North Salt Lake council pauses Nights Out events pending legal advice

The North Salt Lake City Council voted 4-1 on Oct. 6 to pause all unity or Nights Out events until the council receives legal advice from the city attorney, according to the meeting minutes. Councilmember Alisa Van Langeveld voted no. Councilmembers Tammy Clayton, Suzette Jackson, Ted Knowlton and Heidi Smoot voted yes. ^[1]

The Events Committee had recommended a 2027 slate of Juneteenth, Pride, Back to School, Bolder Way Forward and Latino Heritage nights, according to Van Langeveld. The item had been tabled at the previous meeting. At the Oct. 6 meeting, the mayor, council members and residents who commented differed on whether the city should keep the events as they are, broaden them, or end them. The mayor said the Events Committee no longer wanted to host them and that any group could host an event. Resident Ashlyn Hawkins said she hoped the city would focus less on what divides people into groups. Resident Russ Cline said the events should not focus on one group to the exclusion of the whole. One resident told the council she had started an online petition with 123 signatures to continue Juneteenth, Pride and Latino Heritage nights. Another resident said the events cost $600 or less each. ^[1]

Jackson said the question was one of overall city policy on using tax dollars, and that she favored events everyone feels included in. Van Langeveld said the events are citizen-led, have run for four years, and that the Events Committee reviews them each year. ^[1]

City Attorney Todd Godfrey said not funding the events would be a safe harbor and the easiest route, and that broadly inclusive events would still carry some risk. He said his firm would prepare a written memo, which he planned to finish before the next council meeting. The council later met in closed session to discuss the legal risks. ^[1]

A motion by Van Langeveld to approve the 2027 slate and ask for the memo died for lack of a second. Smoot then withdrew her own motion for four broader events, to be approved after legal advice, and moved the pause, seconded by Knowlton. ^[1]