Davis tour is eye-opening

On the Web site, Sen. Lyle Hillyard, R-Logan, said the sooner the road alignment is established, the better.

"Sometimes, the state can buy the land and then resell it if the roadway is later changed," he said. "We have set money aside in this year's budget for right-of-way acquisition to help reduce this problem and avoid the rising costs of the land that comes with natural growth and improvement."

Rep. Becky Lockhart, R-Provo, answered and said the greatest challenge is to balance the rights of the landowners and developers with those of the taxpayers.

"Appropriate and justified compensation for landowners is a must," she said. "But the taxpayers should not be expected to pay excessive amounts for needed infrastructure that benefits the society as a whole."

But Wednesday's tour also focused on industry and gave legislators a chance to see how the Davis Applied Technology College has benefited from recent appropriations, and how Hill Air Force Base and rocket builder ATK fit into the mix.

The college will move its diesel program to a new building to allow its composite materials program to double in size.

Wednesday, legislators saw how Davis County is home to the cutting-edge of the composites industry with a trifecta: Hill Air Force Base will be home to a number of F-22 Raptors, which use composites in their construction, some of which is done at Clearfield-based ATK, which is currently trying to hire 63 engineers and technicians, some of whom could come from the DATC composites program.

That legislative initiative is starting to pay off, said DATC President Mike Bowhuis, citing how DATC partnered with Hill and ATK for the college's composites curriculum.

The program will allow DATC to help train workers for what appears to be a solid and growing industry in Utah, he said.

"This is what we're doing with what you've given us," is the message Bowhuis said he wants to send to the Legislature.

And Rep. Jack Draxler, R-North Logan, appeared to get that message.

He came away from Wednesday's tour with a better understanding of what goes on in Davis County, and so far, the state's money seemed to be well-used, he said.

"That's a big concern to us," the freshman representative said. "We want to make sure we're getting the biggest bang for our buck."

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E-mail: jdougherty@desnews.com