In the thick of discussions over who will control development of the old Geneva Steel property, a new option is emerging.

Anderson Development owns the 1,800 acres west of Orem on the shore of Utah Lake and has requested an accompanying government redevelopment agency. RDAs provide tax breaks for companies, which then pour the funds back into a development.

But who will run the Geneva RDA has been a point of contention for months. Anderson and the tiny town of Vineyard - where the property is located - have been at loggerheads as to how it should be handled. That has led recently to Utah County Commissioner Larry Ellertson attempting to forge an agreement both sides can accept - such as allowing Vineyard to manage the RDA but with substantial help from the county.

The county is involved because earlier this year, Anderson executives pushed for and got a law passed that would allow Utah County commissioners to create and run an RDA on Vineyard land. When commissioners attempted to publicly discuss the matter, the fight erupted all over again. At one point, Vineyard accused Anderson of trying to undermine their right to manage their town while an Anderson executive called town officials well-meaning 12-year-olds who simply didn't know what they were doing.

Instead of creating the RDA, Ellertson asked for time to get the groups together to try and reason something out, including a meeting last week.

"The discussion we had ... was that the RDA would be with the town," Ellertson said, adding that the agreement includes county participation.

Vineyard town planner Nathan Crane cautioned that the meetings were just that at this point.

"There's talk, but there hasn't been any official action," he said.

A call to a representative at Anderson Development was not returned on Wednesday, though company executives have said they want an RDA in place by fall.

There are currently no plans to put the item on a commission agenda for a decision.

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