Newton opts in on regional council idea

By Molly Farmer

March 14, 2006 | NEWTON -- The Town Council voted in favor of supporting the creation of a regional council to represent the residents of Cache and Franklin counties and the issues they face.

H. Craig Peterson, Cache County councilman, presented the project titled Cache Vision 2020, to the members of the town council Thursday night. Peterson focused on the projected benefits such a council would offer the residents of Cache Valley through enhanced communication and awareness of issues.

"Our point is, let's talk," he said.

The regional council, which is expected to form by June, will consist of 15 members including mayors from all over Cache County, as well as one from Franklin County in Idaho, Peterson said. It's important to include the residents of Franklin County, he said, as 70 to 80 percent of its non-agricultural employees work in Cache Valley. Cache Vision 2020's theme, "Our valley, our solution," represents the goals of the regional council, to let residents from all corners of the valley collaborate and recommend solutions for valley-wide problems, Peterson said.

The motion didn't pass without some skepticism, however, as concerns from the council and audience were raised.

Mayor Clair Christiansen asked how the recommendations generated by the council will be enforced. Peterson said that while the regional council will be an advisory board only, with no authority or jurisdiction, its composition of elected officials will help it serve as an influential organization that can facilitate change. Fourteen of the 15 uncompensated members of the council will be current elected officials, with the exception of the president of Utah State University.

The focus of the council should be to come up with solutions to the issues of the area, rather than having people in Salt Lake impose their ideas on the valley, he said.

Peterson said he and local attorney Gary Anderson, also present at the meeting, were proposing the regional council to all towns in the valley. They weren't interested in lobbying for money, he said, but wanted the support of the mayors of the valley, as they could be the mayors comprising the council.

The regional council will serve as an outgrowth of a current interlocal agreement that doesn't include Franklin County residents and which, Peterson said, hasn't done very much.

Christiansen said he didn't think there was anything to be gained by not supporting the regional council. Councilman Greg Jorgensen moved to have the proposition adopted and it was seconded by Maughan.

In other matters, the council heard from Ilda Berge, representative of the Daughters of Utah Pioneers, about a statue to be displayed in Town Hall. The sculpture was sculpted by Newton resident Marion Hawes and depicts a scene from the founding of the town. The art is to be presented at the next town council meeting in April.

On a motion from Maughan, the council unanimously voted to have the minimum wage of all city employees raised from $7 an hour to $8 an hour. The court clerk's wage was increased to $9 an hour and it was decided the treasurer's and recorder's wages would be addressed at a later date.

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