OPENPUBLICA · PUBLIC MEETING RECORD
Record of Proceedings

Horry County Infrastructure & Regulation Committee Meeting - November 4, 2025

County Council — Tuesday, November 4, 2025
BodyHorry County, South Carolina
SessionCounty Council
DateTuesday, November 4, 2025
StatusFILED
Video Record
0:00 / 1:14:00

Transcript — Verbatim
0:46

Let us pray.

0:48

Praise God.

0:49

Heavenly Father, we're so thankful, dear Lord, to be able to gather here today.

0:52

Help us and encourage our hearts and uplift us.

0:55

Help us so that we might be able to help others.

0:58

Yes, O Lord.

0:59

And instill that love for our neighbors upon us and upon everyone.

1:04

Bless and touch each and every household and family represented here today.

1:08

Help us so that we might be able to lift up and praise your name to it all.

1:12

Or we ask it in the name of our Savior.

1:15

Christ Jesus.

1:16

Amen.

1:19

I pledge you to lead in the student flag of the United States of America.

1:23

And to the Republic for which it stands.

1:26

One nation under God.

1:28

Individual with liberty and justice.

1:31

Thank you.

1:32

Maybe CD.

1:34

Along we have no public input.

1:37

No one signed up, so we need a motion for review and approval agenda content.

1:42

Seconded.

1:42

All in favor.

1:44

Approval of the minutes.

1:45

Any questions or changes?

1:47

Need a motion for approval.

1:50

Thank you.

1:50

Moving right along.

1:51

All right.

1:53

Discussion item.

1:54

Presentation by RJ Corman.

1:57

Looking forward to that train riding.

1:59

So if you got the cell phone number, but I'm gonna come right there.

2:02

Yeah, right.

2:03

I mean, so we'll do things there.

2:05

You go.

2:06

So if I drive through a nickel roll of time, such as you can.

2:09

Just call me and tell us.

2:10

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

2:12

Working on it.

2:13

Well, yeah.

2:16

Good morning, everybody.

2:17

I know uh we presented uh last meeting.

2:20

We went through this, so we'll try to I'll go through it.

2:22

Uh the whole program again.

2:24

We'll get a little bit quicker.

2:25

Uh my engineering friends kind of went through it in uh exceptional detail last time.

2:30

Um so this is uh kind of update on Carolina line.

2:34

Um you know, we went through it before, but I don't in 12 acquired in 15.

2:40

Uh partnership with uh with Ory County.

2:44

Um first car was moved to 16.

2:46

Um pretty, you know, we went from 69 cars in uh in 2015 to uh this slide kind of shows you we're getting up there close to that, you know.

2:56

You know, we're target's gonna be 9,000 carloss who should be there this year.

3:01

Um really good, you know.

3:02

Talk about 100 cars a mile is what our target is, so that's puts us right where we need to be when we started this project.

3:08

Um again from the Idaho and Railroad.

3:10

Um we went through a tiger project.

3:13

Here's some before and afters for you all.

3:15

I know some of you are newer to this uh uh what we started with where we're at now.

3:20

So uh few before and afters, um a lot of tire replacement, a lot of surfacing here, a lot of you know, you know, stand holding structures, uh is a problem for our railroad down here in the sparkling gumbo clay.

3:33

We learned what that was coming from Kentucky until we moved here.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Engineering And Infrastructure█████████████████████████████████33%
Zoning And Land Use████████████████████████24%
Waste Management█████████████13%
Environmental Protection████████████12%
Public Engagement█████5%
Strategic Planning████4%
Historic Preservation████4%
Procedural███3%
Public Safety██2%
Summary of Proceedings

Horry County Infrastructure & Regulation Committee Meeting

Date: November 4, 2025
Time: 9:00 AM
Location: County Council Conference Room

The Infrastructure & Regulation Committee, chaired by Al Allen, met to discuss railroad infrastructure, road maintenance, solid waste operations, environmental stewardship, and zoning amendments. The meeting featured a presentation on the CRISI grant for rail improvements, debate on solid waste hours, and a split vote on Planned Development District (PDD) requirements.

Public Comments & Testimony

  • No members of the public signed up to speak.

Discussion Items

  • CRISI Grant Presentation – R.J. Corman Railroad: Adam Boyles presented a $16.04 million project to upgrade the Carolina Line, with $11.2 million in federal funds, $3.4 million from R.J. Corman, and a requested $1.41 million Horry County match. The project includes replacing crossings (French Collins Road, Winyah Road, Woodward Avenue), installing 25,500 ties, surfacing 133,600 feet, and replacing rail between MP 336.3 and MP 342. Councilmember Howard suggested redirecting county funds to repair the Intracoastal Waterway bridge (estimated at $500,000 to $2 million) to enable future passenger service. The committee requested a study on bridge repair costs and passenger rail feasibility.
  • Road Maintenance Funding: Councilmember Causey raised concerns about long-term funding for county roads, noting that current projections show adequate funding only until 2034. Councilmember Howard proposed gradually increasing the gas tax or exploring zoning changes for asphalt batch plants to reduce construction costs. Staff agreed to return with recommendations on batch plant ordinance amendments.
  • Comprehensive Plan 5-Year Review: Heather Davis presented Imagine 2040’s five-year update, including a new Resilience Element required by state law. The plan incorporated 799 survey responses and two public open houses. The committee forwarded the plan to County Council for adoption.

Resolutions

  • Carrington Woods Road Acceptance: Approved unanimously to accept Duvall Street, Ridley Street, Carrington Woods Way, and Anders Street (0.66 miles) into the county maintenance system, with a three-year warranty.
  • Solid Waste Convenience Center Hours: Approved modification to close all centers at 6:00 PM (previously 7:00 PM) and add Easter Sunday as a holiday. The change was based on traffic counts showing only 6% of users in the last hour, with safety and recruitment cited as drivers. Effective January 2026.
  • Recognition of Oyster Stewardship Program: Unanimously passed a resolution celebrating the installation of over 400 manufactured wire reefs, filtering an estimated 133 million gallons of water daily. Next project planned at Cypress Avenue.
  • Essay Contest Winners: Recognized fifth-grade winner Kaislee Jane Blanton (Green Sea Floyds Elementary) and seventh-grade winner Kyleigh Sessions (Myrtle Beach Middle School) for the 82-year-old Horry Soil and Water Conservation District contest.

Ordinances

  • Planned Development Districts (PDD) Amendment: The committee debated a proposed ordinance amending Articles II & III of the zoning code to require at least two residential uses and one commercial use, each comprising minimum 10% of buildable area. Developer Craig Wooten urged reducing the commercial minimum to 5%, arguing 10% was excessive for residential-focused projects. After discussion, the committee voted 9–2 to amend the ordinance to 5% for each use type, rejecting staff’s recommendation of 10%. The amended ordinance will proceed to Planning Commission and then to County Council.
  • Imagine 2040 Comprehensive Plan Adoption: Approved for forwarding to County Council with a recommendation for adoption, including the Resilience Element.

Key Outcomes

  • CRISI Grant: No formal vote; committee directed staff to study bridge repair costs and passenger rail potential.
  • Batch Plants: Staff to return in December 2025 with recommendations to amend zoning to allow more asphalt batch plants.
  • Solid Waste Hours: Approved effective January 1, 2026; Easter Sunday closures added.
  • PDD Ordinance: Amended to 5% minimum per land use (instead of 10%), forwarded to Planning Commission.
  • Comprehensive Plan: Forwarded to County Council for adoption.
  • Next Meeting: December 2, 2025.

Meeting Transcript

Let us pray. Praise God. Heavenly Father, we're so thankful, dear Lord, to be able to gather here today. Help us and encourage our hearts and uplift us. Help us so that we might be able to help others. Yes, O Lord. And instill that love for our neighbors upon us and upon everyone. Bless and touch each and every household and family represented here today. Help us so that we might be able to lift up and praise your name to it all. Or we ask it in the name of our Savior. Christ Jesus. Amen. I pledge you to lead in the student flag of the United States of America. And to the Republic for which it stands. One nation under God. Individual with liberty and justice. Thank you. Maybe CD. Along we have no public input. No one signed up, so we need a motion for review and approval agenda content. Seconded. All in favor. Approval of the minutes. Any questions or changes? Need a motion for approval. Thank you. Moving right along. All right. Discussion item. Presentation by RJ Corman. Looking forward to that train riding. So if you got the cell phone number, but I'm gonna come right there. Yeah, right. I mean, so we'll do things there. You go. So if I drive through a nickel roll of time, such as you can. Just call me and tell us. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Working on it. Well, yeah. Good morning, everybody. I know uh we presented uh last meeting. We went through this, so we'll try to I'll go through it. Uh the whole program again. We'll get a little bit quicker. Uh my engineering friends kind of went through it in uh exceptional detail last time. Um so this is uh kind of update on Carolina line. Um you know, we went through it before, but I don't in 12 acquired in 15. Uh partnership with uh with Ory County. Um first car was moved to 16.

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