June 2024 Council Highlights

  • June 1st was the start of hurricane season in South Carolina. Remember to create or update your family emergency kits. Write down your emergency numbers and keep them in your kit. Have enough food and water, and remember to include medication, disinfectant supplies, pet supplies, and other supplies for your household – plan now so it’s ready before a storm is announced.
    • Additionally, the Santee-Lynches Regional Council of Governments is updating the Natural Hazard Mitigation Plan for Clarendon, Kershaw, Lee, and Sumter counties. The CitizenSurvey needs your responses to understand your personal experiences and perceptions of natural hazards, like hurricanes, tornadoes, and floods. The survey is also concerned with your planning and preparation in the event a natural hazard occurs. Your feedback will guide the development of strategies to help the community recover from natural hazards more effectively. Please take a few minutes and complete the survey on our website
    • For the full 2024 South Carolina Hurricane Guide with kit suggestions and link to the survey visit our website at sumtersc.gov/news.
  • Thank you to everyone who came out in support of the 2024 Iris Festival held at Swan Lake Iris Gardens. More than 40,000 visitors attended the festival over the 3 and ½ days, from as far away as Louisiana and New Jersey. This year’s festival had over 20 sponsors with more than 150 vendors. An additional thank you to all of the volunteers who coordinate this amazing event every year! We look forward to what 2025 will bring!
  • The Aquatic Center offers classes and activities, including a free Water Aerobics class and a new Lazy River Water Walking class for anyone over 50.
    • Open swim times for all ages are Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday & Saturday from 12 PM to 5 PM. Fridays from 12 PM to 7 PM and Sundays from 1 PM to 5 PM. Admission is $3 per person (Ages 5 and under are free).
    • For full rules and details visit com.
    • Family-friendly movies at the Sumter Opera House are showing every Tuesday at 10 AM, 1 PM, and 7 PM running through July 30th. Admission is $2 per person. Bottled water and popcorn will be available for $1 each. Large groups please call ahead to reserve space! (803) 435-2616 or visit com.
    • Congratulations to Carson Branstine, representing Canada, on winning the 2024 Palmetto Pro Open championship! Just weeks before, Branstine was helping her team at Texas A&M win a NCAA National Title, for the FIRST time in history! Now, she just won her first W75 event which helped her reach a career-high ranking of top 350! Carson fought hard, winning the match in 3 sets. We are so proud of Carson and what she achieved in Sumter, and we are eager to see where she goes from here!
      • Along with Carson, the Palmetto Tennis Center and Sumter hosted over 136 professional tennis players, coaches, umpires, and family members from around the world this month. The economic impact of the annual Palmetto Pro Open is over $123,000 – that’s revenue directly to our hotels, restaurants, and retail businesses.
    • Do you have youth that want to learn tennis? The Palmetto Tennis Center is hosting Youth Summer Camps this week. If you missed it, you can sign up for the June 24-27, July 8-11, or July 15-18 sessions. There is a fee associated with the camps; however, the city offers scholarships through our First Serve Program. Applications are available on our website at com.
      • The Tennis Center is also hosting adult ‘Learn to Play Tennis’ classes, starting on July 10, August 21, and October 9. The class will be on Wednesday evenings at 7PM. Call (803) 774-3969 or stop by the Tennis Center Pro Shop to sign up.
    • Fourth Fridays Concerts Downtown. These free concerts are held on the Sumter County Courthouse Lawn from 6:30 to 9 PM. Food and beverages will be available to purchase. Bring your lawn chairs and blankets, but no coolers, please. Food trucks will be available onsite. The remaining bands are:
      • June 28 – The Live in the Flesh Experience
      • July 26 – Chief Complaint
      • August 23 Second Nature
      • September 27 – Too Much Sylvia
  • For those that live on Shaw AFB, remember you have a free shuttle service available to you for the 4th Friday Concerts. The shuttle will pick up at Carolina Skies and the dorms at 6 PM and approximately 8:30 PM, and then drop off in Downtown Sumter. The shuttle will return to Shaw at approximately 8 PM, 10:30 PM and again at 11 PM. This free shuttle is brought to you by the Santee-Wateree Regional Transportation Authority (RTA) and the Sumter Visitors Center. This shuttle is open to all active-duty military and families that live on Shaw AFB. All riders must have a current ID with base access.
  • Project updates:
    • Construction has begun on the water tower at Live Oak Industrial Park, the foundation has been laid and they will be working on the tank for the next several months
    • The South Sumter Art Park and South Sumter Park are coming along, they are using the same construction team for both so they’re sharing the load.
    • The clay courts at the Tennis Center are nearing completion – they are currently working on those overnight to prevent heat exhaustion.
  • We received reports that several ramps need repair at the skateboard area at Veteran’s Park adjacent to Shaw Air Force Base. Upon inspection, the ramps in their current condition have been deemed a safety hazard and the skateboard area has been closed until further notice. We are currently searching out material and funding sources to repair the equipment, which is estimated around $8,000.
    • With the exception of South Sumter Park, which is currently closed and undergoing a complete redesign and renovation, the city, county, and state offer 30 parks in this community for youth and visitors to enjoy. And we have four Spray Parks that are currently open throughout the city and free to use from 7:30 AM to Sunset, 7 days per week. Visitcom for details.
  • For lots more events and activities in Sumter visit our community calendar at LoveSumter.com.
  • We invite you to visit and attend a regular City Council meeting, our meetings are typically held on the first and third Tuesday of each month. However, with the Independence Day holiday, we will not have a meeting the first week of July. So, the next meeting will be Tuesday, July 16th at 5:30 PM. If you can’t make a meeting public comments may also be submitted online anytime through our website at gov/council/meetings or city residents can contact the Mayor or their Council representative any time before any meeting to discuss a concern or idea.