After some discussion, members of the Cache County Council voted on April 11 to approve a slate of appointees to service on the Cache Open Space Advisory Committee.
LOGAN – At their regular meeting on April 11, the Cache County Council reluctantly approved the membership of an advisory committee to oversee the Open Space Bond approved by county voters on Nov. 8, 2022.
Prior to that vote, Council Chair Dave Erickson expressed disappointment with the slate of appointees forwarded to the council from the office of County Executive David Zook.
“I thought that we’d have some more diversity on the advisory committee,” Erickson explained, meaning broad representation from all areas of Cache County. “I’m quite disappointed.”
“I’m sure that these are all good people,” he was quick to add. “But I don’t see much representation from the south end of the county or from the north.”
Council members Nolan Gunnell and Karl Ward, who both reviewed the selection process for the appointees, agreed.
Standing in for Zook, chief deputy executive Dirk Anderson presented the slate of proposed appointees who would be voting members of the Cache Open Space Advisory Committee (COSAC), plus two ex-officio members who would not vote.
The proposed voting members were Clair Ellis, Brent Thomas, Dave Rayfield, Kendra Pendry, Christopher Sands, Jody Harris and Eric Eliason.
The proposed ex-officio members were County Council member Kathryn Beus and Regan Wheeler.
Anderson said that the County Executive’s office had received nearly 80 applications for membership on the COSAC.
But Erickson observed that most of those proposed COSAC members were residents of Logan.
While praising the appointment of Harris — who is both a farmer and landowner — Gunnell and Ward also acknowledged that it would have been helpful if more of the proposed members of the COSAC had come from the unincorporated areas of the county.
After that brief discussion, council member Sandi Goodlander moved to approve the proposed slate of appointees and that motion was seconded by Beus.
The motion passed with only Erickson voting “Nay.”
The Open Space Bond Issue, which was Proposition 1 on the November ballot, passed by a relatively slim margin of slightly more than 2,000 votes out of a total of more than 26,000.
The proposition was the brainchild of former North Logan Mayor and state legislator Jack Draxler, entrepreneur Eric Eliason and Utah State University professor Steve Daniels, along with the members of an ad hoc committee who shared their vision of the need to provide a legacy of open spaces in Cache County for future generations.
The $20 million bond issue is intended to establish a fund to protect scenic vistas; preserve open lands near valley gateways; add trails and trail connectivity; and maintain agriculture, waterways and wildlife habitat.
As originally envisioned, four of the voting members of COSAC would have been selected based on their expertise in agriculture, trails, wildlife, waterways or outdoor recreation. The remaining voting members would be selected from the general public.
The ex-officio members would be one member of the county council and an expert in agriculture.
Anderson explained that the appointees approved by the county council on April 11 will serve one-year terms on the COSAC panel that will expire on Dec. 31, 2023.