State to give $250,000 for fiber line into Logan

The state will kick in $250,000 to help Comcast install a redundant high-speed communication fiber line into Logan — a deficiency that some people have said has harmed economic development in Cache County.

The Utah Board of Business and Economic Development on Friday approved the amount for the project, which is about half of what's needed to cover a financial shortfall in the project. Comcast has been working with city and county officials to come up with the bulk of the money needed. Board member Mark Howell said the remaining amount of the shortfall will need to be raised by the Cache community.

"The real issue is there is not a secondary or duplicate fiber line going into the city of Logan, and when a company comes in there, they need a redundant capability for technology," Howell said. "It has impacted Utah State (University), which has not been able to get some of the research work.

"There are companies that just won't even consider Logan because there is no redundancy in the fiber line, and there are companies that have left because they don't have that capability from that redundant fiber line."

Other incentives were approved by the board Friday, including:

• Sports Capital Partners will receive a tax rebate amounting to 10 percent of the incremental taxes over a 10-year period for creating 88 jobs. It is contingent on the company creating 80 percent of the projected full-time jobs and keeping the jobs in Utah a minimum of 10 years.

• Extra Space Storage will receive a 30 percent tax rebate for 10 years in connection with 90 to 100 new jobs, which will pay more than double the Salt Lake County median. It must commit to keep the jobs in Utah at least 10 years.

• A film production incentive was approved for Salty Pictures Inc.'s production of the made-for-TV movie "High School Musical." The incentive will be a rebate of up to 10 percent of the "money left in the state" from the film's production.

• Another film production incentive was approved for Ambush Entertainment for its "Unearthed" feature film. The rebate is up to 12 percent.

The board also created an aerospace/aviation zone at the Carbon County Airport. Companies expanding or relocating in the zones can apply for certain tax rebates if their operations create incremental tax revenue for the state.

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E-mail: bwallace@desnews.com