The Wyoming State Loans and Investments Board awarded a $50,000 grant to Sweetwater County last week to help the county create a plan to attract industrial development near the Southwest Wyoming Regional Airport east of Rock Springs.
The grant will cover one third of the anticipated cost, while the county and the Green River and Rock Springs councils are pledging to split the other $100,000 needed for the plan. Krisena Marchal, grants coordinator for the county, said the plan the grant will help fund is important to the county’s future.
“It’s the foundation of what’s to come in Sweetwater County,” she said. “This is being proactive about economic development.”
The grant request received a recommendation for approval by the SLIB’s staff prior to the board’s meeting in Cheyenne Thursday. Eric Bingham, director of the Sweetwater County Land Use Department, said the grant application was supported by SLIB due to the amount of planning and work the county has already accomplished.
“(SLIB) always gets concerned if someone has no plan to move forward,” Bingham said.
SLIB is made up of Gov. Mark Gordon, Secretary of State Ed Buchanan, State Auditor Kristi Racines, Treasurer Curt Meier and Superintendent of Public Instruction Jillian Balow.
The grant and eventual industrial plan are the latest steps in a bit to create an industrial complex near the airport in an attempt to stabilize the boom-bust economy Sweetwater County is accustomed to. The plan will address two key areas: a market analysis of potential industries the area could support and an analysis of the infrastructure needed to support industrial uses.
According to a memo from Rebecca Briesmaster, the Wyoming Business Council’s South Central Regional Director, included in the application, a committee formed two years ago consisting of representatives from Green River, Rock Springs, the county and area economic development organizations are seeking a major economic development project for the county.
The group examined 10 potential locations for an industrial site, including the Granger area, Jim Bridger Power Plant area, and the trona patch. Of those locations, a 15,000-acre area the group refers to as the Middle Baxter Area was selected as the best location for the type of industrial development they were seeking. The land is divided in checkerboard pattern between land managed by the Bureau of Land Management and sections owned by the Rock Springs Grazing Association. The land was recently rezoned to support industrial uses.
After the site was selected, the county worked with graduate students from the University of Wyoming’s College of Business to evaluate the socioeconomic attributes of the site.
Bingham said it will likely be several months before the request for proposal process is completed.
“This isn’t a sprint, it’s a marathon,” Bingham said.
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