OPENPUBLICA · PUBLIC MEETING RECORD
Record of Proceedings

Horry County Administration Committee Meeting – March 25, 2025

County Council — Tuesday, March 25, 2025
BodyHorry County, South Carolina
SessionCounty Council
DateTuesday, March 25, 2025
StatusFILED
Video Record
0:00 / 32:01

Transcript — Verbatim
0:01

Administration committee meeting to order for the Tuesday March 25th meeting.

0:06

Everybody would rise for the indication and the Pledge of Allegiance.

0:11

You would bow your heads.

0:12

Dear Heavenly Father, thank you for bringing us here today safely.

0:17

Thank you for all the blessings that you bestow on us each and every day.

0:21

And please guide us today as we make these decisions.

0:25

Important decisions for Ray County.

0:27

In your name we pray.

0:28

I'm in.

0:34

And to the Republicans under God.

0:46

There is no public input or anybody signed up today, so we'll move on to the review and approval of the agenda context.

0:54

All in favor, aye.

0:55

Ayes have it.

0:56

Moving on to the approval of the minutes for February 25th, 2025 meeting.

1:01

So move.

1:03

All in favor?

1:04

Aye.

1:04

Aye.

1:04

Ayes have it.

1:05

Moving on to new business, the Myrtle Beach Regional Economic Development Corporation.

1:10

Ms.

1:11

Davis.

1:12

Welcome.

1:14

Good afternoon.

1:15

So Act T in the first quarter of 2025 has increased significantly since the election in terms of generating new leads and the rise in projects visiting.

1:25

We have had more visits from companies, increased interest in our area, and more projects from the site selectors.

1:33

Leads are currently 222 open leads.

1:37

We were down to 150 of January.

1:39

If you all will remember at the last admin meeting we attended in 2024, we said that each year we go through all of them at the beginning of the year, close out anyone who is no longer interested.

1:52

So we were over 400, and we got it down to 250, and now we're already back up to 222.

1:59

So we have had 42 projects as of today.

2:05

And on our marketing mission right now, Zach is meeting with five companies in Wisconsin and Minnesota on a marketing mission that was a joint venture with NISA that they paid for.

2:15

So we're very excited to have that opportunity.

2:18

And last week I met with 10 companies at the Seafood Expo in Boston.

2:22

Everything went really great.

2:23

That was last Sunday to Tuesday, the week of March 10th through the 13th.

2:29

Randy visited Connecticut and Rhode Island on a marketing mission and met with seven new companies.

2:34

And for those of you who are not aware, Zach Nalen and Randy Davies joined our team in the last quarter of last year so that we would be able to have more people traveling and also people here handling our projects when they come into town because it never fails that if we're going out of town, that's when the project's gonna be in town.

2:52

Much like last week when I was out of town.

2:54

So I want to thank um Tom and Johnny for meeting with the project last week on Monday.

3:00

Also February 11th through the 13th, I attended the Miami Boat Show and met with nine companies.

3:05

One of our big pushes this year is to try to locate someone at the Bucksport Marine Park, and we have already had three companies visit tour of Bucksport Marine Park since January.

3:15

So we are hopeful that this is going to be our year to land a tenant at uh Bucksport Marine Park.

3:21

As of January 1st, the MBRDC has generated 48 new leads, and I am comparing that to the 63 that we generated in Autumn 2024.

3:31

So you can see that we have actually been on the rise this year.

3:35

There is another marketing mission, um, many more marketing missions planned for this year.

3:39

We'll be doing some on our own.

3:40

I think we have four more on our own and two more with Nixon.

3:44

We also have two trade shows with CNT Cooper already um planned, which is Select USA and the Fort Lauderdale Boat Show.

3:52

Another thing that we have added to our list as of last year that seems to really pull in a lot of projects and site selectors is the PGA Myrtle Beach Classic Golf Tournament.

4:01

We have already heard from six site selectors who have confirmed that they will attend, and they are big names like JLL, Cushman Wakefield, CBRE that have already confirmed.

4:12

So we're excited about that.

4:14

We also have two projects that we are currently working with that we'll be attending as well.

4:19

In addition, in addition to generating the new leads and um marketing missions projects, we have visited 34 existing industries at Ory County as of January.

4:29

We currently have 171 on our list.

4:32

We go out, we ask them questions such as what are your biggest problems right now, what hurdles are you having, and they tell us if it's workforce, if they need to expand, if you're having problems getting supplies, if they need more vendors in the area, and we put them in touch with the right people that is able to help them either with training or just searching for new employees.

4:53

South Carolina Department of Commerce awarded the MBRDC a grant that we applied for for the county land at Ascot Valley phase two.

5:01

And I know Barry has seen it, but there has been a huge amount of work done to clear that land.

5:07

It's a little over 55 acres, well, roughly 50 acres on the left-hand side of the road.

5:12

And our sign was installed last week.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Public Engagement██████████████████████████████30%
Economic Development███████████████████19%
Procedural███████████11%
Public Transportation███████████11%
Youth Programs███████████11%
Affordable Housing██████6%
Technology and Innovation████4%
Fiscal Sustainability████4%
Public Safety████4%
Summary of Proceedings

Horry County Administration Committee Meeting – March 25, 2025

The Horry County Administration Committee met on Tuesday, March 25, 2025, at 1:00 p.m. in the County Council Conference Room. Chairman Tyler Servant presided. The committee reviewed and approved several resolutions, received updates on economic development, finances, and public information efforts, and discussed a trial period for wind-driven shading devices on county beaches.

Consent Calendar

  • Approval of Agenda Contents: Motion by Mr. Causey, passed unanimously.
  • Approval of Minutes – February 25, 2025: Motion by Mr. Causey, passed unanimously.

Public Comments & Testimony

  • No public input was received.

Discussion Items

  • Myrtle Beach Regional Economic Development Corporation (MBREDC) Update: Sandy Davis reported that active leads increased to 222 as of Q1 2025, and 34 existing industries have been visited. She highlighted marketing missions, including visits to companies in Wisconsin, Minnesota, Connecticut, Rhode Island, and Boston, as well as efforts to attract a tenant to Bucksport Marine Park. The Ascot Valley Phase II land clearing is underway and a sign has been installed. The Horry County Community Land Trust Board has been formed, and private startup funds of $150,000 have been raised.
  • Financial Update – February 2025: Jamie Norman presented interim financial statements. Total revenues across all funds were $330.8 million, with the General Fund at $227.9 million (83.9% of annual budget). General Fund expenditures were $156.6 million (59.0% of budget). Net change in fund balance was $58.0 million. All special revenue funds were performing as expected.
  • 2025 SC Chamber ATHENA Young Professional Leadership Award: Barry Spivey recognized Shannon Todd for receiving the award, noting her excellence, creativity, and community service.
  • YouTube Livestream Update: Mikayla Moskov announced that Facebook will no longer retain livestreams beyond 30 days, so the county will shift to using its existing YouTube channel for meeting livestreams. A public education campaign will accompany the change. YouTube does not require login, making it more accessible. The website livestream will remain.
  • Coast RTA Funding Agreement: Brian Piascik and Barry Spivey presented a resolution approving a funding agreement that shifts Coast RTA from road use fees to 5.45% of the Ride IV sales tax, increasing local funding by approximately $4 million. Key provisions include quarterly disbursements as taxes are received, an 8% operating reserve before service expansion, a 16.67% reserve required after three years, and council approval of Coast RTA’s compensation plan. The agreement does not cover vertical construction; a separate agreement will be developed.
  • Fair Housing Month Resolution: Beth Tranter presented a resolution designating April 2025 as Fair Housing Month, marking the 57th anniversary of the Fair Housing Act.
  • Grants Match Funding Resolution: Beth Tranter presented a resolution to designate $101,600 from the grants match fund for the Emergency Vehicle Signal Preemption project, a demonstration grant under the Safe Streets and Roads for All program. The project would equip 30 signals in unincorporated Horry County on US 17 and US 501 corridors to improve emergency response times.
  • Community Benefit Fund Requests: Ashley Carroll presented six requests: $10,000 for New Directions of Horry County (District 2); $1,000 for North Myrtle Beach Police (District 1); $1,000 for Student Angler League Tournament Trail (District 11); $1,000 for Aynor High School Football (District 11); $1,000 for Aynor High School Baseball (District 11); and $1,000 for Aynor High School Girls Varsity Track (District 11). Additional contributions were pledged by committee members.
  • Recognition of Nurses Honor Guard of South Carolina: A resolution was presented recognizing the organization for its volunteer work honoring nurses at funerals and end-of-life ceremonies. Representatives from the local chapter spoke about their services and requested an opportunity to demonstrate the Nightingale Tribute at a future council meeting.
  • Wind-Driven Shading Devices (Ordinance Amendment): David Jordan presented a proposed amendment to allow wind-driven shading devices (e.g., Shibumi shades) on county beaches for a one-year trial period. Committee members expressed concerns based on prior public safety objections. Councilman Causey noted opposition from beach patrol. Councilman Hardee noted that Surfside Beach allows them year-round. After discussion, the committee voted to forward the ordinance to full County Council without a recommendation.

Key Outcomes

  • Approved: All resolutions on the consent calendar and new business were approved unanimously except as noted.
    • Coast RTA Funding Agreement (motion by Mr. Causey, second by Mr. Hardee, passed unanimously)
    • Fair Housing Month Resolution (motion by Mr. Causey, passed unanimously)
    • Grants Match Funding Resolution (motion by Mr. Causey, passed unanimously)
    • Community Benefit Fund Requests (motion by Mr. Causey, passed unanimously as amended with additional pledges)
    • Nurses Honor Guard Recognition (motion by Mr. Causey, passed unanimously)
  • Forwarded without recommendation: The ordinance amendment regarding wind-driven shading devices was forwarded to County Council for further debate.
  • Next Meeting: April 29, 2025, at 1:00 p.m. (subject to change).

Meeting Transcript

Administration committee meeting to order for the Tuesday March 25th meeting. Everybody would rise for the indication and the Pledge of Allegiance. You would bow your heads. Dear Heavenly Father, thank you for bringing us here today safely. Thank you for all the blessings that you bestow on us each and every day. And please guide us today as we make these decisions. Important decisions for Ray County. In your name we pray. I'm in. And to the Republicans under God. There is no public input or anybody signed up today, so we'll move on to the review and approval of the agenda context. All in favor, aye. Ayes have it. Moving on to the approval of the minutes for February 25th, 2025 meeting. So move. All in favor? Aye. Aye. Ayes have it. Moving on to new business, the Myrtle Beach Regional Economic Development Corporation. Ms. Davis. Welcome. Good afternoon. So Act T in the first quarter of 2025 has increased significantly since the election in terms of generating new leads and the rise in projects visiting. We have had more visits from companies, increased interest in our area, and more projects from the site selectors. Leads are currently 222 open leads. We were down to 150 of January. If you all will remember at the last admin meeting we attended in 2024, we said that each year we go through all of them at the beginning of the year, close out anyone who is no longer interested. So we were over 400, and we got it down to 250, and now we're already back up to 222. So we have had 42 projects as of today. And on our marketing mission right now, Zach is meeting with five companies in Wisconsin and Minnesota on a marketing mission that was a joint venture with NISA that they paid for. So we're very excited to have that opportunity. And last week I met with 10 companies at the Seafood Expo in Boston. Everything went really great. That was last Sunday to Tuesday, the week of March 10th through the 13th. Randy visited Connecticut and Rhode Island on a marketing mission and met with seven new companies. And for those of you who are not aware, Zach Nalen and Randy Davies joined our team in the last quarter of last year so that we would be able to have more people traveling and also people here handling our projects when they come into town because it never fails that if we're going out of town, that's when the project's gonna be in town. Much like last week when I was out of town. So I want to thank um Tom and Johnny for meeting with the project last week on Monday. Also February 11th through the 13th, I attended the Miami Boat Show and met with nine companies. One of our big pushes this year is to try to locate someone at the Bucksport Marine Park, and we have already had three companies visit tour of Bucksport Marine Park since January. So we are hopeful that this is going to be our year to land a tenant at uh Bucksport Marine Park. As of January 1st, the MBRDC has generated 48 new leads, and I am comparing that to the 63 that we generated in Autumn 2024. So you can see that we have actually been on the rise this year. There is another marketing mission, um, many more marketing missions planned for this year. We'll be doing some on our own. I think we have four more on our own and two more with Nixon. We also have two trade shows with CNT Cooper already um planned, which is Select USA and the Fort Lauderdale Boat Show. Another thing that we have added to our list as of last year that seems to really pull in a lot of projects and site selectors is the PGA Myrtle Beach Classic Golf Tournament.

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