With more than 800 votes cast during the two-week window, a winner has emerged in the City of Sanford’s pilot participatory budgeting cycle.
Receiving 521 votes and garnering the top slot was concrete games in municipal parks. The City will now move forward with installing permanent, weather-resistant games such as chess/checkers tables and cornhole in select parks.
“We are excited to offer the community these new amenities, giving them more ways to connect with each other while spending quality time in our parks,” says Mayor Rebecca Salmon.
In second place with 21 percent of the vote was the option to turn Depot Park into a Winter Wonderland for the upcoming holiday season. Improving the landscaping at several City gateway signs came in last with 17 percent of total votes.
Participatory budgeting has been a great tool in communities across the country for increasing resident engagement and building excitement for quality-of-life improvements. For its first cycle, Sanford City Council asked residents to pare down three options – each costing $20,000 – to just one.
“The projects were chosen because of their potential to improve our public spaces and enhance our quality of life,” Salmon says. “The final decision was left to our residents.”
Online and in-person voting ran from August 11 through August 22 with voting booths at several municipal buildings and park events. “We enjoyed the opportunity to discuss the options and gather resident feedback in both English and Spanish,” notes Communications Specialist Jessica Wess, who managed several in-person voting booths.
One of the best parts of the participatory budgeting experience was “having conversations about the quality-of-life projects residents want,” Salmon says. “Seeing and hearing that excitement is a true testament to how deeply people care about our city.”
With votes tallied, City staff is now working to select which games will be installed and at which parks. “Our goal is to have the games installed and ready to play by the end of the year,” says Parks and Grounds Administrator Caroline Jeffries.
The two remaining projects may be considered in future budget cycles or through alternative funding sources.
Learn more about participatory budgeting for Sanford at www.sanfordnc.net/pbvote. For questions or concerns, send an email to info@sanfordnc.net.