LOGAN – While a feasibility study of a proposed county recreation facility is barely underway, municipalities in the south end of Cache Valley are forging ahead with their own study.
Funded by Nibley City, that study by VCBO Architecture of Salt Lake City has polled residents of Nibley, Hyrum, Wellsville, Providence, River Heights, Mendon and Paradise with surprising results so far.
More than 70 percent of about 4,700 South Cache respondents said that they would support a tax increase to fund the proposed recreation center, according to Cache County Council member Keegan Garrity, in a March 28 Facebook post to his constituents.
While taking pains to point out that the south valley survey should not be confused with a similar effort by county officials, Garrity noted that about 35 percent of survey respondents said they definitely would support a tax increase for a recreation center and another 36 percent said they probably would support that tax increase.
Those who responded to a survey question about how much they would be willing to pay for the new facility said they would support an average tax increase of about $15 a month or $180 per household annually, according to Whitney Ward, a VCBO representative during a recent joint meeting of the Nibley City Council and the city’s Parks and Recreation Advisory Committee.
At that gathering, Ward said that VCBO consultants were initially leaning toward a $25 million indoor recreation facility. A facility with an indoor pool – which many residents specifically mentioned as a preferred requirement – would raise the cost of the facility to about $35 million.
In addition to the indoor pool, survey respondents said their other top needed services were recreation/fitness programs for both adults and youngsters.
Next steps include finalizing what amenities the proposed recreation facility would include and updating other communities and stakeholders about facility concepts, according to Chad Wright, the Parks and Recreation director for Nibley City.
The study being funded by Nibley is proceeding on a fast track, because the language of a bond issue must be completed by August in order for voters to consider it on the ballot for municipal elections in November.
For more information about the South Cache Valley Indoor Recreation Feasibility Study, local residents can go online to www.reccenterstudy.info/