City of Oak Harbor administration and the former coordinator of the city-owned marathon are playing tug-of-war over a social media venue.

Mayor Scott Dudley said he was outraged that Tamra Sipes won’t hand over the proverbial keys to the Whidbey Island Marathon Facebook page. He maintains that the city owns the page because she was under contract when she created it.

Dudley said he will pursue the issue in court, if necessary.

“If she really, truly cared about the community, if she cared about the marathon,” he said, “you would think she would make the transition easier than she has.”

Sipes said it’s her page and she has no plans to give it up. She said she worked hard to create something that has gained attention statewide and beyond; it’s valuable to her as a professional event planner based on Whidbey Island and she can expand it beyond the one race.

“In the best interest of the 2015 event, I continued to work on it with the city, with no contract or pay, up until the Elks Club was officially hired,” she said. “I did this knowing I was not getting the job so it would be a smooth transition.”

Dudley decided earlier this year not to renew the city’s contract with Sipes, who has run the marathon since the city purchased the event in 2010. City council members said they were pleased with the work she did as a contractor, but Dudley was vocal in his dissatisfaction in Sipes’ performance.

The mayor argued that the participation declined in prior years. He said a discount in registration fees that Sipes offered as a special promotion was part of the reason for a big jump in registration this year.

He claimed Sipes received a bonus for higher attendance while the race lost the city money. However, the bonus based on attendance was Dudley’s idea.

In the end, the city issued a “request for proposals” and selected the Oak Harbor Elks to organize and run the marathon.

On Thursday, Dudley said the city created a new Facebook site for the marathon, but it’s confusing to prospective participants and detrimental to the event to have more than one site.

The city’s attorney is drafting a letter to Sipes explaining that city has a legal claim to the Facebook page.

Dudley said the city may also contact Facebook for help.

The final step may be litigation, Dudley said, but added he hopes Sipes won’t make that necessary.

“I think she has a tough time working well with other people,” he said, “and has different motives than someone who wants to make the marathon better and better.”

Dudley said he heard that Sipes also refused to turn over a Facebook page to the Soroptimist International of Oak Harbor.

Merilee Paddock, current president for Oak Harbor Soroptimists, debunked that assertion. Sipes never had anything to do with the organization’s Facebook page or any other social media page, she said.

“There are no words that describe all of this,” Sipes said this week.

“It’s just crazy and hurtful.”