The Oro Valley Town Clerk rejected a petition today over a technicality.
The activists group Tee'd Off filed 3,158 signatures on a referendum petition last week — more than the minimum 1,148 signatures it needed — but the group did not write a serial number on each petition sheet. The serial number was required by town rules, the town spokeswoman said.
The activists began collecting signatures after the Town Council approved a deal to buy El Conquistador country club and golf courses for $1 million. Last month's 4-3 council vote came just a couple of weeks after the deal was first made public.
The town's plan is to renovate the fixer-upper country club and turn it into a recreation center. The deal also included a half-cent sales tax increase to pay for renovations.
The group wanted the public to vote on the deal and sought to force the matter on to the ballot.
After the group learned its petitions might be rejected, it tried to do a last-minute effort on Friday to gather enough signatures to submit a backup, but the group was short by just 78 signatures, organizer Shirl Lamonna said. "The people want to be heard," she said. "It's hard for me to believe anyone on the Council wouldn't sit up and take notice."
Lamonna said she didn't recognize the importance of the serial number among the many details that must be included on the petition forms, but she said a court challenge is possible. "I wish we had better news for all the people who supported this effort," she added.
