Struggle over pool in Ogden

OGDEN — The Ogden City Council has voted to fully fund the Marshall White Community Center, despite the existence of a contract between city administration and an outside agency to take over the center's operations in July.

But what drew the caution of Mayor Matthew Godfrey and council executive director Bill Cook was a policy statement proffered by Councilwoman Caitlin Gochnour that the Marshall White Center maintain its current level of service and fees and that the center's swimming pool be maintained as a swimming pool. The statement was approved 4-2 by the council Tuesday.

Ogden-Weber Community Action Partnership officials have said they would keep the pool open when they begin managing the center in July, but once the partnership takes over the lease in January, there's no guarantee the pool will stay open.

The council's statement hamstrings the city administration, Godfrey said, and is a move by the council to grab additional power.

Councilmen Brandon Stephenson and Doug Stephens agreed that the statement appeared to micromanage the administration.

Though the council expects the mayor to veto the budget, and Godfrey said no options are off the table, he promised to be prudent and methodical in his decision-making at this point.

Godfrey says the contract will provide better services to Ogden residents, especially children.

"In many areas, the lack of services we have provided has been an embarrassment," he said. "We can do better. We should do better."

But the possibility that the pool could close has drawn the ire of residents. And council members, seeking a way to keep the pool open, fully funded the center's operations for a year as an incentive to the Ogden-Weber partnership.

Council members were concerned that six months isn't long enough for the partnership to seek and receive its desired grants that would keep the pool open, Cook said.

The problem with the policy statement, Godfrey said, is that a legally binding contract exists — a contract that doesn't guarantee the pool will remain open when the partnership takes over the center's $100,000-a-year lease.

Ogden's council-mayor form of government functions differently from most Utah cities. The administration and council are separate entities with separate powers. The council sets policies, and the administration enforces them.

"This is a dramatic step and a very, very bad direction," Godfrey said.

Gochnour and Councilwomen Amy Wicks and Dorrene Jeske said they felt the policy statement was the best tool to communicate their desire for the pool to remain open. The Marshall White Community Center is located in the district represented by Councilman Jesse Garcia, who also voted for the policy statement.