Tag: Loris

I-73 Funding Remains Roadblock to Hospitality Fee Lawsuit Settlement

The question of funding Interstate 73 is the obstacle preventing settlement of the hospitality fee lawsuit brought by Myrtle Beach against Horry County earlier this year.

A proposed settlement agreement that was voted on Monday by the councils of North Myrtle Beach, Myrtle Beach, Surfside Beach, Aynor and Atlantic Beach as well as Horry County Council included a provision that one-third of the proceeds from a continuation of the 1.5% countywide hospitality fee collected by Horry County would be dedicated to funding I-73.

The five municipalities voting approved the agreement. Horry County amended the agreement, which necessitates a reconsideration by the five municipalities. Conway and Loris did not vote.  

City of Conway officials said in various media reports over the last day that they have no intention of voting on the amended settlement agreement to the hospitality fee lawsuit proposed by Horry County Council Monday night.

Properly looking out for the interests of its citizens, Conway City Council wants to reserve the right to use any hospitality fee revenue collected within its city limits to meet local needs in accordance with allowable uses of hospitality funds.

The refusal by Conway to vote on the agreement effectively kills the amended settlement agreement since one condition of the amendment was that the cities in the county, less Briarcliff Acres, must unanimously approve the amended agreement.

Myrtle Beach Mayor Brenda Bethune tried to take the high road when the county amended the agreement, but she can’t. It was Bethune who summarily dismissed the county’s offer to settle the dispute in early April, long before attorneys began racking up large bills to continue the lawsuit.

The exact same conditions the county proposed in April became the conditions for settlement voted on Monday night, including the I-73 funding.

Attorneys representing Myrtle Beach negotiated with attorneys representing Horry County with the other municipalities essentially left out of the negotiations. The settlement agreement was presented to those municipalities, essentially as a fait accompli. Conway and Loris chose not to accept and Horry County Council members chose to amend it.

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County Council Kicks I-73 Decision Down the Road

Horry County Council again dodged making a definitive decision on the I-73 contract with SCDOT at its special meeting Wednesday.

Instead of voting to cancel or go forward with the contract, council voted to defer a final decision until the end of the year.

In the meantime, council has asked the cities to step up with funding for the project or the county would be forced to cancel the contract by December 31, 2019.

In simple terms, the county does not have the ability to fund the up to $25 million per year currently promised in the contract. SCDOT has asked for $12.5 million in the first year, but plans to bond against $25 million per year in future years.

The City of Myrtle Beach continues to cloud the truth by saying the county can fund the contract with its hospitality fee revenues from the unincorporated areas. This is not true.

With the county now banned from collecting a 1.5% hospitality fee, the municipalities and the cities collecting their own hospitality and accommodations taxes, the county has no more than approximately $10 million it can designate for I-73.

In order to reach the $25 million per year called for in the SCDOT contract, Myrtle Beach would have to pledge approximately the same as the county, $10 million per year, and North Myrtle Beach, Surfside Beach, Conway, Loris, Aynor, Atlantic Beach and Briarcliff would have to combine to make up the remaining $5 million.

I don’t believe any of that is going to happen. Not only would the cities have to pledge the funds each year, there would need to be an intergovernmental between the county and the municipalities formalizing those commitments and each party would need to sign the contract with SCDOT.

Those are the details of what needs to happen to keep the SCDOT contract alive. However, there are other details that make keeping the contract more disturbing.

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Down at the Barbershop Debuts

My good friend and former television partner on “Big Talk”, Jack Murphy, has a new show on his WLSC AM 1240 radio station airing today called Down at the Barbershop.

Murphy has been a fixture in Horry County as a prime time DJ, host on River Talk and many other radio and television productions through many years.

I think this show is going to be a lot of fun.

Below is the press release for the show.

Loris, SC – Loris Barber Shop and WLSC Tiger Radio have teamed up to produce a weekly two hour live broadcast called, “Down at the Barbershop”. The first broadcast will happen this Friday, April 1st at Loris Barber Shop located at 4011 Meeting Street in downtown Loris. The show starts at 10 am. Even though, it’s April Fools Day, organizers promise this is no joke.

“How can this be a joke? When you come see us, we’re gonna give you an RC Cola and a Moon Pie. It’s southern hospitality at its best.”, says Banana Jack Murphy, emcee for the broadcast. He adds, “We’re even going to have the Loris Chamber of Commerce here for an official ribbon cutting. To be honest, I think they’re coming for the Moon Pies. It’s just gonna be big small town fun.”

Local musician, Big Bam Boom is scheduled to perform live music for the inaugural broadcast. There will be lots of laughs with Jason Porter, the friendly owner of Loris Barber Shop and a local character knows as The Ragin’ Cajun will be on hand, too. So, come on down and get a haircut, play a game or two of checkers and have a good old time with the gang at Loris Barber Shop.

If you can’t make it, listen to 1240 AM or online at TigerRadio.com. You can even watch the action as it happens. WLSC Tiger Radio is going to stream live video of every broadcast.

“Down at the Barbershop” will live every Friday 10 am until Noon. If you can play an instrument or know any good jokes, then you’re invited to be part of future broadcasts.

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Loris City Elections

The unofficial December 1, 2015 general election results for Loris mayor and three city council seats are:

Mayor

Michael Suggs 186

Henry Nichols 175

George Protz 105

Loris City Council

Jerry Hardee 255

Joan Gause 245

Michael Dozier 205

Jan Vescovi 193

Thessolonia Graham 182

Kimberly Rudelitch 122

The city election commission will certify results at 10:30 AM tomorrow at City Hall.

There are 10 provisional ballots to be considered by the election commission.

Based on the above results, if certified, the top three vote getters in the city council race, Jerry Hardee, Joan Gause and Michael Dozier, have won election to city council for four year terms.

There will be a runoff election for mayor between Michael Suggs and Henry Nichols on December 15, 2015.

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Horry County Holds Line on Overall Tax Millage

Horry County will not have to change the value of a property tax mill as a result of property reassessment.

Final reassessed property values countywide came to within approximately 2% of former values so Horry County staff could do some juggling and hold the line on the county’s recently approved Fiscal Year 2015 budget.

But, that does not mean there will not be both winners and losers when tax bills go out. Some property taxes will go up and some will come down relative to prior years’ tax bills. In fact, there will be a distinct shift in tax revenues in the county.

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