics keep workers healthy and productive, say proponents. They also profit employers by providing care at a fraction of the cost charged by traditional family practices, specialists and hospital emergency rooms.

It won’t fix all that ails the nation’s bloated health system. But even skeptics, who worry about substandard care and employers having access to medical information that prejudices them against workers, say it holds promise.

Weber State University angling for $63 million science building

Although Weber’s College of Science long ago outgrew the building, officials had been fixated on securing funding to expand the Davis campus, which came through last year. Now they are turning their attention to the big lab building on the northeast corner of campus.

The proposed replacement vaulted to the top of the Board of Regents’ wish list for state funding, behind only the University of Utah’s long-standing $50 million request to upgrade its decrepit utilities lines. That the building holds STEM fields, education-speak for science, technology, engineering and math, probably helps its chances because lawmakers are very public in their desire to see more science and engineering students graduate from Utah universities. Salt Lake Tribune