SMITHFIELD—The City Council voted unanimously to adopt the restriction on “spice” Wednesday. The restriction covers manufacturing, distribution, possession or use of the substance known as spice, a product that mimics the effects of marijuana when smoked.

The ordinance has been adopted by Logan and North Logan and is being addressed by many other cities in Cache Valley.

Also on the agenda was Mike Kidman, a representative from Jones Simkins P.C. Audit Firm, who presented the annual audit report.

“Auditing is an intrusive process, there’s no way to make it easy,” Kidman said. “We are well within our time frame and I believe we have a good product.”

Kidman said that overall, city government was in good shape. There were some negative statistics coming from the golf course; however, Kidman explained that the annual audit cut-off date is June 30. This is right in the middle of the golf season, which can skew the results depending on the spring’s weather.

Jim Gass, city manager, said that looking through the golf course’s numbers, “this year compared to last year’s revenue is about the same, even a bit ahead.”

Kidman also said the city’s water and sewer funds were at a negative. “We are seeing a caution there. We definitely suggest some discussion there.”

Overall, Kidman praised the council, saying, “We appreciate your effort. We have seen you go from a smaller government to an intermediate level. There’s quite a bit going on here.”

The council unanimously accepted the audit report.

The council also voted unanimously to approve the agreement with Hyde Park on the annexation boundary. Mayor Simmons explained the reasoning behind the agreement: “We are determining some boundary lines so we don’t have a civil war,” he said.

The council also approved two new members of the Library Board, Pam Nish and Julie Marshall.

At the next meeting, the council will be discussing terms and bylaws of the Smithfield Historical Society as well as annual dog licensing reminders.

The next council meeting will be held Dec. 8 at 6:30 p.m. in the city offices, 96 S. Main St.

Published in cooperation with the Hard News Cafe. Original story is here.