The City Council is debating over land prices and potential residents for its sparsely populated business park, located just west of I-15 and north of 200 North.
After a brief discussion on Nov. 4, the council plans more debate on the issue at a special Nov. 25 work meeting."We're priced a little high," Mayor H. Arthur Johnson said of land inside the industrial part. Jensen RV is the only business to locate there in the past two years.
Councilman Robert Rees believes if the city were a private developer of such a business park, it would be out of business based on its conservative practices.
"I wonder if we're being too selective," he said.
He believes the city needs to produce a new brochure to sell the business park to potential residents.
Councilman Joe Hill said on several occasions he's been told by business owners that the city has priced the land too high.
Reed Nelson, another councilman, said the city has yet to really define what it wants in the business park.
He said the city could profit from new business revenue generated by tenants. He wants the council to decide what types of businesses it's trying to attract.
Rees said he doesn't believe the city has priced itself out of the market, but it has turned a lot of businesses down for apparent incompatibility.
Councilman Stephen Whitesides said the city has an obligation to the five businesses who have already located there since the park was opened four years ago.
Johnson believes some attractive signs at the business park entrances would help attract new tenants.
A previous City Council started the business park, hoping it would attract large electrical users and thus generate a good profit for the city's own power system. However, current council members now agree that won't happen.