Tooele County’s top economic development official reflects on her 19 years in government, and the past and future of growth in the county

Nicole Cline moved to Tooele in 1989 while working as a bus driver for the Utah Transit Authority. Some 21 years later, she is arguably the most influential economic development person in Tooele County.

That career path involved many twists and turns, but it has given Cline, now 53, a unique vantage point from which to witness the county’s growth first-hand. As Tooele County’s economic development director and grant administrator, she is a key player in recruiting businesses, securing funding and mapping out long-term development plans — work that has allowed her to rub shoulders with Fortune 500 CEOs, innovative entrepreneurs and Utah’s most famous businessman, Larry Miller.

The Transcript-Bulletin sat down with Cline recently to discuss her career and the county’s economic growth.

Q: How did you end up in Tooele County working in the field of economic development?

It took me some time to find out what I really wanted to do with my life. I grew up in Salt Lake City and graduated from South High School in 1974. I went to the University of Utah for two years, taking courses in marketing, accounting and management. I left the university without a degree and joined the Air Force, where as a sergeant I did maintenance work on big planes. I worked as a crew chief in Hawaii working on helicopters for five years. I moved back to Utah and lived in Bountiful, and tried to make a living selling insurance. When that didn’t work out, I moved to Colorado Springs and went to Pikes Peak Community College. I received a degree in aviation maintenance management and went to work as an independent contractor doing maintenance on private aircraft in Colorado. That work was feast or famine, so I went to work at Radio Shack and managed a few stores and then transferred to their business products division. Eventually, I moved to Ogden with Radio Shack, where I worked with Weber State University on setting up a literacy lab. Radio Shack closed their business division and I went to work driving a bus for UTA. That is when I moved to Tooele. I was trying to get a job with the Sheriff’s Office when I received a phone call that told me about an opening in the engineering department. The county needed somebody with computer experience to maintain the engineering department’s computer network.

Q: From computer network administrator to economic development director is quite a leap. How did you do that?

The engineering department was small and I ended up helping with accounts payable, budgets, and taking minutes for planning commission meetings. I helped with rewriting the zoning ordinances and the county’s general plan. During that time, in 1993, at an American Planning Association meeting, I met an instructor from the University of Utah’s urban planning program. He convinced me to enroll. For two years, I commuted to campus while working in Tooele, and completed a bachelor’s degree in urban planning in 1995. In 2002, just after Gene White was elected commissioner, I noticed a pile of papers on his desk for “Project Airstream,” which was a distribution center that was looking for a location. The name “Airstream” was assigned by the Economic Development Corporation of Utah to maintain privacy during the site selection process. I asked Commissioner White if I could work on the application and he said, “Sure, but don’t spend too much time on it. We won’t get it.” The project ended up being the Wal-Mart distribution center and the county’s application led to the company settling in Grantsville. After that, I started mixing planning with economic development.

Q: During this time, you changed your sex from male to female in a way that was quite public, within Tooele County government at least. How did that change affect your work at the time and does it still affect it now?

It has not had much of an effect on my work. There were some people that were a little uneasy, and it has been the subject of some newspaper stories. I feel very lucky to live in Tooele, people here have been very supportive of me. I have tried to not make a big issue of my transgender identity. Instead, I try to work hard and be a positive example.

Q: What do you see as the top projects you been involved in as economic development director?

Allegheny Technology’s titanium plant out by US Magnesium. They came to us from EDC Utah. We had to sell them on the idea that we could provide their infrastructure needs, including power, water and rail, and have it all done on their time schedule. The Miller Motorsports Park. Initially it was going to be a private facility for Larry Miller and his friends and family. It is now the largest track in the United States and hosts major events that bring tourists from all over into Tooele. The Millers also spun off an industrial park on their property by the track. It’s first business is the Reckitt Benckiser distribution center, another one of our recent projects.

Q: What do you tell these people to get them to come here?

To properly market the place we need to get them to come here in person. There is just something about Tooele — people like this place when they see it firsthand. Then we talk business. We have access to major transportation corridors — rail, highway and air. Tooele County has a great workforce — fairly young and with a good education. Educational facilities like USU and the applied technology college are a plus. And land. We have plenty of land. Space is scarce in some places, but not here.

Q: How big of a role do tax breaks and other incentives play in attracting companies? Is it difficult to strike a balance between enticing a company and giving away too much?

You have to remember that it is not just the property tax that creates income for the county and its cities. There are people that move in and buy homes and spend their income in the community as well as local residents that benefit from higher paying jobs. Taking the Wal-Mart Distribution Center as an example, before it was built the property was just an open field and it was under the Farmland Protection Policy Act so the taxing entities in the county were not even receiving tax on the full value of the property as a field. Under the Economic Development Area that we created, the taxing entities in the county, such as the school district, city, and county, continued to receive the same amount of tax on the property that they had been. The increase in property tax was used to pay off the bond for the infrastructure — the roads, power, water and other utilities that we built so Wal-Mart would come in and build the distribution center. That was the incentive we gave them: the county paid for the infrastructure. In one more year from now, 2011, the bond will be paid off, the EDA will expire, and the full amount of the property tax will be paid out to the taxing entities. Wal-Mart would not have come without the incentive, so I think it has been a good deal for everybody.

Q: How do you work with the Economic Development Corporation of Utah and the Governor’s Office of Economic Development?

At first we did not hear from them very often. After the Wal-Mart deal, we started hearing from them more often. Once they saw our potential and what we could do, I believe they started taking Tooele County seriously. They will call us up and send potential economic projects our way. They also will call us with projects that they think they might be losing from Utah and ask us to take a try at getting them to locate in Tooele.

Q: How about your relationship with Tooele City, is there a rivalry to land projects?

Not really. There are some projects that fit best in Tooele and others that fit best in the county. We all win if we can bring new businesses into the county anywhere. I meet monthly with Randy Sant, Tooele City’s Economic Development Director. We share plans and communicate so we know what each other is doing. Tooele City has done good business at the Utah Industrial Park and their commercial park.

Q: For some time, you also worked as an economic consultant to Grantsville City. When and why did you end that relationship? Were there any conflict-of-interest issues in working for the county and one of its municipalities?

I worked as a contract planner for Grantsville City but they did not renew the contract a year ago due to financial constraints. I do have my own consulting firm, Cline Consulting. I have done work for law firms and developers in planning issues. To avoid conflicts of interest, I do not do any work in the unincorporated areas of Tooele County.

Q: So what is the future for Tooele County?

Fabulous. I’m very optimistic. There are signs the economy is starting to turn around. We are getting more inquiries every day from new projects and some old ones that were put on hold when the economy went bad are now starting to make contact with us again. The EDC Utah called us recently and said they had a company from California looking to locate a manufacturing plant here that would employ over 100 people. I forgot the official code name of the project, but the workforce skills they need are found here in Tooele. There is “Project Anchor,” which is a $1 billion project that will create 1,000 new jobs. They are a manufacturer looking for 2,000 acres to be developed over several phases. “Project Twinkle” is another example of a company looking seriously at Tooele. They are a $125 million project that will employ 100 people using over 150 acres. And the support businesses that will grow up around “Project Twinkle” have the potential of creating 2,000 jobs.

Q: What is your vision for Tooele’s future?

It is not just me. I work with the commissioners. They take a look at the projects before we pursue them. We are interested in Tooele becoming a place where you can live, work — in a career with potential — and shop for the things you need. Going out of the county for work or shopping would be an option by choice, not something you are forced to do.

Tim Gillie: tgillie@tooeletranscript.com