CACHE COUNTY – At their regular meeting on July 14, the members of the Cache County Council voted to establish a regional Recreation Center Feasibility Study Committee.
As outlined in Resolution 2026-25, that committee would act as a directing body for all third-part experts, architects or consultants involved in the recreation center study effort, according to Andrew Erickson, the council’s policy analyst.
That panel would also explore the associated needs, constraints and other factors involved in establishing and running a county- wide recreation system, he added.
After a brief discussion, Council Member Keegan Garrity made a motion to approve that resolution which was seconded by Council Vice-Chair Kathryn Beus.
In the final vote, only Council Member David Erickson, who has vocally opposed the idea of a county recreation center in the past, opposed that motion.
In response to a concern from council member Nolan Gunnell about the expenditure of tax dollars for the study committee, Andrew Erickson explained Cache County entered into a contract with VCBO Architecture in January of 2025 to conduct Phase 1 of a comprehensive, countywide indoor recreation center feasibility study.
Funding for that study was provided by an allocation from the Restaurant, Arts, Parks and Zoos Tax accounts managed by county officials.
Since then, those VCBO consultants have been assisted by an ad hoc citizens committee. But Council Chair Sandi Goodlander said that an semi-official presence was now needed to guide the second phase of the study effort.
The composition of the study panel would include at least one and no more than three members of the Cache County Council and six advisory members appointed from throughout the county.
To ensure that the views of all members of the county’s population are represented on that study committee, Andrew Erickson said that one advisory members would come from Logan, another from the unincorporated areas of the county and two each would represent the collective opinions of municipalities in the north and south ends of Cache Valley.
The ultimate goal of the study committee, he added, would be to deliver a feasibility report by Mar. 1, 2027 that details the proposed center’s amenities, estimated budget, potential site locations and other recommended actions or methods of organization for a county-wide recreation system.
But Andrew Erickson also emphasized that any recommendations from the recreation center study committee would be preliminary and advisory in nature.