SOUTH JORDAN, Utah -- On the outskirts of a pristine 67-acre property is an ongoing fight about what to do with it in South Jordan.
“Thousands have filled out petitions throughout the years, and somehow, that’s not good enough for this South Jordan City Council,” said Janalee Tobias of the group, Save Mulligans.
With the help of the grass-roots organization, Tobias has been battling it out with city officials over the Mulligans Golf Course, a dispute they now believe they’ve settled.
“These are thousands and thousands of people that have contacted City Council to say, ‘Do no develop on the Jordan River,’” Tobias said.
Earlier this month, the group sent a survey out through the South Jordan Journal to all 18,500 homes in the city. It asked them to decide between preserving Mulligans, developing Mulligans or developing only part of the space.
According to the group, the results released on Tuesday show that 94 percent of respondents want to preserve the course. However, it’s unclear how many people actually responded, as the group would only say there were far more than the 500 people expected to answer the city’s survey.
“To represent that our poll is going to be inaccurate, that’s a classic try and poison the well to get their way,” said South Jordan city councilman Chuck Newton.
The city’s survey will go out to registered voters in South Jordan next month. It’s being conducted by the Provo-based company, Y2K. Once distributed, responses will be accepted until they have 500 representing the area’s demographics.
“I think what we’re going to want to look at is the scientific survey that more accurately represents and reflects what the residents, as a whole, want to see happen with course,” Newton said.
While the poll has yet to be conducted, Save Mulligans already does not put much credence in the city’s numbers.
“When you hire a political campaign consultant, you’re going to get the campaign you want. That’s why you hire them,” said Save Mulligans president, Julie Holbrook.
The group plans to release more concrete numbers from their survey in the near future, in an effort to highlight what they believe is the right plan for the city.
