The Military Installation Development Authority is pouring hundreds of millions of dollars into its projects in Wasatch County.
It unanimously passed a $390 million bond resolution Tuesday, Oct. 22. That’s on top of $260 million in bonds already authorized in 2021.
However, residents are still invited to share their thoughts at a hearing next month Nov. 19.
MIDA Executive Director Paul Morris said at Tuesday’s meeting the goal of the new bonds is to finish construction faster.
“You’ve got this beautiful hotel, and we’re going to have military people and the public coming down,” he said. “But if it’s one continual construction zone for the next decade, that could be challenging, and one of the best things you can do is accelerate it.”
MIDA is the state agency responsible for major development projects in the works like the Skyridge luxury golf facilities near the Jordanelle Reservoir, the Deer Valley East Village expansion and the Sundance Inn.
It’s governed by appointed, not elected, officials, and was originally formed to serve veterans and military members.
The additional $400 million is for MIDA’s Mountain Village Public Infrastructure District, which includes the land west of U.S. 40 where Deer Valley is expanding and hundreds of new hotel rooms and residences are under construction.
A public infrastructure district, or PID, is a relatively new way to use bonds to pay for infrastructure. The bonds are repaid by levying taxes or special assessment fees in the project area to cover the cost. They generally benefit developers and minimize liability for the local government, since the debt only applies within the infrastructure district.
Morris claimed the plan will benefit everyone involved in the MIDA agreement, including Wasatch County and the Wasatch County School District, because the new resort base will become profitable sooner.
“The quicker things get built, the more cash directly to the county for municipal services, and the school district is the same way,” he said.
The original agreement stipulates MIDA keeps 75% of new property taxes in the development area for the first 40 years of the project, and Wasatch County gets the other 25%.
Morris said no state or county revenue will be pledged to the bonds. They would be funded by property tax revenue in MIDA’s Wasatch County developments and an additional resort sales tax within the MIDA area, a new taxing power granted to MIDA in the 2024 legislative session.
Locals can share feedback on the already-approved bonds by registering for a public hearing Nov. 19 at 10 a.m.