04 23 2021 RAPZ/RESTAURANT TAX COMMITTEE MEETING

- The committee reviewed the legal status of the meeting under Utah open meetings law and confirmed it was properly noticed, recorded, and open to the public. Staff also explained the funding sources and the split between RAPZ and restaurant tax revenues. - Members discussed prior allocations and carryover balances, including the Logan-Cache Airport matching funds and the Kunsler conservation easement, which was scaled back and will return only a small residual amount to the fund balance. - The committee addressed public concerns about pickleball courts, but concluded it had no jurisdiction over how cities manage park hours or usage after funding is awarded. For Providence’s proposed pickleball move, the committee recommended no funding unless the County Council rejects the relocation request. - Several ineligible applications were reviewed, and staff clarified that Nordic United and Jump the Moon were ultimately deemed eligible after further legal review, while Whispering Canyons and the USU Writing Center remained ineligible. - American West Heritage Center received funding for both its programming and operational requests, but at rounded-down amounts below the exact request. The committee emphasized that awards should support strong programs without automatically funding every request in full. - Utah Festival Opera and Musical Theatre drew the most discussion; members debated its budget structure, the scale of its countywide benefit, and whether its request was inflated. The committee ultimately approved a reduced but still substantial package, with most funding directed to the production request and smaller amounts to marketing, while two related requests were not funded. - The committee funded several arts and cultural organizations, including Cache Arts, the Cache Valley Cowboy Rendezvous, the Cache Children’s Choir, the Cache Valley Civic Ballet, Unicorn Theatre, Lyric Repertory Company, and Jump the Moon, generally at amounts below or near prior-year levels. - Library and community projects also received support, including Friends of the Mendon Cottage Library, which was funded for its brick/patio project, and Cornish Town Hall improvements, which received a rounded-up award to help finish its phased work. - On the recreation side, the committee funded River Heights park improvements, Logan City’s three recreation projects in full, Cache County fairgrounds and event center projects in full, and several trail-related projects through the county trail coordinator’s office. Members encouraged the county to continue expanding trail planning into other areas and to help smaller cities apply. - The meeting closed with a recommendation to the County Council totaling about $2.66 million in awards, leaving significant funds unspent for future needs. Members noted that the county still has substantial carryover and may need to revisit priorities in coming years as requests grow.