Sanford Area Growth Alliance answers 1 of 9 questions on Lee County growth, housing and infrastructure concerns

The Sanford Area Growth Alliance (SAGA) responded to one of nine questions from Sandhills News following a March 27 meeting on growth concerns, leaving key issues about housing costs, infrastructure strain and development priorities unanswered.

SAGA is funded by taxpayers and by private investors.

Sanford’s 2026 budget allocated $256,671 for SAGA, and Lee County allocated about $400,000–$500,000 for operating costs.

CEO Jimmy Randolph and Economic Development Director Todd Tucker shared over an hour of time and knowledge on the county’s growth trends and projected future growth.

Afterward, they agreed to answer questions for publication.

Sandhills News asked SAGA to please answer all the questions. The invitation remains open, and the article will be updated should they provide more answers.

1. SAGA states on its website’s “Workforce and Development” page, “Building Affordability,” that more housing will stabilize prices, but current market data shows prices rising despite construction.

SAGA’s website shows a median home price of about $298,000, but Realtor.com shows a median listing price of $350,000. Does SAGA acknowledge this 17% discrepancy, and how does it change your strategy for attainable housing? Does the website need updating? Is affordable housing on the SAGA priority list, and if so, please share the list and its numerical significance.

2. Jimmy Randolph said in a March 27 conversation with Sandhills News that he holds the interest of industry stakeholders as the top priority. It is his job to attract new industry as the SAGA CEO.

Based on the U.S. Census data, about 28,000 residents in Lee County have lived in the county for 25 years or more, which is about 40–45% of 68,500 residents in 2025, adjusted to reflect individuals who relocated to the area later in life. The county’s comparatively high homeownership rate, estimated at 66–67%, further supports this conclusion. Considering that industry is attracted to Lee County because of its product, which are comprised of its people, culture and services, should there be higher priorities for maintaining the product?

3. Rental inventory skyrocketed by 207% over three years. A 200% increase in supply has not lowered costs, so how is the supply and demand model supporting local residents, and B. how can rent be lowered by negotiations with rental property owners from industries seeking “product” (local residents) to fill employment needs?

4. Most new builds are priced between $300k and $400k. Is SAGA concerned that Sanford and Lee County are over-building for commuter wealth (Raleigh/Durham) while under-building for the local workforce?

5. “If you’re not growing, you’re dying,” SAGA Economic Development Director Todd Tucker said at the March 27 Sandhills News meeting about the problem of “bottleneck growth.”

For example, there is only one school, Deep River Elementary School, with capacity to accommodate a new subdivision’s impact.

Schools need continued maintenance, repairs and replacement. Teachers are underpaid and some cannot afford a new home on one salary. The county has the control to fund these needs, and the product to attract industry relies on well-educated residents to fill employment rosters.

UPDATED April 3 at 9:09 a.m.: One $350,000 home generates about $2,275 in property taxes annually. Conservatively, 30% of most county budgets are allocated for schools. In Lee County, according to School Board Member Alen Rummel, and the 2025-26 budget, the county allocates 21%. About $800 to $1025, from the single home’s property taxes help fund schools.

It takes $12,400 to fund one pupil per year in 2025, according to North Carolina Public Schools Statistical Profile.

That means, funding one student for a school year requires property taxes from 12-15 $350,000 homes.

It seems simple to understand that the answer to smart growth means attracting more industry. For example, Kyowa Kirin is making a $530 million investment and plans on hiring about 100 employees. With the property tax rate at .74%, Kyowa Kirin will invest about $3.9 million in property taxes, with lower rates in the early years as an incentive.

Sanford Area Growth Alliance’s 2025 report shows Kyowa Kirin’s industrial investment is equal to 1,500 homes. After the tax break years, it will generate about $3.9 million in property taxes and of that, $1,170,000 will be for school funding.

During the March 27 meeting with Sandhills News, SAGA shared that it speaks in support or not for subdivision and industrial proposals.

In late Nov. 2025, during the school superintendent’s report, Dr. Dossenbach updated the board on capital project needs. Within 10 years, five buildings will need extensive repairs at an estimated cost of $144,799,380.

JR Ingram Elementary School was built in 1987 and will be at 34.3% of its useful life in 10 years, according to the facility condition index.

The maintenance department, built in 1973, will be at 51.5%.

Southern Lee High School was built in 2005 and will be at 30.1%.

West Lee Middle School, built in 1978, will be at 34.9%.

The district has $637,800 in immediate needs, including roofing, HVAC, boilers, and flooring.

How does SAGA reconcile the push for more residential growth with the fact that local taxpayers are currently left to fill the massive gaps in state and federal education mandates?

6. There are three areas without local fire and rescue services, so they are outsourced because the county and city says it cannot cover the exorbitant cost of building, supplying and maintaining their own. This means job opportunities for people who were educated at Central Carolina Community College’s EMS and Fire courses may be lost to outsiders. So, why is residential annexation being prioritized before these life-safety infrastructure gaps are closed?

7. How do you respond to the sentiment that the current growth model is not an invitation for the caregivers, nurses, bus drivers, teachers, law enforcement personnel and assembly workers who were deemed essential during the COVID pandemic and are considered product to industrial investors?

8. Rural areas are now developed with light industry, subdivisions, and roadways, leaving fewer open spaces to help reduce stress and promote mental health.

Neither Lee County nor Sanford want a Metropolis City attitude toward growth with planned urban sprawl and transit systems to welcome and accommodate a migrating population at the expense of longtime residents who want rural spaces.

Consider that First Tee Sandhills, a nonprofit, aims to teach life skills as they instruct golf lessons on their developing 34-acre course in Cameron in Moore County. The venture has been funded with grants and private donations.

Moore County is a Tier 3 county due to its tourism tax dollars, primarily from the golfing industry.

North Carolina Senator Tim McInnis said at the Fly Local campaign for the Moore County Airport that golf accounted for the county’s low .29 cent tax rate and was the reason for their ability to thrive on tax dollars generated by the tourism industry and “live cheap.”

Lee County is a Tier 2 and more eligible for grants.

How feasible is attracting golf development for a Tier 2 county on its rural farms?

The Sanford Municipal Golf Course has seen its share of storms and is considered the hidden gem in courses that tourists visiting Moore County courses, play.

A new affordable golf course on rural land would not generate more taxes than a subdivision but would generate sales taxes. Golf courses develop tourism, something lacking in Lee County. Plus, a golf course does not require school capacity.

A 150-acre rural tract in Lee County could likely hold an 18-hole golf course.

Also, subdivisions bring in more money, but they need more Cost of Community Services (COCS).

Greener Golf shares that for every $1.00 a subdivision pays in taxes, a county may spend $1.05 to $1.25 in COCS.

A golf course requires almost zero county services. It doesn’t send children to schools, it maintains its own cart paths, and it rarely requires police or emergency services compared to 100 households in a subdivision.

Rural golf courses usually qualify for open-space tax breaks, which lowers their tax bill but helps the county meet conservation and green space goals without having to buy the land themselves.

An affordable course would generate tax revenue from green fees, cart rentals and food and beverage sales.

When the course attracts players from neighboring Wake or Moore counties, it brings new money into Lee County that is then spent at local gas stations and restaurants.

Plus, homes adjacent to a golf course have a 15% to 25% higher assessed value than comparable homes elsewhere, which can boost the tax revenue of the surrounding area.

At the end of the day, data suggests subdivisions are usually at a net loss for counties due to COCS.

A. How can the county leverage its Tier 2 status and grant eligibility to develop “hidden gem” recreational spaces that protect our mental health and open spaces while generating tourism sales tax from neighboring Wake and Moore residents?

B. Is it feasible for Lee County to create a recreational land-use incentive to attract affordable golf development on rural tracts?

9. Please share your role in the City of Sanford’s planning, annexation, rezoning, and approval processes.

ANSWER: Good Afternoon, Stephanie.

Thank you so much for getting back to us after our conversation on Friday. As I read your questions, I think that I may not have been as clear as I could have been about how SAGA fits into the broader economic, governance, and community development infrastructure in Sanford and Lee County. That is something that we’ve been working on for a long time, and it seems our work isn’t done quite yet. I hope you’ll forgive me for not going question by question, but I hope my response will bring greater clarity to SAGA’s role.

SAGA is the product of a union between the local chamber of commerce and the county’s economic development arm – hence the ‘alliance’ in our name – and was stood up to create a one-stop-shop to serve businesses in Sanford and Lee County. Our job is, for the most part, providing information and making connections. We provide information to county commissioners and city leaders on the latest economic development trends and potential projects coming to our community to help them make informed policy decisions. We provide information to potential investors in our community to help convince them that Sanford and Lee County are a good place to build a business and we help connect them with potential customers and other businesses. We provide information to our local businesses about new opportunities to help them succeed and we make both business-to-business connections and customer referrals. And we provide information to the public about what’s going on in our community, and what it means for them, as well as connecting them with our member businesses for services they may need. We don’t have the power to levy any taxes or approve new public policies, but we do have the power to leverage our relationships with decisionmakers in our community to help them make decisions that will enhance our community’s business environment and improve the local economy.

We do all this to promote balanced growth in our community, which we believe is the best way to maintain the prosperity and quality of life of our residents. In the US today, many small cities are struggling to keep up with changing economic conditions. The rising tide is not lifting all boats. But here in Sanford and Lee County, we’re bucking the trend, and seeing success as a small city. And that success isn’t theoretical – it’s bringing real results. We cut the ribbon on the new farmer’s market last week, we’re breaking ground on the revitalization project at Riverbirch shopping center this week, and in just over a month, we’ll be opening the new library, all while lowering tax rates by 14.5 cents for Lee County residents and another 8.5 cents for City of Sanford residents since 2018. None of these projects would have been possible without the economic growth our community has seen over the past decade, and that SAGA has been working to promote.

Of course, with a growing population comes increased demand for services. But these are not insurmountable problems, and indeed, growth can help solve them. Building more houses and growing our employment base makes large employers more comfortable locating here, knowing they will be able to find a ready workforce. Those large employers pay much of the property taxes supporting our services, while demanding relatively little in the way of services.

SAGA’s mission isn’t to tell individuals or developers what to do or how to do it; it’s to help our leaders, businesses, and residents understand the opportunities available to them and make informed decisions, all while promoting our community as a destination for business investment and development. In that regard, we’ve delivered for our community. The county’s tax base has more than doubled to $10 billion since SAGA’s founding, paving the way for lower taxes and higher public investment. Median household income rose from $46 thousand to over $71 thousand. Our unemployment rate has declined from 6.2% to 3.3%. SAGA has used its skills and relationships to promote renewed growth in Lee County, benefiting all its citizens.

As a former small business owner who struggled to survive the Great Recession and saw Lee County’s unemployment rate rise to a devastating 14.8% less than 20 years ago, I remember what life in Sanford and Lee County were like during a time when growth was not happening, the population was shrinking, Downtown Sanford was virtually empty, and small businesses were closing left and right.

The vibrancy and economic vitality we are experiencing today is a testament to the power of community leaders to pull together and create a more resilient community through informed decision-making and strong relationships between our residents, our businesses and our elected leaders. I’m glad for the role that SAGA has played in this economic success story, and I appreciate your investment in our efforts as a member of the Chamber. There is still much work to be done, and I look forward to working with all our member businesses and community leaders to maintain our community’s positive economic trajectory.

Thank you again for taking the time to talk with us.

Best regards,

Jimmy

April 3, 2026

Stephanie M. Sellers

Submit news tips, events and interview requests to editor@sandhills.news.

Sandhills News is plain-English local government reporting that explains how decisions affect your land, taxes, schools and rights.

References

Highlights of the NC Public School Budget – NC DPI. (2025, March). https://www.dpi.nc.gov/documents/fbs/resources/2022-highlightspdf/download?attachment

U.S. Census Bureau

Public Schools NC Data

https://apps.schools.nc.gov/apx212/f?p=145:35:::NO:::

Greener Golf

https://www.greener.golf/virtually-certain/greener-golf-index-blog

Lee County and Sanford Budgets

https://www.sanfordnc.net/DocumentCenter/View/4652/2024-2025-Proposed-Budget