Benjamin Moore Paints Downtown

Last Monday, Benjamin Moore representatives, Mayor Cornelia Olive, and municipal staffers joined together with business owners and community members to kick off Benjamin Moore's four-week-long makeover of downtown Sanford.

The group moved over to Carolina Customs Home Theatre to add the first stroke of paint (Blue Gaspe). Jose Norato and his crew helped, as they will be the contractor for the project.

For questions about the Benjamin Moore makeover, contact David Montgomery at 919-777-1400.

Benjamin Moore To Start Work In Sanford

Benjamin Moore representatives will be in Sanford on Monday to launch the revitalization efforts the city won in the Main Street Matters competition this summer.

The company will kick off its makeover plans with a celebration event at 10:30am at the Downtown Sanford, Inc offices located at 226 Carthage Street (Federal Building).

The following weeks will be a flurry of activity as Benjamin Moore revitalizes the exterior of a three-block span of businesses on Steele Street from Gordon Street to Wicker Street.

Of the 20 communities in the United States and Canada that won the Main Street Matters contest, Sanford is the third to begin work. Benjamin Moore plans to finish Sanford's makeover by mid-December.

For questions or concerns about the project, contact David Montgomery at 919-775-8332.

Offices Closed For Thanksgiving

The City of Sanford's government offices will be closed on Thursday, Nov. 28 and Friday, Nov. 29 for Thanksgiving.

Offices will re-open on Monday, Dec. 2 at 8am.

Swearing in for New Mayor, Council Member

There will be a swearing-in ceremony and special reception for Sanford's new mayor and Council member in conjunction with the December 3 meeting of the Sanford City Council.

The meeting will begin at 7pm. During the meeting, Mayor Chet Mann and At-Large Councilman Chas Post will be sworn in. After the meeting, there will be a special reception in the atrium of the Sanford Municipal Center.

The public is encouraged to attend the meeting and reception to welcome the new Council members.

For questions, contact Bonnie White at 919-777-1111.

Mayor Olive and Councilman Cohen Honored With Outgoing Reception

Outgoing mayor Cornelia Olive and Council member Poly Cohen were honored with a special video presentation and reception at the end of the Tuesday, Nov. 19 meeting of the Sanford City Council.

This was the last Council meeting for both Mayor Olive and Councilman Cohen as the Wednesday, Nov. 27 meeting of the Law and Finance Committee has been canceled.

Watch the videos

Local talent Mitch Lassiter of M. Lassiter Photography donated his videography services to put together a parting video for each board member. The goal of the videos was to thank the members for their dedication to and influence on Sanford.

More Details

For more information about the meeting, read this article in The Sanford Herald (registration required). You can view photos from the night on our Facebook page.

Civil Affairs Students Examine Local Municipalities

On Friday, a group of Civil Affairs students from the John F. Kennedy Special War Center and School visited the Sanford Municipal Center to learn more about the infrastructure and management of cities and counties.

Director of the Sanford/Lee County Department of Planning and Community Development, Bob Bridwell, led a program that included presentations from the NC Department of Transportation, Lee County GIS, the Sanford Police Department, the Sanford Fire Department, and Lee County Emergency Services.

Key personnel from each department shared how the city and county work together to provide services to and promote the welfare of residents, as well as how they rely on each other during emergency situations.

The Civil Affairs students will apply what they've learned during these discussions when they are deployed to third-world and war-torn nations. These students will be responsible for setting up infrastructure and working with local officials in those countries.

This is the Kennedy Center's second visit to the City of Sanford's municipal center in as many months. An earlier group toured the Sanford Police Department this October to learn more about security and special operations.

Sanford Christmas Parade Returns

The annual Sanford Christmas Parade returns to downtown Sanford on Monday, Dec. 2 at 7pm.

To accommodate the parade, several streets will be closed starting at 6:30pm.

For more information about the parade, go to the Central Carolina Jaycees' website.

Mural Arts Program Completes First Mural

The first mural in the City of Sanford Appearance Commission's Mural Arts Program is now complete.

The mural is located at 140 N. Steele Street and was painted by Shirley Patterson. The paint used for the project was donated by Downtown Sanford.

The next mural in the Mural Arts Program is already in the works. Local art student Katie Hancock will paint a mural at 115 Moore Street in Sanford. We'll let you know when work begins.

Sanford Launches Mural Arts Program

The vacant storefront located at 140 N. Steele Street is quietly becoming more beautiful, thanks to the City of Sanford's new Mural Arts Project.

The store's front window, which has been busted out numerous times, was boarded securely by the City's Appearance Commission. The Commission had already noted that boarded windows were a wonderful canvas for local artists' creativity. Therefore, the white board used for 140 N. Steele Street was the perfect place to start the mural program, says Commission member Liz Whitmore.

The Project's murals will be painted by local artists and are meant to reflect Sanford's history, Whitmore says. For this first mural at 140 N. Steele Street, Downtown Sanford donated the paint and artist Shirley Patterson is painting the mural.

Next: Local art student Katie Hancock will paint the next window mural. It will beautify 115 Moore Street.

Special Reception For Outgoing Council Members

There will be a special reception for outgoing City Council members following the November 19 meeting of the Sanford City Council.

The meeting will begin at 7pm. Following, there will be a special presentation along with light refreshments to celebrate the service of outgoing members Mayor Cornelia Olive and At-Large Representative Poly Cohen.

The public is encouraged to attend the meeting and reception to help celebrate the members' years of service.

For questions, contact Bonnie White at 919-777-1111.

City Asks Residents To Help With Street Light Issues

The top way to increase the safety of any street is to ensure it is well lit, but it's difficult to know about every broken or burned out street light.

That's where the City of Sanford hopes you and other residents will come in.

The Streets Maintenance Department wants residents to report any street light problems they notice so that we can get them resolved. Potential issues include:

• Burned out lights,
• Lights cycling on and off,
• Flickering lights, 
• Tree limbs blocking light from reaching the street, and 
• Any damage to a light.

Action plan: If you see any street light issues, follow these steps:

1. Record the pole number and location. 
2. Report that information to Duke Energy Progress at 800-708-7488 or
3. Report that information to the Public Works Service Center at 919-775-8247.

You can also report problems using YourGov, a free mobile reporting app for Android or Apple devices. The app will allow you to submit a photo of the pole number and its location right from your phone.

Thank you in advance for helping us ensure that our street lights work properly.