Tag: tom rice

COAST Board Member Blasts Council

Mickey James, President of the Myrtle Beach Chapter of the NAACP and member of the COAST RTA board of directors, blasted Horry County Council Tuesday night for its stinginess toward the transit authority’s funding needs.

“No other agency receives the type of challenge and scrutiny (for funding) from this council,” during a presentation to council Tuesday night. “The bar for COAST is always higher.”

The question of funding from Horry County was supposedly decided in November 2010 when Horry County voters passed an advisory referendum, by an over 60 percent margin, to provide approximately $1 million in county funds to COAST on an annual basis. The referendum question was non-binding, but it was decisive.

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Bike Rally Issue Still Undecided

An eleventh hour discovery that the ordinance amending the vendor and special events permits needed to go to the Planning Commission for a recommendation prior to final consideration from council keeps an issue potentially affecting the May bike rallies undecided.

Third reading of the ordinance was scheduled for county council last night. If the ordinance had been approved in its present form, vendor permits would be allowed for seven days at reduced fees from prior years. Both would be positive results for the bike rallies.

Instead, council chairman Tom Rice announced county attorney Arrigo Carotti had contacted him earlier in the day stating the ordinance must be reviewed and a recommendation received from the Planning Commission prior to final consideration from council.

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Bikes, Guns and County Council

Bikes rallies and gun control, two of the most controversial issues to come before Horry County Council in some time, should be put to rest at tonight’s regular meeting barring any last minute surprises.

Council agenda lists a resolution directing a “more aggressive approach to be taken by the Horry County Police Department in the enforcement of existing laws” with respect to the discharge of firearms in close proximity to residences.

This resolution comes to council instead of an ordinance that would have severely restricted gun use in the county. A presentation by Public Safety Division head Paul Whitten and Horry County Police Chief Saundra Rhodes to the county Public Safety Committee made the case that current state and local law were sufficient to deal with any problems of weapons discharges in the sub-divisions. Both Whitten and Rhodes said there was no need for a new ordinance to address the issue.

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Update: Gun Rights Debate, Big Gov at Worst

The Horry County Public Safety Committee debate tonight on restricting weapons discharges in the unincorporated areas of the county was an example of government at its worst. Two days after a proposed ordinance to restrict gun use was circulated throughout the county, the whole debate became a non-issue.

Sparked by complaints from homeowners of weapons being discharged in fairly populated sub-divisions in the unincorporated areas, such as Carolina Forest, several council members requested the issue to be debated by council. The concept was to look for ways to possibly address sub-division residents’ concerns without affecting the more rural western areas of the county.

Rather than a full council discussion, such as a Committee of the Whole meeting, the issue was put on the agenda of the Public Safety Committee. County attorney Arrigo Carotti reportedly took it upon himself to craft the ordinance for discussion purposes.

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Bennett into 7th Congressional District Race?

Word is making its way around Horry County that former Coastal Carolina University head football coach David Bennett is seriously considering a run for the new 7th Congressional District seat.

Bennett’s entry into the race could be a game changer in many ways for the already crowded field. A native of Cheraw, Bennett would have instant name recognition throughout the 7th district with strong personal ties in both the western part of the district as well as Horry and Georgetown counties in the east. Any political consultant will tell you that name recognition is the number one factor in a race that has numerous candidates.

Bennett has strong ties with all levels of Horry County voters. He also will probably benefit from a considerable sympathy vote due to the way he was ousted as CCU coach at the end of last season. Bennett’s ouster is considered a betrayal by the CCU leadership after 11 loyal and successful years at the Chanticleers helm.

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Observations on the Bike Rally Vote

After the generally dysfunctional debate on bike rally vendor permits by Horry County Council Tuesday night, one veteran Horry County political observer commented to me that they believed the decision to again take on the bike rally issue, at the county level, was made in the “card room at the Dunes Club.”

I believe this comment is quite astute. It can be reasonably argued that the “Take Back May” movement, which resulted in the City of Myrtle Beach movement to end the May bike rallies was hatched at the Dunes Club. A small group of movers and shakers in the city saw the chance to take advantage of the public (above 38th Avenue North) unrest with the rallies, to advance personal agendas.

Tom Rice, then a private citizen, was the point spokesman for the “Take Back May” movement as the group lobbied both the Myrtle Beach and Horry County councils to essentially end the rallies. The effort was generally regarded successful at the city level, but a failure at the county level.

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Arrogance and Confusion, but a Victory for Bike Vendors

In what can only be called an arrogant abuse of parliamentary procedure, Horry County Council chairman Tom Rice called a five minute break, in the midst of debating an ordinance on the floor, because voting on amendments to the ordinance didn’t go his way.

This blatant lack of respect for the elected body he serves and abuse of power as chairman came during council’s regular meeting Tuesday night, but did not produce the result Rice hoped for.

The ordinance, of course, was about reducing the number of permit days for vendor and special event permits from the current seven days to five days. The ordinance, if passed as originally written, would have directly affected the Harley Davidson bike rally and the local small businesses that depend on it for revenue.

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Is Killing the Harley Rally the Goal

Horry County Council will vote tomorrow night on second reading of an ordinance to reduce bike week vendor permits from the current seven to five days.

Combining the reduced days with wording in the ordinance that allows the county to stipulate which five consecutive days the permits will be valid for brings the very real possibility that vendors will not be selling on weekends. Making the permits valid from Monday through Friday cuts out the traditionally highest sales days for vendors and could go a long way toward significantly reducing attendance at the Harley Davidson rally.

This appears to be the ultimate goal of those pushing the ordinance, led by council chairman Tom Rice. The real question is why.

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Foxworth, Thompson Announce Candidacies

The local political scene is heating up with filing for state and local candidates opening at noon Friday.

Two incumbent Horry County politicians held campaign kick-off events recently to start the Spring primary election season.

Incumbent District Three Horry County Council member Marion Foxworth welcomed approximately 150 friends and supporters to an event at Victoria’s Country Cooking Saturday evening. The event was hosted by Robert Shelley and Victoria’s owner John Johnson.

Foxworth, a Democrat, had an interesting cross-party mix at his event including fellow Republican council members Harold Worley, Jody Prince and Carl Schwartzkopf and former council member Mark Lazarus.

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Bike Vendor Permit Cut Passes 1st Reading

Horry County Council voted 7-5 Tuesday night, on first reading of an ordinance, to reduce bike vendor and special event permits from the current seven days to five, including set up and take down operations. Council members Harold Worley, Al Allen, James Frazier, Jody Prince and Bob Grabowski voted nay.

This is the second reduction in three years for the number of days for which permits will be issued. Three years ago, council reduced the number of permit days from 10 to seven. The cost of the permits ($800) has remained the same while the number of days has been reduced, effectively raising the cost of doing business per day, for vendors, by 100 percent over the three year period.

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