Cache County Council Regular Meeting – 10-28-2025

- The council approved the regular meeting agenda, approved the 10/14/2025 minutes with one abstention, and unanimously confirmed Angie Zutterquist as temporary Development Services Director retroactive to February 2025. - County Executive Daines reported that the COG process went well and said the county will continue reviewing budget issues over time, with more recommendations to come. He also previewed an executive-session discussion on ongoing matters. - Utah State University Extension gave its year-end report highlighting youth programs, agriculture support, nutrition and health education, opioid/Narcan training, and the county fair; JD Gunnell emphasized a roughly 7:1 return on the county’s extension funding. - The executive presented the tentative county budget, describing a roughly 7.5% reduction overall while still funding COLA increases and higher public safety compensation. The council unanimously accepted the tentative budget and set the stage for public hearings and final adoption later in the year. - A major budget discussion focused on property tax confusion, with the executive and council members explaining that the county controls only a portion of the total tax bill and that advertised increases do not translate directly to homeowner tax bills. They said a Truth in Taxation hearing will be held November 18, with an open house beforehand. - The council set public hearings for November 4 on the Cache County Library discussion and input, the Mountain Minor Springs rezone, and the Cache County water use and preservation element. They also discussed that the library item and water plan would be separate public processes. - The council held a public hearing on the Honey Solar Stone Project LLC code amendment, which would create county code for small-scale, community, commercial, and battery-storage solar facilities while prohibiting concentrated solar. Public comments from the project proponent emphasized flexibility, restoration, and economic benefits, while council members raised concerns about aesthetics, zoning impacts, and the lack of a maximum project size. - After the hearing, council discussion suggested the solar ordinance should be studied further before action, with several members wanting more examples, clearer long-term limits, and more thought about rezoning industrial land for solar use. No final vote was taken on the solar ordinance at this meeting. - The council unanimously approved a resolution allowing Wellsville City to annex a 45.76-acre parcel, creating an unincorporated peninsula within the county. The property owner and city representatives said the annexation would support planned development and road access, while county officials noted the annexation would take the county road segment into the city. - The council suspended the rules and passed fee schedule updates for the auditor’s office garbage charges and the county attorney’s office discovery-related fees. The garbage fee change was described as a pass-through of higher waste management costs, while the attorney’s office changes were framed as shifting discovery costs to users who can pay.