Harrison Epstein, Daily Herald

Using different language, everyone was on the same message. Business, government, education leaders and more gathered at Utah Valley University on Thursday for the first annual Utah Valley Growth and Prosperity Summit and all were optimistic, in their own ways, about the future of the area.

Individual sessions regarding public policies were done throughout the morning, culminating in the afternoon “Fireside Chat” with Gov. Spencer Cox, former Gov. Gary Herbert and Utah Governor’s Office of Economic Opportunity Executive Director Dan Hemmert. In attendance were dozens of others from the business, political and nonprofit communities from the valley.

The trio, who were led in discussion by Curtis Blair, the president and CEO of the Utah Valley Chamber of Commerce, discussed what has made Utah successful and where there’s still room to grow.

When talking about the position of Utah on a national scale, Cox brought up the 1992 gubernatorial election in the state, which he said focused on what can be improved. Now he feels Utah is near the top of the list in quality of life and discussions can focus on what should be even better.

“The unemployment rate right now in Utah County is 1.8%,” Cox said. “That’s incredible. If you don’t have a job, you don’t want a job.”

Harrison Epstein, Daily Herald

The statewide unemployment rate is now at 2.6%, according to the Utah Department of Workforce Services. An influx of jobs has come to the county, particularly along Silicon Slopes, under the tenures of the two governors. This increase in high-paying tech jobs has led to issues surrounding affordable housing, according to Hemmert.

“We still have aversions to multifamily housing, for example, some cultural aversions to some things that, I guess, we can either plan for and manage as communities or they’ll just happen to us. I hope as communities down here that we choose to recognize growth is here, it’s coming, it’s remaining,” he said. “We need to plan for that growth, not fight against it. It’s coming whether we want it or not.”

Discussions of housing were not left to the members of the state’s executive leadership; the panel discussion on the economic outlook brought it into play as well.

Ryan Schill, a professor of marketing and entrepreneurship at UVU, brought up that a lack of housing options would stifle economic growth possibilities.

“If I were graduating today from college, I’d be scared to death. Like, where am I going to live? Anybody who bought in 1980, it’s worked out. But how can we deny that for everybody else who wants to live here?” Schill asked to his fellow panelists.

Harrison Epstein, Daily Herald

He implored them, and the rest of the attendees, to consider the voices unheard in public discussions surrounding issues that could affect them over time. Multiple people raised the point that having job openings and community-based programs, like churches and nonprofits, are great, but that a place to live is still vital. Hemmert and Cox both hope to see this economic and community growth occurring in urban and rural parts of the state.

“What Utah County has created, and this is over generations, is momentum,” Bill Lee, Utah County commissioner, said during the economic outlook panel.

Plenty of that growth in the past decade has been felt in Vineyard, who’s mayor, Julie Fullmer, spoke on the panel for transportation and infrastructure. The group, which included elected officials and transportation experts, spent time to discuss the merits and possibilities of the bus rapid transit system and other types of public transport. For Fullmer, the spirit of collaboration among parties is something she hopes to bring back to her city.

“What we’re bringing outside of Vineyard and together as a region, and why this is so critical to Vineyard, is we sit at the nexus point for transportation for northern Utah County,” she said.

Fullmer added that the position of the city makes it a transportation hub between the state roads, Interstate 15 exits, the Vineyard Connector, the FrontRunner station that will be right in downtown near Utah Lake, the Trax line, UVX and more.

Harrison Epstein, Daily Herald

Overall, the tone of the summit was optimistic. A wide-angle look at the county, and state, brought plenty of ideas and opinions. Few, though, have as much experience dealing with a little bit of everything everywhere like Herbert. While governing the state over a period of growth, there were still things he missed out on doing while in office.

For the final year of his tenure, which was plagued by COVID-19, he had hoped to meet more with students around the state and build additional international trade relationships. He also decried the divisiveness that came out of the pandemic and the public response to it.

“Rational thought was the first casualty, and people that have had vaccines all their life are all of a sudden not going to get this vaccine. I always felt that was a little bit of a surprise,” he said. “People weaponizing the pandemic as opposed to us all saying this is a health issue — that ought to unite us, not divide us.”

In the end, Herbert is supportive of his former lieutenant governor and the work being done in the state. During the chat, Cox joked about the difficulties in moving in a new direction when you’re “number one” and, taking into account the other conversations had throughout the day, there are plenty of paths that can be taken.

Utah County Commissioner Bill Lee takes part in the Utah Valley Growth and Prosperity Summit at Utah Valley University on Thursday, Oct. 28, 2021.

From left, Michelle Carroll, Kay Christofferson, Julie Fullmer and Mary Schaefer discuss transportation during the Utah Valley Growth and Prosperity Summit at Utah Valley University on Thursday, Oct. 28, 2021.

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