LOGAN — Mayor Doug Thompson became embroiled in an angry confrontation with a Provo-based booting company when his wife's car was booted. The company ended up dismissing all tickets in the lot.
"He was trying to throw his weight around," one employee, speaking on condition of anonymity, said. "He was trying to use his office to get out of a lousy $50 ticket."
The mayor said he only cited his office to show that he knew what he was talking about when he said the no-parking signs did not comply with Logan's ordinances.
The confrontation occurred Friday night in the private parking lot of the Century Square office building.
The mayor's wife, who arrived separately at the Ellen Eccles Theatre, parked in the restricted lot without seeing the no-parking signs.
After seeing a performance by Lokalgrown, a folk band, they found a $50 parking ticket attached to their windshield.
An agent for Premier Parking Enforcement claimed Thompson threatened to sue if he were ticketed.
"I don't remember if I said that," the mayor said. "I was pretty steamed."
The mayor contended that the no-parking signs were not posted properly, nor were they adequately visible for those looking for a parking place. The sign at the gate was hanging upside down. The rest of the lot was unlighted, obscuring the other two signs, he said.
"If there is an ethics problem, it is with the parking authority issuing tickets without proper signage," Thompson said.
The booting company said the lot was posted sufficiently. Though one sign was hanging upside-down on Friday, two other reflective signs were still posted within the lot, each larger than a movie poster.
The city's ordinance enforcement officer was uncertain whether the upside-down sign would violate the ordinance requiring conspicuous display of the signs.
"That is something the judge would have decide," police detective Brad Sorenson said.
Upon speaking with the head of the booting company, the mayor had the ticket removed from his car and from the 50 other cars parked in the lot.
"We lost so much money," the employee said. "The mayor even waited around to let other people know that they didn't have to pay their booting ticket."
Thompson said he was simply making sure that everyone was treated equitably.