By Collin Leonard | [email protected]

The first South Jordan City Council meeting kicked off the new year with emotional statements by re-elected officials and discussions about new projects in the pipeline. 

After an invocation prayer led by District 3 Councilmember Don Shelton (attending via Zoom because of exposure to COVID), a flag ceremony led by Scout Troop 3851 and the national anthem sung by Rachael Van Cleave (communications manager/public information officer for South Jordan), the Oath of Office Ceremony took place for Mayor Dawn R. Ramsey and District 5 Councilmember Jason McGuire. Though Shelton was not able to participate in the ceremony during this meeting, his membership on the council began with the start of the term. 

“I’m grateful for all of our residents, who really are the ones who make South Jordan a wonderful place,” McGuire, who was re-elected to a second term, said. Both South Jordan City Council Members Shelton and McGuire ran unopposed. 

Ramsey, moved to tears, began her statement: “As chair of this meeting and mayor of this city, you're not supposed to cry when you're sitting in this seat, but my heart is full and bursting with gratitude.” 

In 2017, Ramsey was the first woman elected mayor of South Jordan. At the meeting on Jan. 4, she said “there are surely countless capable women who came before me who didn't have an opportunity like this because it simply wasn’t allowed, so I'm really grateful to get to do this work.”

According to the Pew Research Center, public trust in government has reached near historic lows. Ramsey echoed this in her statement, saying, “There is such a narrative that you can't trust anyone in government, that there's no one who has pure motives or who's honest. It is simply not true.” She indicated her five fellow council members as evidence of this.

The 2020 census has shown South Jordan to be one of the fastest-growing cities in America with a population above 50,000. With this growth comes opportunities and challenges. As the Bangerter highway project at 10400 South concludes, the city of South Jordan and the Utah Department of Transportation will focus on the interchange at 9800 South. 

The council was presented with an update on this project by Bangerter Highway Environmental Studies Project Manager Brian Allen. One of the major questions yet to be answered is whether the interchange will be an overpass similar to 7800 South in West Jordan or an underpass resembling 11400 South in South Jordan. The public’s formal comment period on this project is from Jan. 17 to Feb. 15. To contact UDOT regarding the project, call the hotline at 888-766-ROAD (7623) or email [email protected]. 

Also in this first meeting, the council issued a proclamation declaring Jan 23–29 School Choice Week and passed a resolution naming Jan. 16 Religious Freedom Day. Ramsey begins her second four-year term with a message of hope, saying, “Our best days are still ahead of us. We have great things to do, great things in the works, great things in store.”