This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2011, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
Ogden • The three-member Records Review Board voted unanimously Thursday to deny Mayor Matthew Godfrey's request that it reconsider its decision to release a list of potential Field House donors to government watchdog Dan Schroeder.
Godfrey's administration is seeking $40 million to build a proposed five-acre recreation facility on land near 24th Street and Kiesel Avenue. About one-fourth of that funding could flow from private donors, and the document in question was a list of prospects Godfrey had jotted down to hit up for support.
"I've read it in depth," board Chairman Robert DeBoer said of the city's motion to reconsider. "I can't see anything different than what we had before. Based on the information we have, I don't feel any differently than what we first indicated in our [March 2] decision."
The panel's procedures do not provide for a motion to reconsider, noted board member Janene Eller-Smith. "If the city wants to appeal to the district court, that would be their next motion," Eller Smith said.
Mara Brown, Ogden's chief deputy attorney, had argued that the board had the power to reconsider, based on case law. She also said that the list was meant for Godfrey's personal use and had not been circulated to anyone within or outside the city.
In a letter responding to Ogden's motion to reconsider, Schroeder said such action would equate to "making up the rules as one goes along" since the city's records-management ordinance has no such procedure in place for its review board.