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Show f r 8 - f ' f7-& ; nriSv- j 1 V.. V. 1 1 .. . " V 7 n r.--' ! ill '''J'"';.. ' " ''" ""5 ... ' ' f 1 1 1-III s - f , : i -. .. .r.? . ' jr:--r- i. ft 'hr, . 1 1 '. i , L'- u. -v- t ........ Economic Development Director Don Hoffman points out proven coal reserves in northern Grand County, which are being eyed by the Economic Development Committee for future development. Studying the map are, left to right, Winford Bunce, Don Hoffman, Sam Taylor, Ray Branscom, and Ken Beach. After Six Months of Operation m Grand County, Economic Dev. las ftlsn y irons m the Fire After six months on the job, Don Hoffman, Economic Econ-omic Development Director, Direct-or, reported this week on progress made by him and the Economic Development Committee on meeting some of the goals which have been set forth to bring economic boosts to Grand County. First on the list is the proposed water shed project pro-ject on Mill Creek. This was given top priority by the Committee early in their meetings. Hoffman reported two weeks ago on the project's progress which included meeting with members of the Utah Division of Water Resources, the Army Corps of Engineers, Bureau of Reclamation, Soil Conservation Conser-vation Service, Soil Conservation Con-servation District, Four Corners Regional Commis sion, Utah State Planning Office and many other agencies and organizations over the months. He has. also carried on extensive correspondense with Utah's congressional delegation and governor in which he has . asked their help on the project and kept then posted on progress made by his office. As part of their collection collec-tion of data to help present pre-sent Moab's case in the project, the committee went to St. George where ' they became acquainted with the ways in which the building, of the Gunlock Reservoir Project were carried out. State Leadership Present status of the project is under the leadership lead-ership of the State of Utah which is acting as coordinator coord-inator for the project between be-tween Grand County and the Army Corps Of Engineers. Engin-eers. At this time the Corps is updating previous studies which have been made by them and the State will bring in other agencies as the need arises. aris-es. The County is in the process of creating a water wat-er conservancy district to act as the local agency Jn the project. Between now and July, the Corps will be spending $16,000 in their review of the old information informa-tion which has been gath-ere'l. gath-ere'l. They will then determine determ-ine whether or not this information in-formation seems to justify justi-fy moving ahead with a feasibility study into the construction. Hoffman in- dicated that at this time, j feelings are that the res' re-s' suits of the study will i bring this feasibility study into being. I Lay Ground Work ij Before beginning operations opera-tions in bringing new industry in-dustry and business into the County, Hoffman work- ed to lay a ground work f.with leaders in the industrial indus-trial promotion industry f across the state. He met ; with such organizations as Pro-Utah, for which he was just appointed an area representative, the Utah Division of Industrial Promotion, Pro-motion, the Employment Development Division of the Department of Employment Employ-ment Security and now feels that he has a working work-ing relation with these organizations or-ganizations which will aid in cooperation in bringing bring-ing industry to the area. He has also been working with the Utah-IDE A or-, ganization (Industrial development de-velopment Executive Association) As-sociation) which will be meeting here this weekend. Advertising Campaign Part of the program conducted by the Econ-i Econ-i omic Development Committee Commit-tee has been an advertising advertis-ing program which has consisted of getting set up and running ads in the three major needle trade magazines for October and November inviting sewing sew-ing companies to locate In this area. His office has mailed about 1000 letters and brochures inviting industry in-dustry into the area. Two hundred of the mailings have gone to Utah manufacturers, manu-facturers, and the remain- I - i Even though he has been on the job only a short time, Don Hoffman, Economic Development Director has many irons in the fire and several very good possibilities for improving economic conditions in Grand County. w ing eight hundred have been sent to members of light industry. Also included in the advertising ad-vertising campaign has been the erection of the sign on the north end of town which invites manufacturers manu-facturers to locate in Grand County and directs them to Hoffman's office for more information. In the transportation industry. in-dustry. Hoffman has worked work-ed on both air and bus service into the County. He has met with the Utah Agencies and requested assistance in opposing the application by Frontier Airlines to cut service to Canyonlands Field. He has also testified in the Senate Sen-ate Aviation sUb-commit-tee hearings which were chairmaned by Sen. Frank E. Moss in Salt Lake City. This testimony pointed out the poor scheduling which has been given this area since 1968 and requested increased subsidies for local service carriers to alleviate the situation. Improve Bus Service Hoffman has been working work-ing to improve bus service ser-vice into the area and is hopeful that soon some changes will be made in current schedules into Moab and that improved bus service will soon be a reality. Earlier this jear, Hoffman Hoff-man served to coordinate meetings between the Ec-' onomic Development Committee, Com-mittee, the Moab Area Development, De-velopment, Inc., a local organization or-ganization to assist new business in the area, and assisted in the formation of a local manufacturing firm, Carroll Bows. Presently the Committee Commit-tee and Hoffman are involved in-volved in determining whether whe-ther or not a ski complex in the LaSal Mountains is feasible. Negotiations are now going on with various groups to conduct this feasibility study and application ap-plication has been made to the Four Corners Regional Reg-ional Commission for funds to conduct the study. Road Construction Permission has been obtained ob-tained from the BLM and National Forest Service to have the Utah National Guard Construction Engineers En-gineers Batallion look into the Trough Canyon road project and the LaSal Mountain Loop Road project pro-ject to determine if the National Guard could do the construction work o the two roads. Trough Canyon would connect Cane Springs road with the Hatch Point area road to make a loop around ar-ound that way, and the Loop Road would be widened wid-ened the remaining 10 miles to the junction with the Pack Creek road. Hoffman Hoff-man indicated that National Nat-ional Guard personnel should be in the area soon to look at the two projects. pro-jects. Book Cliffs Coal . In the past few days, the Committee has picked up the possibility of mining min-ing coal in the Book Cliffs coal field area in northern north-ern Grand County. Increased In-creased emphasis on re-, moval of air pollution from burning coal for power plants and other uses has made the idea of mining the known deposits of coal in the Book Cliffs look much brighter. This coal is very low in sulphur content con-tent and is in demand at this time "since it is a much cleaner fuel and does not emit as much sulphur dioxide when ignited. ig-nited. The Committee meets each Thursday morning for breakfast, and discusses discus-ses progress made durnig the past few days. They then decide whether or not to pursue ideas and continue to establish policy pol-icy and direction. Appointed Appoint-ed by the County Commission, Com-mission, it consists of Ken Beach, chairman ; Winford Bunce, D. L. Taylor, Don Knowles, K. E. McDoug-ald, McDoug-ald, Ray Branscom and Sam Taylor. |