The Marquette City Commission earlier this week upheld city officials’ decision to deny a Freedom of Information Act request from Michael Neiger, a representative of Save Founders Landing Beach, for disclosure of City Manager Bill Vajda’s emails.

Neiger has been active in fighting the construction of a boathouse on Founders Landing by the Upper Peninsula Community Rowing Club, whose members include Vajda’s wife and the wives of Mayor Pro Tem Dave Campana and City Attorney Ron Keefe.

The commission last year approved a 25-year lease with the club, which now has to raise money for the proposed boathouse.

Neiger also led a failed 2014 attempt to recall Campana, a commissioner at the time, as well as Commissioner Sarah Reynolds and then-Commissioner Mike Coyne, who now is mayor.

On Dec. 4, a 1,200-page FOIA request from Neiger – asking for city officials’ emails over an 11-month period regarding the rowing club’s boathouse lease with the city – was fulfilled. However, he recently made a request for a copy of all Vajda’s emails between Dec. 1 and Dec. 31, 2013, irrespective of subject matter.

That request, we believe, was too vague and needed to have a more specific topic, such as the boathouse.

Even Reynolds, who deals with FOIA requests as a paralegal, acknowledged Neiger’s request was “overly burdensome and vague.”

We recommend Neiger resubmit his FOIA request, pinpointing a particular topic and shortening the time period, and wait to see if that request is granted. If not, he can again address the issue.

As a newspaper, and maybe more importantly as a group of citizens who want as much truthful information as possible to make informed decisions, a denial of a FOIA request is worrisome.

We believe in government transparency so the public can understand how a local unit, such as the city commission, functions and why it comes to its decisions. We are concerned, then, when citizens making FOIA requests are rebuffed.

However, in this case, a change of strategy seems the best course. It’ll be interesting to see how far Neiger wants to take this, and how the city will respond.