Tag: Horry County

In Memory of Bill Darby

Bill Darby was a man who lived a full life according to his own rules.

The song “I Did It My Way” is certainly a complete description of his approach to life.

For nearly 60 years, Darby was the publisher of Coast and Alternatives magazines in Horry County. He brought the concept of tourist oriented magazines to the largest tourist destination in South Carolina.

He was a political maverick, one of three men who, together, can claim to have founded the Horry County Republican Party. As Bill liked to say he was a Republican when the Horry County Republican Party could hold meetings in a telephone booth.

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Nikki Haley’s About Face on Atlantic Beach Bikefest

It seems that Gov. Nikki Haley’s thinking with respect to the Atlantic Beach Bikefest has begun to enter the realm of reality.

After meeting with several local government leaders yesterday, Haley told the media everybody was working together to see that bike week (Atlantic Beach Bikefest) “is safe, that it is law abiding and that it moves forward.”

Haley said discussions were very productive and “we are now working on traffic issues, noise ordinances and all of those things on how we need to go forward…”

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Working on the Carolina Southern Railroad Sale

Hopes are high that an expected sale of the Carolina Southern Railroad will be finalized within the next 60 days, according to sources familiar with the negotiations.

Horry County Council approved a Memorandum of Understanding that includes $1.8 million to be applied toward that sale at its regular meeting Tuesday night. In addition, the Horry County administrator was directed by Horry County Council to continue to work toward completion of a sales and purchase contract for the Carolina Southern Railroad.

Columbus County (NC) Commissioners approved a like amount to be applied toward the sale one night earlier.

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Star Tek Loses Contract, Is Horry Job Creation Impacted?

Another of the Myrtle Beach Regional Economic Development Corporation’s supposed star job catches appears to be experiencing difficulties, according to sources familiar with recent developments at Star Tek.

A customer service call center, Star Tek was expected to create approximately 665 new jobs in Horry County over a three year period.

However, according to several sources familiar with recent developments, current Star Tek employees received an email last evening saying Star Tek had lost its contract with Direct TV and all current employees were to report to Human Relations today for interviews.

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Myrtle Beach Planning for Atlantic Beach Bikefest

It seems the main planning items for the Atlantic Beach Bikefest that came out of the two day law enforcement summit in Myrtle Beach earlier this week deal with federal programs.

The City of Myrtle Beach has expressed significant interest in taking advantage of several U.S. Department of Justice grants that will provide the department with patrol rifles, ballistic riot control shields and diversity training.

Those three put together seem to be mixed planning unless diversity training means putting daisies in the barrels of the patrol rifles.

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Controlled Traffic Patterns, More Police for Memorial Day

The City of Myrtle Beach made initial plans for the Memorial Day weekend Atlantic Beach Bikefest crowd control public yesterday.

The plan calls for controlled traffic patterns from 10 p.m. to 2 a.m. during the nights of Memorial Day weekend plus increased police presence within the city.

According to sources familiar with the plans, the City of Myrtle Beach is seeking 400 officers from outside jurisdictions to help beef up police presence during Atlantic Beach Bikefest. Horry County and North Myrtle Beach are seeking 150 additional officers each.

Sources tell us the city is still considering hiring security personnel from private security firms in addition to the planned increase in police officers.

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Silence Continues on Southern Holdings Money

Another week has passed with no decision on the Southern Holdings litigation and settlement money.

Despite saying in court on August 20, 2014, he would issue a ruling within one week, Judge Doyet A. Early remains silent.

The case before Judge Early is an interpleader action asking the court to rule on who has claim to the remaining Southern Holdings litigation and settlement funds and how much should go to each claimant.

The interpleader action was brought by attorney and Lexington Magistrate John Rakowsky who represented seven individual plaintiffs in the original Southern Holdings case. Rakowsky stated he didn’t know who had claims to the remaining litigation and settlement money he held.

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RIDE III Committee First Moves

The RIDE III Committee had its opening meeting yesterday marking the first move toward a possible November 2016 ballot referendum for new road projects funded by a one-cent local sales tax.

The committee will take the next year or so considering possible road projects to include in the referendum with public meetings included on its future agenda.

One thing to remember is the committee is purely advisory.

Once the committee finalizes a list of possible projects, the list will be sent as recommendations to a six-member RIDE III Commission.

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No Tax Referendums for Horry County

Horry County voters will have no advisory referendums on the November 2014 general election ballot asking for additional taxes to be levied on county residents.

Last week it looked as if Horry County voters would get to register their advice on whether to raise millage to help fund the Waccamaw Center for Mental Health services.

The Waccamaw Center for Mental Health is a state designated agency that is underfunded by the General Assembly.

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Coast RTA Problems Highlight Larger Authority Issues

Recently released reports of a Federal Transportation Authority inspection of Coast RTA highlight the problems inherent in a multi-jurisdictional authority that spends public money.

The FTA inspection occurs every three years. In 2011, the FTA inspection noted four “findings” of problems at Coast RTA. The 2014 inspection listed 17 “findings. The two most problematic findings are the bus fleet and maintenance shop are literally falling apart.

Those inspection results are noteworthy because Horry County increased its funding of Coast RTA from approximately $400,000 to $1.06 million in the fiscal year beginning July 2011.

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