It may have been the great American humorist Will Rogers who first said, “It ain’t braggin’ if it’s true.” Well for elected officials in South Jordan, their first ever State of the City event highlighted many true and significant milestones the community has accomplished, things that could clearly be bragged about.

Mayor Dawn Ramsey hosted a celebration at the South Jordan Community Center on Feb. 22. Present were leaders from city government, the Jordan School District, private corporations and Congressman Burgess Owens–along with many residents. It was a chance to learn of both accomplishments and goals for one of the 10 fastest growing cities in the nation.

“I want to begin by paying tribute to the members of our city council,” Ramsey said. “The city has moved forward due to your leadership. We’ve grown from a community of 65,000 to more than 100,000 residents in the past few years, and it’s largely due to the livableness and friendliness of this city.”

She touched on four areas she’s focused on as the city’s mayor.

First is relationships–within the city’s departments and with other cities and agencies.

“South Jordan is strong in part because of our schools, our educational opportunities.” She introduced Dr. Anthony Godfrey, Superintendent of the Jordan School District, who agreed that “we cannot do what we do without strong relationships with the city. We may have different roles in government and education, but we have the same goals. We want to work together.”

He said 2,300 of the district’s teachers now use artificial intelligence in their classrooms, helping students to learn with and about that technology. He said, “South Jordan also leaps into action when we need help,” and he told the audience that the district is building a new elementary school in Daybreak as student enrollment increases.

Ramsey’s second focus is on economic development. She said while two-thirds of Salt Lake Valley residents live west of I-15, only one-third of the jobs are on the westside, stressing the need for “building a thriving micro economy.”  She introduced Steve Starks, CEO of the Larry H. Miller Company that is building a new baseball stadium in the Downtown Daybreak area. 

“Quality of people and a culture is what really matters, and this has both. It’s a place that’s in the path of progress for our residents,” Starks said. He lives in South Jordan and loves raising his family in the community. He said the LHM Company remains in contact with the ownership of the Oakland A’s, who are considering playing games in the soon-to-be-finished Salt Lake Bees ballpark in South Jordan in 2025, while the team’s new stadium in Las Vegas is getting ready for the 2028 MLB season. Nothing has been decided by the A’s, but at least SoJo is in the conversation, he said, adding A’s officials visiting the city last month “couldn’t believe the beauty of those mountains that would face home plate!”

Third on the mayor’s list is partnerships, and she introduced Heath Bradley, Global Manager for JustServe, an organization based in Salt Lake City that now operates in 17 countries, linking community volunteers to projects where they are needed. Ramsey said South Jordan was one of just six communities in the United States to receive the JustServe City Award for its volunteer efforts during the 9/11 day of service cleanup efforts.

“I offer praise to your residents for getting engaged in projects that serve the community,” Bradley said. “You have visionary leadership and it’s reflected in your sense of service.”

Ramsey said the fourth area of focus is infrastructure, something she said “usually lays in the ground, is not often very pretty and is always expensive.” She referred to streets and sidewalks, water projects, and those elements critical to a city.

Owens was happy to report the city will receive $5 million from the federal government to build a much-needed culinary water tank. He praised both the city and the state for efforts at projects like the Inland Port and the update of airports, saying “Utah will be the distribution point of the West. People love coming here and many want to stay and raise their families here. I know I did.”

The mayor finished by running off a long list of South Jordan’s accomplishments. It was listed in Money Magazine’s top 50 Best Places to Live in 2021, and has received accolades from WalletHub, USA Today and even Where to Retire magazine. With Downtown Daybreak’s development, she’s pledging that the momentum will continue.

In short, she said, the state of the city is good.  λ