CACHE COUNTY – While reserving their final approval, the members of the Cache County Council seemed favorably disposed toward supporting a proposed inland port authority project in the area of Hyde Park.
At their regular meeting on Aug. 27, the council members welcomed Hyde Park Mayor Bryan Cox who explained the tentative plan for the development proposal.
“Our city council has voted to approve a resolution to enter into discussions with the (state) Inland Port Authority,” Cox said.
The ultimate goal of those discussions is to investigate the possibility of creating an inland port development area in Hyde Park and on adjacent land north of the Logan-Cache Airport, which is now an unincorporated county area. That land also has access to railroad facilities and other elements needed to create “a good corridor” for economic development, according to Cox.
The agreement that Cox was seeking from county officials was their conditional approval of the future annexation of that unincorporated area into Hyde Park, which already has water and sewer infrastructure in place to support its development.
That proposal was strongly supported by county council member Mark Hurd, who said that he had already discussed the development concept with Cox and Shawn Milne, the economic development director for the Bear River Association of Governments.
The Utah Inland Port Authority (UIPA) is a state agency that aims to improve Utah’s logistics infrastructure and to make the state a more competitive player in the global economy.
The UIPA’s goals include encouraging domestic economic growth, improving Utah quality of life, developing global industries, expanding new job opportunities and creating sustainable logistics solutions.
The advantage of partnering with UIPA for Hyde Park and county property owners, Cox explained, would be that they would enjoy certain economic benefits and incentives when making the choice to join development efforts.
“They wouldn’t have to use those tools, but they would be available to them,” he added. “We would just like to have that recognized by the county council.”
Cox also pointed out that being adjacent to an inland port development area could have the potential to make the Logan-Cache Airport more profitable.
Later in the discussion, county council chair David Erickson – with tongue firmly in cheek – mildly asked if the Hyde Park City Council would be interested in annexing the entirety of the Logan-Cache Airport.
“You wish!” Cox exclaimed, prompting laughter from the council members who are already dealing with the economic headaches associated with operating the regional airport along with Logan City.
Ultimately, the members of the county council declined to take any action on the inland port proposal until Hyde Park officials could provide additional details about their plan, including boundary maps for the proposed area.