Rural Utah seeks business – Right kind of infrastructure called key to luring firms to smaller cities

Doing business in rural Utah could mean having it all — clean air, open space, and a direct link to the rest of the world through the use of modern technology, Cedar City’s mayor said Friday at a rural summit.

"All those disadvantages of Cedar City will become huge advantages," Gerald Sherratt said during a discussion of rural Utah’s future and its enormous economic potential at the 18th Annual Utah Rural Summit at Southern Utah University.

While the Cedar City Council voted against financing the Utah Telecommunication Open Infrastructure Agency, or UTOPIA, Sherratt said the city still belongs to the 14-member coalition of cities. The group contracts with private companies for installation and provision of high-speed voice, video and data transmission services to its residents and businesses.

"Places like Brigham City (which is a finance partner in UTOPIA) will benefit financially from it, but at least Cedar City will have it," the mayor said.

The two-day rural summit attracted dozens of economic development officials and elected leaders from around the state. Breakout sessions included topics such as the pros and cons of big-box retailers, public land issues, tourism promotion and how to capitalize on individual economic strengths through business clusters.

Attracting new business to rural Utah really does depend on the ability to provide the right kind of infrastructure, said Rob Adams, economic development director for Beaver County.

"Over the last several years, we’ve responded to recruitment efforts, and we’ve had major problems," he said. "It’s the classic chicken-and-the-egg argument. We can’t extend the infrastructure without having someone to buy the gas, electricity and telecommunications already there, but we can’t attract new business without the infrastructure in place."

By Nancy Perkins
Deseret Morning News

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