Davis council hopes to spark business

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LAYTON -- How Davis County's business opportunities line up in the future could depend partially on a county advisory council.

The Davis Economic Advisory Council, which consists of about 40 business and civic leaders, met recently to discuss seven objectives, which include bringing higher-paying jobs into the county.

All the members are volunteers, said council Chairman Brad Wilson, who is with Destination Homes.

"The whole objective of DEAC is to start being more thoughtful and proactive about economic development in Davis County," he said.

The council was formed to advise the Davis County Council of Governments on the progress of strategy goals outlined in two studies last year. It does not replace any city's planning commissions and cannot change any zoning ordinances.

The council is organizing seven subadvisory councils, that will consist of a chairman and five to 10 members, Wilson said. About half the county's mayors have opted to serve on the councils.

"In my lifetime, the county will be built out," Wilson said. "There will be no land left for economic developments. We need to make excellent decisions on jobs and thoughtful planning on economic development."

The council is looking for business and civic leaders who have time to meet once a month for several hours to discuss the issues facing the county, said Kent Sulser, the county's economic development manager.

The subadvisory councils will report to the advisory council each month, and the advisory council will report monthly to COG, Sulser said.

Each council will address seven areas identified by the studies: retaining and expanding current businesses, attracting new businesses, creating new businesses, creating business park developments, increasing economic developments and improving the quality of life in the county.

The University of Utah Bureau of Economic and Business Research found, in its study, that in 2005, Davis County's wages dipped below the state average by 1 percent, Sulser said.

In 1999, the county's average wage was 4 percent above the state's average.

Now the council and its subadvisory committees are going to study ways to bring family-sustaining jobs, such as business parks, into the county.

The county has three business parks on its drawing boards. They are Falcon Hill Aerospace Research Park, which is planned for the west side of Hill Air Force Base; the East Gate project on the east side of the base; and a business park that takes up land in Syracuse, West Point and Clearfield.

"We want to develop workable neighborhoods and walkable neighborhoods," Sulser said. "We want our residents to work, live and play in the same community."

One of council's goals is to increase jobs in the county by a half-percent annually, he said.

"We want residents not to be commuting on the freeways, but be gainfully employed in the county."

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