Ogden Mayor Matthew Godfrey likes to bill his town as the future recreation capital of America. But he no longer wants the municipality to operate the rec center that has been at the heart of his community for four decades.
In Godfrey's proposed $139 million budget for the coming fiscal year, the line item for the Marshall White Center --- that serves Ogden's seniors and minorities, among others -- was reduced from $357,000 to zero.
That could set up a showdown with the City Council; members say they've been left out of the decision.
A similar proposal in 2004 ignited a firestorm within Ogden's minority and senior communities.
Recently, the administration informed the council it would lease the rec center, located at 222- 28th Street, to the nonprofit Ogden-Weber Community Action Partnership, said Bill Cook, the council's executive director. But it provided no details.
"I don't think the council knows if this is a good idea or a bad idea at this time," he said. "The mayor has not involved the council in this process. They are still lacking critical information."
Although the council must approve a budget by June 22, it hasn't seen the proposed contract with the nonprofit. It doesn't know which programs would continue to be funded by the city and which ones would be funded by potential grant dollars through the Community Action Partnership.
The council has the prerogative to restore the funding, Cook said.
Ogden's chief administrative officer, John Patterson, who is speaking for the mayor on this issue, did not return phone calls seeking comment.
Some community members are bothered by the mayor's unilateral action. The administration has been too secretive with the proposal, said Betty Sawyer, president of the Ogden NAACP.
"It needs to be taken off the table again," she said. "There has been no public process."
Sawyer said the city has a responsibility to support the neighborhood center, which has been open since 1968. She noted a "disconnect" between Godfrey's support for commercial recreation -- like sky diving and wave running at Ogden's new Junction development -- and community programs.
"His kind of recreation is paid recreation," she said, noting that many central Ogden youths can't afford such things.
"He's telling a significant number of people to go do something else. And that something else is, 'Go hang out on the street.'"
Sawyer's husband, Butch Sawyer, runs the Marshall White Center. He declined to comment.
But City Councilman Jesse Garcia said the center is essential for the youth of central Ogden, who have few outlets for activities and recreation.
"I had no idea the administration was zeroing-out the [center's] budget," he said. "It was a big surprise. The part that bothers me most is the council doesn't know what's going on."
