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Council unanimously orders Mayor Sharp to surrender City-issued devices amid records dispute
Summary
Administrative Assistant Jody Siebert asked the council to enforce past records-responsibility resolutions, prompting a unanimous motion directing Mayor Peter Sharp to relinquish City-issued phones, electronics and access codes to City Hall by 9:00 AM on June 4.
Administrative Assistant Jody Siebert told the Soap Lake City Council that the Mayor had not complied with public-records requests and asked council to require immediate handover of City equipment. "I make a motion, in consistency with past resolutions 1038 and 1039 both passed by Council, requiring the Mayor, Peter Sharp, to relinquish any City issued phone, electronics or other City equipment in his possession, and to include any pass codes or access codes to any of these items, to Staff at City Hall by tomorrow morning, June 4th, at 9:00 AM," Siebert said.
After discussion, Councilmember Bryson moved and Councilmember Carson seconded the motion, which carried unanimously. The council did not record any conditions or exceptions in the adopted motion. The meeting record states the Mayor claimed he had no access to the Ring camera account; council members said there was no evidence he had taken steps to restore access or to provide the requested records.
The motion references earlier council resolutions governing staff cooperation with public records requests (Resolutions 1038 and 1039), which Siebert cited in asking for the order. The motion was entered into the record at the council meeting on June 3 and the council voted to adopt it without recorded dissent. The council did not specify enforcement steps beyond the order itself; staff may follow up through the City Attorney as needed.
