CACHE COUNTY – At a Jan. 24 meeting that otherwise proceeded smoothly, the members of the Cache County Council found fault with a proposed ordinance to establish an advisory committee to oversee the Open Space Bond approved by county voters on Nov. 8, 2022.
After being disappointed to learn that state law specifies that County Executive David Zook has the authority to appoint members of that advisory committee, the council members confirmed that their own right to provide advice and consent over those appointments was included in proposed Ordinance 2023-03.
The council members also sent County Attorney Taylor Sorensen back to the drawing board to redraft that ordinance to ensure that the criteria that advisory committee members use to select scenic vistas and other open spaces for preservation will be reviewed and approved by the county council.
The Open Space Bond Issue, which was Proposition 1 on the November ballot, passed by a relative slim margin of slightly more than 2,000 votes out of a total of more than 26,000.
That proposal was the brainchild of former North Logan Mayor 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.
As approved by the voters, the $20 million bond issue will 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.
While acknowledging that goal was ambitious for a fund of only $20 million, Eliason hoped that funds generated by the bond issue could be used to bring other dollars into play, including donations of land and money from individuals and non-profits groups as well as money from the state and federal government.
The proposed Ordinance 2023-06 outlined by Sorensen at the council’s recent meeting would establish rules to govern the Cache Open Space Advisory Committee (COSAC).
As proposed, the COSAC would consist of seven voting members appointed by Zook and two non-voting, ex-officio members appointed by the members of the county council.
Four of the voting members would be 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 will include one member of the county council and an expert in agriculture.
Sorensen also explained that COSAC members will be appointed to one-year terms on the advisory committee, but there will be no limitation on the number of terms they might serve.
The Cache County Attorney’s Office will provide legal counsel to COSAC members.
The COSAC members may enlist non-voting consultants as needed in making recommendations to the county council.
Those consultants could be recruited from the among the county’s staff, members of the County Planning Commission or other appropriate experts.
According to the proposed ordinance, all members of the COSAC will serve without compensation, but their actual or necessary expenses may be paid or reimbursed at the discretion of the county council.
The proposed ordinance also specifies that the county council may remove any member of the COSAC at any time, with or without cause.
Further discussion of the revised draft of Ordinance 2023-06 will continue at the Cache County Council’s next meeting on Feb. 7.