Daggett County Economic Update

Tyson Smith, Regional Economist

The Uintah Basin continued to add employment throughout the fourth quarter of 2014. Average annual employment in the region grew nearly 4 percent from 2013. Despite the sustained growth trend throughout last year, it appears that the economic conditions in the Uintah Basin are taking a turn for the worse.

The Utah Department of Workforce Services relies on several data sources to help describe the state of the economy. The most accurate data available is the nonfarm payroll employment information that is collected through the Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages. However, the resources required to gather data accurately come at the expense of timeliness, which results in a four to six month lag between the time these data are collected and when they are available to the public.

When economic trends change dramatically it is important to understand the recent history of the region, while also using up-to-date information to inform the current economic climate. The most recent data that highlight the shrinking labor market in the Uintah Basin are the unemployment rate and the initial weekly unemployment claims, both of which have jumped significantly to start 2015.

Utes aim for economic, health boost

A vision that has been researched and refined will soon be reality. A chance to celebrate that reality will be from 2 to 7 p.m. Saturday, July 28, at the Ute Plaza Supermarket and Health Food Store and Ute Lanes, when a grand re-opening will take place at both facilities.

Most of the activity will happen at plaza at the supermarket, with some activity also at the bowling alley and family fun center.

There will be an official ceremony starting at the market at 3 p.m., and at 6 p.m. live entertainment will begin with Dennis Yazzie and the Night Breeze Band from Thoreau, N.M.

It's an exciting milestone for Valentina Sireech, sales and marketing director for Ute Tribal Enterprises LLC, one of the driving forces behind the Ute Crossing revitalization efforts.  Uintah Basin Standard Online

Duchesne County sees jump in industrial, retail businesses

Wilson, a national oil field and construction parts supplier, recently completed construction on a new building and yard. The full-service branch will feature a complete line of in-stock energy products, options for walk-in, will call and delivery, and a fully stocked pipe yard.

National Oilwell VARCO, an oilfield supply company, recently completed its third expansion in eight years.
Manager Stacy Hadlock said the company has needed to expand because business has increased 10 fold and many of the parts were outside.

Bill Barrett Corp., a drilling exploration and production company for oil and natural gas, just completed an expansion to its business offices.

The Roosevelt office houses 40 employees from Carbon, Duchesne and Uintah counties for the company based out of Denver, Colo. The expansion included a two-story expansion on the west side of the building.

Three new businesses just opened shop last fall in the Mama Lia's Pizza complex.

Mama Lia's Pizza has had consistent business every night beginning around 4 p.m. Dovie said with her new location she's received more business, and has been able to hire more employees.

The Black Pearl tanning salon has seen a steady stream of customers since it's opening in January. JoLynn Sutton, who co-owns the business with her husband Derek, said her location is key.

The Edge clothing store has been open since the end of October and sells clothing, jeans, shoes and accessories normally only found at a mall. Store manager Dylan Atwood says customers have been filing into the store regularly to the point where both stores have about the same amount of clientelle. Uintah Basin Standard

Building boom taking place in Vernal

The Vernal Towne Center as well as other retail and commercial building projects will completed in the coming year. The new growth has led to a staggering increase in the amount of building permit fees the city has collected this year when compared with the fiscal years ending in 2010 and 2011. In fiscal year 2008-09, the city collected approximately $216,000 in building permit fees. In the next two years, it collected roughly $46,000 and $70,000, respectively. As of Monday, the city had taken in about $238,000 in fees for the current fiscal year, which still has three months remaining. Deseret News

Developers already have commitments for the 26-acre Vernal Towne Center from Dickey's Barbecue Pit, Jo-Ann Fabric & Craft, Petco, and Shoe Carnival. Negotiations are in the final stages with a major department store, a big-name sporting goods retailer, and at least four additional restaurants.

The development also includes space for a hotel, a bank, a gas station and a tire repair shop. The project's tenants will be latest in a string of new arrivals in Vernal that include national chains like Rue 21 and AutoZone.

Station opens Uinta Basin to clean-car enthusiasts

The Uinta Basin is suddenly on the map of destinations for drivers of compressed natural gas vehicles, now that Questar Gas and partners have opened a first Utah fueling station well away from the Interstate 15 corridor. Motorists who use the clean-air alternative to gasoline previously were confined to the state’s main north-south transportation artery, able to range from the Wasatch Front all the way to Southern California but not into Utah’s eastern hinterlands and beyond. That changes with the Western Petroleum station in Naples, just south of Vernal, which celebrates its grand opening today .

“You’ll be able to get into Colorado, which you never could before,” said Carrie Giles, northern coordinator for the Utah Clean Cities Coalition, a partner in the project. “This absolutely opens it up. We’re trying to get it out there so you can travel the entire state and more.”

It’s still unlikely that drivers could get from Salt Lake City to Denver unless they have a bi-fuel vehicle and can switch to a gasoline tank. But Giles said Colorado has a coalition committed to rapid expansion of the CNG fueling network, and such a corridor likely will be completed soon. Meantime, Clean Cities and Questar are committed to making a new push along Interstate 80 at the Wyoming and Nevada state lines, giving Utahns another east-west CNG route.

Clean Cities used part of a $15 million federal grant to pay a little more than a quarter of the cost for Questar to install two pumps, able to fuel four vehicles at a time, in Naples. The exact cost was unavailable Tuesday, but Giles said it was roughly $500,000. The Deseret News