Cache County Council Special Meeting - December 17, 2025

We're good. Okay. Alright. Thank you, everyone. We're gonna go ahead and start our meeting. I'm supposed to do this. Everyone plug your ears. Thank you for being at our meeting. We appreciate you joining us tonight. We will go ahead and have an opening by council member Katie Garrity.

So for my opening, I'd like to read a poem by Myra Brooks Welch. This is written in 1921. Maybe you and Dave and George have had to memorize that in elementary school. I don't You're alright. I wanted to share this poem for three reasons. So one, we often find ourselves in the position of having to make a value judgment. Two, we frequently rely on the expertise of others when making our assessments. And three, the message of redemption and transformation, I think, is appropriate for the Christmas season. Some of you will recognize this poem by the title. It's called The Touch of the Master's Hand, and I wanna read it. 'Twas battered and scarred, and the auctioneer thought it hardly worth his while. To waste his time on the old violin, but he held it up with a smile. What of my bid, good people? He cried. Who starts the bidding for me? $1, $1, do I hear two? $2, whom who makes it 3? $3 once, $3 twice, going for 3. But no, from the room far back, a gray bearded man came forward and picked up the bow, and wiping the dust from the old violin and tightening up the strings, he played a melody pure and sweet, as sweet as caroling angel sings. The music ceased and the auctioneer, with a voice that was quiet and low, said, what now am I bid for this old violin? As he held it aloft with its bow. 1,000, 1,000 do I hear too? 2,000, who makes it three? 3,000 once, 3,000 twice, going and gone, said he. The audience cheered, but some of them cried. We just don't understand. What changed its worth? Swift came the reply, the touch of the master's hand. And many a man with life out of tune, all battered with bourbon and gin, is auctioned cheap to a thoughtless crowd, much like that old violin. A mess of pottage, a glass of wine, a game and he travels on. He is going once, he is going twice, he is going and almost gone. But the master comes and the foolish crowd never can quite understand the worth of his soul and the change that is wrought by the touch of the master's hand. Please stand and join me for the pledge of allegiance.

I pledge allegiance to the flag of The United States Of America and to the Republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.

Thank you, Keegan. It's always been one of my favorite poems. Okay. The next thing on our agenda is review and approval of meeting minutes. Can I get a motion on those two minutes?

I will make a motion that we approve the meeting minutes. As I saw, I did not pick up anything for 12/02/2025 and 12/09/2025.

Second. So moved and seconded that we approve the minutes from the meetings of December 2 and December 9. Any further discussion? Those in favor, say aye. Aye. Any opposed? Okay. Alright. Turn the minute over to the county executive.

I am recommending that Brian Abbott be appointed as the interim director of development services. Brian is here with us, today. Brian has worked for Cache County for eighteen years. It's a long time. His his function there will be to interface directly with people, so he will be the face involved with running our building inspection effectively and profitably for a period of time. So we're really anxious to get him appointed and to reorganize the planning department. He will he has the expertise and so forth of working with people together with other professionals in the office to accomplish what we need to do over there. Well, I would ask for your advice and consent with respect to the appointment. And, Brian is here if you have any questions of him. I have supplied you with his resume.

Perfect. Thank you. Brian, do you wanna stand up and introduce yourself and say anything to us? We'd love to hear from you. Okay.

Brian Abbott. I've was born in Richmond, still live there today. Can't think of anywhere better to go, I guess. I don't know. But my father was a contractor, so I grew up in the construction trades. That's kinda what put a roof on our head and food on our table. And I I did that for a few years and then everyone called it going over to the dark side, but I came to the building inspections and I really enjoy it. I love to mix, you know, I kinda get the best of both worlds. I still get to be a part of construction and but I don't have to lift all the heavy beams and the boards and and work in the really cold weather. But I've loved being here at Cache County for a a long time. It's interesting to see it grow. Like, out in Hiram, I started when I started, I think I did the first house in some of those subdivisions, and now they're they're miles long down the road. So it's been interesting to watch the growth that we've had. I pride myself in in working really well with our contractors and our other customers. They they have a lot on their plate. There's a there's a lot to worry about. And if if we can make their job easier by expediting a permit and and getting out and doing a a good inspection and being clear with our communication, I I think we've worked really well together for for a long time and everyone in our office, has done a just an amazing job of doing that too. So we hope we can take that same mentality and and work in the in the planning and zoning side of our office with that. I don't know what else you'd like me to say. That's perfect. That's perfect. Right? I'm starting to ramble. Any questions

for Brian before we take a vote? I do. Please.

So I've I served on planning and zoning commission for a long time as well as mister Erickson here, and I'm the council liaison to planning and zoning. And so, are you expecting to be here on our Thursday nights when we have planning and zoning?

I'm expecting to be to every meeting that they've got. Awesome. Because I, I'm not gonna pretend like I know everything, but I'll ask lots of questions and try and figure it out as quick as I can. Good. Thank you.

Perfect. Anybody else? I'd like to ask a question, but I won't. Thank you.

Think the world of David. He's a great great person. I've looked up to him since high school. It's it's it's come visit the rest of us. We were both a lot younger then.

We're the same age.

No. I'm sure you were the teacher. Yeah.

No. I I'm I I highly respected him. I I really appreciate him so much and everything he's done. I've watched him over the years and just he has stepped up. So Do you wanna make a motion? I would. I therefore, I would move that we accept this

nominate or excuse me, this, I guess, appointment Mhmm. Of Brian Abbott as the interim director of development services. I'll second. K. It's been moved and seconded that we accept the appointment of Brian Abbott as our interim director of development services. Is there any further discussion? Those in favor, say aye. Aye. Any opposed?

K. Congratulations Thank you very much. So much for working with you. Likewise.

Mhmm. K. Alright. Number five, reconsideration of the line item veto by the Cache County Executive. There are two line items on that. Do I need to sign this? Yes. I do. Okay. Yeah. Alright. I know that you have are all familiar with this. Is there anyone that would like to make a motion or some discussion?

Discussion or motion or both? Yeah. I just wanna get clarity on when there's a veto. This is my first one so I can be the new guy. It's all of our first ones. Yeah. K. So when this occurs, if we take no action, the veto carries?

We still need to take an action. We need to either vote to uphold the veto or to override the veto. Okay. And this isn't a simple majority? It requires a super majority to

to for either action to either uphold or

okay. Andrew?

It takes a five out of seven vote to simply overturn the executive's veto. Any veto stand. Okay.

That's what I was looking for. K. Does anyone want to take that on and make a motion? Madam chair, I will create a motion. Can I do them all at once or I gotta do them? You can do them both. Hey. Hey. For Cass County resolution twenty twenty five dash 43 dash a, resolution adopting a county budget for the calendar year 2026 and the line item veto of number one and the line item veto of number two, I would recommend we uphold the veto

the veto. Second. It's been moved and seconded that we uphold the line item vetoes contained in resolution twenty twenty five dash 43. Is there any further discussion?

I'll just point out that the amount does exceed the library budget, so I'll just throw that

in. Thanks, Keegan. K. Those in favor, say aye. Aye. Any opposed? Nay. K. Alright. That is our order of business for tonight. That was it. I win the prize for the shortest meeting. Oh, hey. Wow. That's fantastic. Is there any other, business that anyone would like to I would just like to remind all of you, I did send an email today about our luncheon on Friday with our state legislators. Please It will be here. Yeah, it will be here in this room, so please get back to me with any other questions or things that you would like to discuss that day, and we'll make sure we try and move through those as quickly as possible. Kinda look at the list that I gave you and see what things you think are important, and we'll kinda put those at the top of the list. You had a good list, but I do have a question on the water. Mhmm. Would it be good to have somebody from the state engineer's office here, or is that just something for us to discuss with the legislature? Yeah. Let's just get some input from them and kinda tell them what we think. We're not gonna have much time. Okay. So let's let's not muddy that water. We can meet with them with the engineers later, but this is where this is a rare You had a good list. A rare Yeah. Opportunity to have all of them here with us. So It's noon to one? Noon to one. K. K. K. Alright. If there's no other further business, I will make a motion that we adjourn.

I will second that.

K. All in favor, say aye. Aye. Needed adjourned. You never have for today. I know. I'm sorry. You don't get to put a day on that one.

Different day. Just just to rub it in. Yeah. Just on my last step.