Sanpete Opens Technology Center

After more
than a year of
planning and
support from
several cities
and
companies,
Mount
Pleasant this
week became
the 14th Utah
town to open
a SmartSite
Skyline
Drive
Technologies
is the
corporate
name of the
site, which is
part of Gov.
Mike Leavitt’s
initiative to provide high-tech training and
employment for rural Utah residents.

BY GREG DART
SPECIAL TO THE
TRIBUNE

Getting the site open has been difficult, Sally
East said, as she applied finishing touches to a
former North Sanpete School District administration
building that houses it.
East, Sanpete County economic development
director, has been organizing the Mount Pleasant
site since the governor announced the SmartSite
program’s creation in March 2001. East said the
state has donated 12 computers and some learning
software and will contribute $10,000 toward paying
an instructor, which is less than initially anticipated.

"[The state] first said $150,000, then $90,000,"
East said. "But until we collected funds on a local
level, nothing would come from the state. That
meant a lot of donated hours from those who wanted
to see the program succeed."
Donations have included $18,000 from Sanpete
County and six towns and cities. East cleaned and
painted the the 2,400-square-foot former school
district building and Mount Pleasant Mayor Chesley
Christensen fixed some plumbing problems.
In addition, Central Utah Telephone Co,. based in
Moroni, will wire the building for telephone and
Internet services in a deal that will benefit both,
Sanpete County Commissioner Eddie Cox said.
Data Discovery, a Salt Lake City company, will
move its operation to the site in the next few weeks
to join the Internet company Secure Solutions,
whose owner Steve Rasmussen will teach
SmartSite classes in software, Web design,
e-commerce and Internet programming.
The two companies, which offer Web hosting and
design services, eventually hope to hire residents
who complete the training.
"This will be a big benefit for Sanpete County and
businesses like mine," Rasmussen said.
Since the sites started operating, they have
produced more than 350 jobs in rural Utah with
some paying as much as $40,000 a year.
Wes Curtis, director of the SmartSite initiative for
the state, said funding for the sites depended on a
federal grant that took longer and paid less.
He said if the sites do well, more money may be
available later on.
Although the site received less funding than
expected, the money should be enough to get the
site up and running, East said.

http://www.sltrib.com/05032002/business/business.htm