CACHE COUNTY – As promised in fall of 2024, officials in Cache County have begun the process of soliciting residents’ opinions about the need for indoor, year-round recreation options for the county.
A survey, created by VBO Architecture of New York with local input, is now available online to gather the views of local residents.
County officials say that the survey has been created to better understand the local interest in enhanced indoor recreation opportunities, including what programs and amenities that residents feel are needed here.
The countywide survey is part of Phase 1 of a feasibility study that will include information gathering, site evaluation, stakeholder workshops, market needs assessment, public outreach and visioning, concept designs and cost analysis, according to consultants from VBO Architecture.
Phase 2 of the study effort would include operational analysis, detailed designs of the proposed facility, cost estimates, a statistically valid survey of county residents’ opinions, funding models and additional recommendations.
The Cache County survey can be found by going online to
https://survey.co1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_aYqMeJQMwUvKUxo
Officials say that the survey can be completed easiest if taken on a computer, rather than a phone or other mobile device, and will take about five minutes to complete.
Residents who complete the Cache County Survey and provide full contact information will have the opportunity to win a $50 gift card from a local retailer.
The road to this survey and Phase 1 of the feasibility study was a rocky one for county officials, full of fits and starts.
The funding for the $58,000 Phase 1 effort was provided by a $75,000 allocation from county RAPZ Tax revenues previously approved by council members on May 28, 2024.
At a later meeting on Oct. 8, however, the members of the Cache County Council delayed any decision on additional funding for Phase 2 of the project, with a price tag of $87,000.
That motion was approved by a split decision by the council, with its new members – Kathryn Beus, Sandi Goodlander and Mark Hurd – all having voiced support for providing RAPZ funding for the entire $145,000 feasibility study.
But veteran council members — including Chair David Erickson and members Karl Ward, Barbara Tidwell and Nolan Gunnell — preferred to proceed cautiously and their collective opinion eventually prevailed.
Caution has been the name of the game when dealing with the issue of the countywide recreation center proposal, which some council members have treated as though it were radioactive.
County officials advised local residents that their survey is similar to the recent survey conducted by towns in the south end of Cache Valley, notably in Nibley and Providence. If residents have already provided feedback to the South Cache Survey, they recommend not completing the Cache County survey.
Both surveys come at a time when Logan City is turning over access to its recreation center exclusively to the Logan City School District.