Let me be the first to thank all who had a part in the Roy Days celebration: a wonderful series of events that unites our community. Well done!

Recently, the City signed an Inter-local Cooperation Agreement with the Military Installation Development Authority (MIDA) to provide municipal services type support to the northern portion of the Falcon Hill Project Area. This project area is on Hill AFB just south of the Air Force Museum in Weber County. Yes, we will be paid for the services the City is asked to provide. This new project area has been in work for a long time and will bring not only new, modern facilities but a significant number of good paying jobs within the vicinity of Roy. We are expecting to see financial benefits to our business district as hundreds of employees take advantage of our close proximity. Couple this with the 300,000 plus visitors each year to the museum, we are anticipating that Roy City businesses will flourish. More sales tax revenue promotes less property tax on residents. Already, Hill AFB provides billions of dollars annually in economic impact to the surrounding communities, and this additional development will provide even more. This will be a win-win opportunity as we work to continue anchoring the aerospace industry in northern Utah. It will be nice to have more high-paying jobs in Weber County, so that many of our residents don’t have to commute to Salt Lake every day.

There will be some challenges we will need to face as we embrace this new opportunity. Traffic congestion along 1900 west, 5600 south and the I-15 interchange will be the big ones. We are already working with UDOT on how to plan for this event. In addition, we are looking at ways to enhance business development and bring in more businesses. Modernizing our business district ordinances is key! Establishing Community Reinvestment Areas (CRAs) is key! Working through the Business Advisory Board recommendations is key! We must be competitive! We see some great things on the horizon, but we must manage and plan for the coming changes or be forced to react to them.

Reach out to your elected officials. Reach out to those running for City Council. Ask the hard questions and expect answers on where they see the future of Roy City. Together, we can make a difference.