December 2021 Council Highlights

  • City Council recognized 47 staff members this month with more than 10 years at the City of Sumter, 14 of those with more than 20 years. Combined together they provide the City of Sumter with 785 years of experience, and we want to thank each of them for their service -- you keep our City going each and every day for our residents, businesses, and visitors. Thank you.
  • 2021 marks the 7th anniversary of the City of Sumter Mayor’s Christmas Card Contest. Students in Elementary and Middle School across the Sumter School District submit their artwork for consideration. One student per grade is awarded a prize for their submission and two are chosen from that list to be showcased on the annual City of Sumter Christmas Card. We are proud to announce this year’s honorable mention winners per grade are:
    • Lucyona Coaxum, Kindergarten at Wilder Elementary
    • Rylin Inbody, 1st Grade at Alice Drive Elementary
    • Lilly Dawes, 3rd Grade at Alice Drive Elementary
    • Taelor Cousar, 4th Grade at Lemira Elementary
    • Kenley Leach, 5th Grade at Kingsbury Elementary
    • Georgia Bauer, 6th Grade at Alice Drive Middle
    • Peyton Harvin, 8th Grade at Furman Middle
  • Congratulations to
    • Kristina Mosneaguta, 7th grade at Alice Drive Middle, and
    • Olivia Flynn, 2nd grade at Millwood Elementary

these two were chosen as the top overall winners and their drawings have been showcased on the City of Sumter’s 2021 Christmas Card. A special thank you to the Sumter School District and FTC our partners for this program.

  • We all need a little extra cheer after a long year. Congratulations to our Christmas Cheer Champions and thank you to all residents who help spread extra cheer this holiday season. We have awarded one residence in each City Ward a prize for helping to lift community spirts, they are:
    • Ward 1: 120 Thelma Drive
    • Ward 2:  910 W. Oakland Avenue
    • Ward 3: 615 S. Main Street
    • Ward 4: 37 Saratoga Street
    • Ward 5: 20 Gadwall Court
    • Ward 6: 730 Haile Street

If you live at one of the addresses mentioned, please contact the Sumter Visitors Center to find out how to claim your prize, 803-436-2640.

  • Fantasy of Lights at Swan Lake Iris Gardens continues through December 31. The light display will be open nightly December 1-31.
    • Sunday-Thursday until 9pm
    • Fridays-Saturdays until 10pm

All are welcome! Free admission. This is the largest FREE holiday light display in the state of South Carolina!

  • The Sumter Opera House Main Stage Shows are booking through the New Year, upcoming shows include:
    • January 29 – Smokey & Me: A Celebration of Smokey Robinson
    • February 18 – Legendary Recording Artists The 5th Dimension
    • March 5 – Comedian Henry Cho
    • March 19 – Tokyo Joe Performs Rocketman
    • April 23 – The Duke Ellington Orchestra

Other shows will be announced soon. For more info visit www.sumteroperahouse.com

  • Thank you to everyone for helping with our 2021 Community Clean Up Days. With your assistance we were able to remove approximately 109,000 lbs of trash from our roads and rights-of-way in 2021. Next year we will be working toward more educational outlets, enforcement and other programs to help keep the litter from getting onto our streets.
    • The 2022 Community Clean Up Days have been scheduled. We want to challenge everyone to commit to at least one clean up event next year. The dates are:
      • February 19
      • April 6
      • June 18
      • August 20
      • October 15
      • December 17

This program is a partnership with the City of Sumter, Sumter County, the Greater Sumter Chamber of Commerce, and Palmetto Pride. Signup to volunteer on our website sumtersc.gov/litter or by calling our Litter Prevention Office at 803-305-5266.

  • City Council meetings are held on the first Tuesday at 1 PM and on the third Tuesday at 5:30 PM on the 4th floor of the Sumter Opera House (enter through the back entrance off the parking lot). Public comments may also be submitted online anytime through our website at sumtersc.gov/council/meetings, or city citizens can contact the Mayor or their Councilmember any time prior to any meeting to discuss a concern or idea you may have for the City. For our regularly scheduled meetings, agendas are announced the Friday before each meeting on our website and include links to detailed agenda items as well as location, and more.
    • Next month our regularly scheduled meetings are on January 4 at 1 PM and January 18 at 5:30 PM.
  • The City of Sumter administrative offices will be closed for the holidays on the following dates:
    • Wednesday, December 22,
    • Thursday, December 23,
    • Friday, December 24 and
    • Friday, December 31

No residential service disruptions will occur this year, as both holidays fall on Saturday this year.

As we look ahead to an exciting new year, our hope for all residents is that 2022 is ultimately filled with opportunity and joy. Merry Christmas Sumter!