Hamlet officials cut the ribbon Wednesday on the first phase of downtown beautification efforts.
The town’s two new decorative streetlights were turned on for the first time. They’re located on the east side of Starke Street, across from the Town Hall. They join a third streetlight installed last year at the southeast corner of Starke and Davis. The block also received several feet of new curb and sidewalk as part of the work.
Local business owner Lee Nagai has been leading the revitalization effort. He told the town council Wednesday that he’s still gathering the bills for the project, but it appears to be within budget. “To me, it’s a credit to you guys in the town for allowing me to help you guys out with this,” he said. “And like I said you can tell everybody it was under your budget, and hopefully there will be some groundswell to go ahead with the next phase.”
Council President Dave Kesvormas said there should be money in the Hamlet’s Economic Development Income Tax Fund to cover the installation of lights on the other side of the street next year.
