The Marshall White Center is again front page news this morning, with a pair of Standard-Examiner stories which indicate that the Godfrey administration and the city council remain on a collision course with respect to 2010 MWC fiscal year funding.
1) Contrary to the earlier representations of Boss Godfrey that negotiations with the OWCAP non-profit for a takeover of the center were proceeding smoothly, Ace Reporter Schwebke's morning story delivers this unsettling news:
OGDEN -- The Ogden-Weber Community Action Partnership will insist that the city continue to pay operational costs and employee salaries at the Marshall White Community Center before it agrees to run the facility.Notwithstanding this apparent and potentially fatal negotiations glitch, Godfrey is evidently still operating on a wing and a prayer. Rather than recognizing that the administration and OWPAC yet remain some distance from a meeting of the minds, and simply reinserting $350 thousand into the 2010 budget, Godfrey has instead carved out about $168,000 from various line items from other city departments -- about half of the funding necessary to keep the MWC doors open though the 2010 fiscal year. In classic Godfrey brinksmanship fashion, the administration appears to be keeping its fingers crossed that OWPAC will eventually enter into some kind of agreement... and succeed in obtaining grant funding later in the year. And on that subject, OWCAP's own statement on the subject isn't encouraging at all:
OWCAP is interested only in managing the center's programs and can't afford to fund the facility, said Donald Carpenter, the nonprofit organization's administrator.
As a result, the city would have to continue covering the center's expenses, he said.
"We would submit monthly bills (for the center's operational expenses to the city). There would be no other choice but to walk away (from a management contract) if they won't live up to that part of the agreement."
"We might be interested in acquiring a lease (for the center) in the future as grants come together," [Laura Traum, program manager for OWCAP] said.Time for the folks on the city council to assert themselves as the grownups in city government, we think. If Godfrey refuses to reinsert the necessary funding into the 2010 budget, the council should do so themselves.
2) In a companion story, Mr. Schwebke reports that the lumpencitizens are also forming up en masse to demand restoration of MWC funding. Read all about yesterday's NAACP rally here.
Given the current uncertain posture of Ogden City/OWCAP negotiations, we believe its unlikely that the parties will reach an agreement which is satisfactory to all involved parties and stakeholders prior to the June 26th fiscal budget approval deadline. Hopefully Boss Godfrey will take his lumps gracefully this time around.
Our compliments to Scott Schwebke this morning, by the way, for digging out and providing this most interesting material.
