Towns need more homes to attract businesses and more businesses to support new homes and necessary city services, and this proves to be a difficult cycle to break.

Growth throughout the southern parts of Utah County -- now the fastest growing county in the state -- is causing cities to take a look at the ways they attract and keep businesses in town.

"We don't want to have to travel outside our town to get goods and services," said Spanish Fork Mayor Joe Thomas.

Thomas said Spanish Fork has been working consistently to bring business into the city. He believes the city has been more successful than others in the area when it comes to making deals for new development.

Bob Bradshaw, Mapleton's city administrator, said a number of factors limit his city's ability to bring in the businesses that would sustain its growth. One of those factors is that many of the city's residents moved there because of the small town atmosphere and don't necessarily want big businesses moving in.

"It will one day be viable," he said. "But it's a struggle to compete with the likes of Springville and Spanish Fork."

Bringing businesses into the city is important to provide jobs for its residents, said Jim Robson, a regional economist with the Utah Department of Workforce Services. Approximately 17 percent of Utah County residents commute to other counties for work, and even more commute to other cities within the county, he said.

All business is important, he said, but the size and type of business needed in a community varies based on the city.

Small Businesses

For many towns in southern Utah County, large businesses are somewhat out of reach. Bradshaw said there is not much Mapleton can do to attract a national business to town.

Regardless of the number of households in a city, however, the town can always start small. While small businesses do not provide the revenue of a large chain, they are still vital to a city economy.

Spanish Fork is working hard to attract businesses like Home Depot, Thomas said, but the city also recognizes the need for smaller businesses and tries to help them succeed, but it is difficult.

"There are very few tools you can use for the small business," he said.

One of the benefits Spanish Fork provides to small businesses is cheaper advertising, Thomas said. Small businesses will be given a discounted rate to advertise on the new North Park billboard simply because they are small and need more help.

The city is also putting together a free book for residents with every business in town described inside. It is important to look after small businesses so they survive when large companies move in.

"We need the good jobs they provide," he said. "We need the shopping and the services they provide."

Gary Hansen, who along with Brian Peterson owns Utah Helicopter in Spanish Fork, said an advertising incentive is important to his business. Up to this point, advertising has been effective for the company, but expensive.

"If we have the opportunity to take advantage of cheaper advertising, we're certainly going to take it," he said.

Hansen said the small town aspect of Spanish Fork was an appeal for Utah Helicopter. The flight school makes use of the non-towered Spanish Fork-Springville airport, which makes it easier for instructors.

"For us to be able to do the training that we do, it makes it nice for us to do all the maneuvers that we want to do here," he said.

Hansen said a good way for cities to attract businesses, large and small, is to take notice of every business that tries to set up shop. Customer service is always the key, he said, even when the customer is a company.

Bradshaw said Mapleton is mainly made up of small, locally owned businesses. There isn't much the city can do to lure businesses in, but Bradshaw said the City Council tries to make the process smooth for owners.

"We don't offer any financial inducements, but we try to adopt a very sympathetic approach in granting their conditional use permit," he said.

An incentive Spanish Fork can offer to small incoming businesses is a low power rate. The city is a member of the Utah Municipal Power Agency, which means it owns part of the power, Thomas said. Because of that, the city has lower power rates than some of its neighboring cities, he said, which is a benefit for a new business. For a small company that might not be able to afford to build in Spanish Fork, the business can borrow money from the city and pay it back with a slightly higher power rate.

"It equates to some inexpensive financing for them," he said.

Big Businesses

Drawing in large, lucrative companies is a difficult task for any city, let alone southern Utah County towns that compete with the Provo-Orem conglomerate.

Thomas said he believes his city has done well when it comes to drawing in companies. He cited the new North Park development, and he said the city plans to be a major retail hub for years to come.

Although some of the success may go to efforts by the city, Thomas admitted the location of the city is fortuitous.

"The Highway 6 and I-15 meeting is unique," he said. "It's just the right spot. At the end of the day, they go where the geography is."

While some, like Spanish Fork, feel they are succeeding, others, like Mapleton, have few options.

"The big businesses, they apply a template every time," Bradshaw said. "How many rooftopsfi We've got 2,000, and that's the end of the conversation."

Mapleton has a problem bringing in business because of its low population, but also because of geography. Large retailers have done market research that shows traffic from nearby Highway 6 goes either to Spanish Fork or to Interstate 15, bypassing Mapleton, Bradshaw said.

The location of a city and its proximity to a highway is critical, Robson said, because workers and patrons alike need easy access. While some workers will be local, problems arise for commuters.

"Workers that work at a business center have to be able to get there," Robson said. "Where you have a light rail and things like that, business centers tend to build by the stations."

Bradshaw said Fred Meyer, Smith's and Macey's have all looked at moving into Mapleton, but decided the town is too far from the freeway. However, a developer has bought land and gone through all the necessary work through the city to build a 30,600-square-foot strip mall in Mapleton.

"They've just taken a complete leap of faith," Bradshaw said.

The strip mall, Mapleton Village Plaza, will have a Hogi Yogi, a pet grooming store and other small shops. Mark Behnen, owner and developer of the plaza, said he has done several similar strip malls, but none in a location as small as Mapleton.

"There is always a little leap of faith," he said. "To a certain degree there always is."

Behnen said although Mapleton is small, he is confident the plaza will have success in the town. When it comes to the low number of homes in the community, Behnen isn't concerned.

"I think that it's kind of an upscale community and it's growing," he said. "There's not that many rooftops, but I think what's there can support it."

An important aspect when constructing such a complex, Behnen said, is the tenants the developer chooses to set up shop. The key to the Mapleton Village Plaza will be its specialty shops.

The plaza also will have an ice cream shop, a bakery and hopefully upscale Mexican and Italian restaurants, Behnen said. These shops will not only have Mapleton patrons, but also by those in surrounding communities of Springville and Spanish Fork.

"I would drive 5 miles to a bakery I thought was special," he said. "I investigate my tenants very well."

Robson said the plaza is a good business for Mapleton because its small shops can serve the local community and transportation will not be an issue.

"Those are the kinds of small retail establishments you can find almost anywhere," he said.

Although the stores are not part of a large chain, Bradshaw said the strip mall is an important step in the right direction. A large store is an anchor in a town that can give large businesses confidence.

"Once they see a main store, an anchor in the area, it has a magnet affect," he said.

Springville Mayor Gene Mangum said his town faces a similar rooftop problem as Mapleton. Springville does not have nearly as many residents as Provo.

Another difficulty the city has in trying to attract large companies is the lack of available land.

"We don't own any property we can put them in," Mangum said. "We don't have that asset, so we have to wait for private property owners to sell."

Although Springville does not currently have space for the large business it needs, Mangum said the city is actively involved in trying to attract business and is working to ensure its infrastructure could support new retailers.

"We're making sure we have all the facilities available so when they do come they're well served," he said.

Robson said building up a city's infrastructure is an important way every city can provide incentives to large businesses. It is important to make improvements within the city to be more accessible to businesses.

"If businesses come and they find that you have the infrastructure in place, it looks a lot better for them," he said.

Robson said large box companies like Wal-Mart and Home Depot carefully study the market and place another link in the chain where they believe it will have the most customers. A large company may well locate in a very small town in order to create space from one of its other stores and cover it's entire market.

"Those guys are always looking at their market areas and how they're best served," he said.

Despite the challenges in attracting companies, Robson said bringing them in is simply a waiting game. Cities should work with economic developers to decide how best to approach growth in the area.

Utah County is the fastest growing county in the state, with population pushing out from metropolitan areas into surrounding cities. Companies will eventually follow expanding communities.

"As these surrounding communities grow in population, they will have more business," Robson said.