Author: Paul Gable

More Myrtle Beach Annexation Questions Arise

The more one looks at the City of Myrtle Beach annexation petition, the more questions arise on the issues surrounding this proposed annexation.

A July 15, 2014 special election is scheduled in what the city is calling the “South Area” to vote on whether the area will be annexed into the city limits.

A 50% plus one positive vote of qualified electors within the petition area will annex the whole 640 acres or so into the city with only qualified resident electors of the area voting on the question.

Second Myrtle Beach Annexation in Pipeline

We learned this week that a second City of Myrtle Beach annexation is already in the process.

Earlier in the week, we reported about a Myrtle Beach annexation in which the city has submitted a petition for a referendum vote scheduled to be held July 15, 2014. In this one, the city has bundled together a relatively small amount, approximately 44 acres, of residential property with approximately 600 acres of commercial and undeveloped property into one annexation package.

Using an option in state law that allows 25% of voters in the proposed annexation area to petition for a referendum, the city has cut the owners of the commercial and undeveloped property included in the annexation out of the process completely. They literally have no say whether their property will be annexed into the city even though their business license fees and property taxes will rise.

S.C. House District 58 Campaign Hijinks

Virtually every political campaign has its share of misinformation, exaggeration, boasts and BS. That’s the nature of the beast today and the reason so many people are turned off by the political process.

Once in a while, a candidate and his campaign staff will decide even that type of conduct is not enough in an effort to win an election.

This is what appears to have happened in the race for the S.C. House District 58 Republican nomination.

Inspector Gadget and Horry County Public Safety

As seems to happen every year, the Horry County Public Safety Division has asked for new radios for police and fire personnel and new video equipment for police.

The cost is projected at approximately $4.4 million over eight years, which is also the projected lifespan of the equipment.

The radios alone cost $4,500 each, ostensibly because our infrastructure supporting the radios dates back to 1991.

Coast RTA Funding from Horry County Intact

After Tuesday’s Horry County Council budget workshop, Coast RTA was still on track to receive $1.055 million in grant funding for next fiscal year from Horry County.

Council member Marion Foxworth presented a synopsis of the findings of the Select Committee on Coast RTA, which council chairman Mark Lazarus appointed and Foxworth chaired.

Foxworth said the Select Committee voted unanimously and was adamant in recommending to continue the county’s commitment to public transportation and the taxpayers who pay for the grant.

Is Proposed Myrtle Beach Annexation Really a Land Grab?

An unnecessary vote by Horry County Council at its May 6th meeting has raised questions about just what is going on with a prospective City of Myrtle Beach annexation plan.

This annexation proposal met initial opposition from two members of city council before passing. It was back to flying nicely under the radar until it was mistakenly put on Horry County Council agenda for a vote on a Resolution to move a referendum on the annexation question forward.

After initially passing county council by a 9-1 vote, council member Paul Prince moved for reconsideration after hearing many of the property owners were not included in the decision. Council, then, defeated the resolution by a 6-4 vote.

The Choice for Probate Judge in Horry County

The Probate Judge Republican primary battle in Horry County brings to light some interesting details about South Carolina’s legal system.

On the surface, there may not seem to be much separating the two candidates with incumbent Probate Judge Deirdre Edmonds being challenged by one of her former associate judges, Kathy Ward.

But, that’s where South Carolina law steps in. With its head stuck in the 19th Century, you don’t even have to be a graduate of a law school or have passed the bar exam to be a candidate for Probate Judge in this state, thanks to its 1895 Constitution.

Forgery Uncovered in Coast RTA Review

A letter from SCDOT that purportedly removed Coast RTA from being designated as a “High Risk Agency” is apparently a forgery, according to a follow-up letter from SCDOT.

Dated October 11, 2011, the letter, allegedly from SCDOT Deputy Secretary Hart Baker to Coast RTA General Manager Myers Rollins, states, “I have rescinded the letter (designating Coast RTA as High Risk Agency) and removed the Waccamaw Regional Transportation Authority’s designation as a “High Risk Agency”…”

In replying to a request for validation of the October 11, 2011 letter, SCDOT Director of Intermodal and Freight Programs Doug Frate sent a letter to Coast RTA board chairmen Bernie Silverman dated May 2, 2014. The letter said in part, “Please know that I have been informed that this letter was neither signed by or for Mr. Hart Baker, nor did it originate from the South Carolina Department of Transportation (SCDOT).”

NAACP Head Threatens National Attention on Coast RTA Issues

Abdullah Mustafa, President of the Conway Branch of the NAACP, told Horry County Council he planned to bring “national attention” to events regarding the Select Committee on Coast RTA and the firing of former Coast RTA general manager Myers Rollins.

Mustafa addressed Horry County Council during public input at its regular meeting of May 6, 2014. Mustafa claimed he was addressing council “on behalf of the citizens who cannot speak for themselves”, namely the riders of Coast RTA. But, he didn’t.

Instead, Mustafa challenged the right of county council chairman Mark Lazarus to form a Select Committee to study the failure of two projects at Coast RTA and to make a recommendation on continued funding of the bus agency.

Select Committee Recommends Continued Funding of Coast RTA

The Select Committee on Coast RTA voted unanimously to recommend to county council that funding of the bus agency be continued with additional controls.

That decision was made at the committee’s fourth and final meeting Monday night. The recommendation was adopted by committee members along with 20 findings of fact about the failed shelter project and suspended intermodal center project.

Failure, especially of the shelter project, falls predominantly on poor program management at Coast RTA with some blame also attributed to the Grand Strand Area Transportation Study (GSATS) and SCDOT, according to the findings.