Horry County Council Regular Meeting – February 3, 2026
Horry County Council Regular Meeting – February 3, 2026
The Horry County Council convened on February 3, 2026, at 6:00 p.m. in Council Chambers. The meeting opened with an invocation, the Pledge of Allegiance, and a report from the County Administrator on the county's response to the recent winter storm. The bulk of the meeting focused on public input regarding a proposed mediated settlement agreement for a psychiatric hospital (Asha Vista Behavioral Institute) and council discussion/vote on that agreement. Numerous consent agenda items and second-reading ordinances were also approved.
Consent Calendar
- Third Reading – Zoning Map Amendments (8 ordinances): Ord 118-2025 through Ord 126-2025 – All approved unanimously.
- First Reading – Ordinance 10-2026: Amending the Official Index Map to add right-of-way for the Carolina Bays Parkway extension. Approved.
- First Reading – Ordinance 12-2026: Authorizing up to $5,000,000 in general obligation bonds for a Windy Hill EMS station. Approved.
- First Reading – Ordinance 13-2026: Amending the FY2026 budget to adjust expenditures for the Windy Hill EMS bond amortization. Approved.
- Resolution R-01-2026: Designating $500,000 in ARPA interest funds for the Family Justice Center Domestic Violence Shelter. Approved.
- Resolution R-02-2026: Directing the administrator to pursue congressionally directed funding for six projects (runway reconstruction, SC 22 extension, Conway River Crossing, SC 31, Conway Perimeter Road, Longs radio tower). Approved.
- Resolution R-03-2026: Authorizing virtual meetings for the Horry County Library Board of Trustees. Approved.
- Resolutions R-04 through R-09: Accepting dedication of roads and drainage into the county maintenance system for Chestnut Farms, Hidden Pines Phase 1, Ridgefield Phases 4–7. Approved.
- Community Benefit Fund allocations (CBF-01 through CBF-05): Totaling $19,750 to various organizations (Aynor High School baseball, Conway Hot Shots, Student Angler League, Waccamaw EOC, Grand Strand Christian Church). Approved.
- District Board Appointment: Pam Timms to the Museum Board of Trustees (District 6). Approved.
Public Comments & Testimony
Public comment lasted 30 minutes and was overwhelmingly focused on the proposed mediated settlement for Asha Vista Behavioral Institute, a 78-bed acute psychiatric hospital to be located off Highway 707 in a former office building. Fifteen speakers signed up; seven spoke before time expired. Key points:
- Travis Day Huff (attorney for Asha Vista): Argued the facility is the only option for near-term inpatient psychiatric care in the county; described security measures (wall, fencing, 24/7 surveillance, security guard); stated the settlement agreement includes a ban on outpatient drug treatment; claimed zoning restrictions against mental health facilities violate the ADA. He said a petition supporting the project had over 1,100 signatures and cited a survey showing 77% public support when informed of ED strain.
- Franz Savage (CEO of Asha Vista): Expressed hometown ties; said the facility would bring 165 high-paying jobs, be ready in 8–10 months, treat only adult patients from the community, and not admit sexual offenders or those directly from correctional facilities.
- Gerald O'Neill (Arbor Oaks resident): Opposed the location, arguing it does not belong in a residential neighborhood with one road in and out; questioned the financial motive ($25 million potential annual revenue); noted the need for a wall indicates incompatibility.
- Dr. Victoria Calder (psychologist): Urged the council to vote no; argued alternative locations exist; raised concerns about dual-diagnosis patients and external obsolescence reducing property values; urged council not to yield to litigation threats.
- Stephanie Capetta (Horry County Residents for Responsible Building): Stated the issue is a zoning change and urged council to uphold zoning integrity rather than be bullied by legal threats.
- Anna Cakis (Arbor Oaks resident): Opposed the project, citing traffic, school safety, and the precedent of changing zoning; noted the ZBA previously denied the special exception unanimously.
- Steve Schlossberger (Prince Creek resident): Opposed the facility; suggested the building should remain for senior or other compatible uses; expressed safety concerns about psychiatric patients.
Discussion Items
- Storm Response Report: County Administrator Barry Spivey reported that the county experienced a winter storm equivalent to a Category 1 hurricane. Over 100 public works/stormwater personnel worked 2,000+ man-hours; nine plowing crews covered 1,000 lane-miles; 45 pieces of heavy equipment used with zero accidents. All county facilities resumed normal operations.
- Resolution R-10-2026 – I-73 / President Donald J. Trump Highway: Councilman Crawford moved to strike the final sentence (which stated support for naming would be withdrawn if funding not allocated by January 20, 2029). The amendment passed; the resolution as amended passed.
- Second Reading – Ordinance 117-2025 (Planned Development District amendments): Councilman Causey moved to defer to March 3, 2026. Deferred unanimously.
- Second Readings & Public Hearings – Zoning Map Amendments: Six ordinances (02-2026 through 08-2026) and one overlay amendment (09-2026) were approved unanimously with no public comment or council debate.
- Mediated Settlement Agreement (Asha Vista): The council discussed the settlement for Civil Action No. 2025-CP-26-07830 (Horry County Medical Property Owner LLC v. Zoning Board of Appeals). Councilman Servant (District 5, where the property is located) stated he would vote no because the facility, while needed, should be in the right place; he asked colleagues to support the district member. Councilman DiSabato similarly opposed the location. Councilman Allen supported the project, arguing it is not a zoning change but a use change via special exception and that the facility is needed countywide. Chairman Gardner emphasized mental health needs and warned that fighting the lawsuit would cost taxpayer money and likely result in the facility being built without community concessions. Dr. Dukes emotionally supported the project, citing personal loss and lack of local inpatient beds.
Key Outcomes
- Consent agenda and all routine items were approved unanimously.
- Resolution R-10-2026 (I-73 naming) was amended and approved.
- Second readings of six zoning ordinances and one overlay amendment were approved.
- Ordinance 117-2025 (PDD amendments) was deferred to March 3, 2026.
- Vote on the mediated settlement agreement (Asha Vista): A motion to approve was made and seconded. Following discussion, the transcript ends before the final roll call. Based on the discussion, Chairman Gardner indicated he might be the only yes vote, and Dr. Dukes supported approval, while Servant and DiSabato stated they would vote no. The vote outcome is not recorded in the provided transcript, but the discussion suggests the motion did not pass. [Note: The official minutes may contain the final vote, but they were not provided.]
Meeting Transcript
6 o'clock p.m. We will start this meeting the way we always do on time, so we will end on time and we will do it the way we always do with the invocation tonight by Mr. Causey, followed by the Pledge of Allegiance by Mr. Howard. If I can get everybody to please stand. I'd like to thank you for all our many blessings. You bless us with so many things that we probably don't need at times. I thank you for the opportunity that we have to live in this great country that we do where we can gather as a group and express our opinions. Also ask, dear Lord, that you just be with each and every one of us as we leave here tonight and keep us safe and help us get back to home or wherever we may be going. In Jesus' name I pray, amen. Thank you. Please be seated. For the record, this is our regular council meeting for February 3rd, 2026. Before we start the public input, I would like to bring up Mr. Spavy, our administrator, to talk about some of the things that's happened and some of the great work that Ory County has done for us. Thank you, Chairman and Council members. It's a pleasure to be here with you tonight to talk about Team Ori. Over this weekend, our community was faced with something unique. I suspect a number of people moved to Ory County to get away from snow. But it came here. And I've actually heard this described as a bomb cyclone or a winter hurricane. If you look at the normal category one hurricane, the uh pressure is about 980 millibars. What we experienced this weekend was 976, a lower amount. It was the equivalent of a hurricane impact, potentially to our community. And we've got two inches of snow at the very least part of the county at the southern part in Garden City, but the northern part had eight inches or more of snow, which impacted our roads and a lot of activities for our community. Public safety works 24-7, and during this event, they lost no opportunity to serve our public. And I want you to be assured of that. But there are some unsung heroes we want to call out that helped them be able to do their job. We had over a hundred personnel in our public works and stormwater departments that were involved in the preparation. Over 2,000 man hours went into this event. Our public works assisted SCDOT because they were stretched with the impacts across the state, and actually did road preparation and response efforts to many of our state roadways. We had nine plowing crews, worked a thousand lane miles of roads across the county with our motor graders. Six pretreating crews that address the bridges and high traffic areas of intersections on county roads. Fourteen crews from public works and stormwater cleared each of our fire stations, each of our solid waste convenience centers, and many of the Ory County government facilities to allow us to open back up to the public. Over 45 pieces of heavy equipment were utilized in clearing snow during this, all while having zero reportable accidents from our employees. And it's not just public works and stormwater. Our Ori County maintenance team addressed the sidewalks and parking lots and all that with each of the county facilities across the county and our department of airports. They were at in place when the snow began, and they stayed at the airport until it was clear and open the following day. A mammoth effort, and I think I could share with you that I'm extremely proud of the team effort or uh impacts and how they made a positive impact for our community. So thank you, and thank you, Team O. Re. Not just the slogan, commitment to excellence. Okay, we'll go ahead and start the public input tonight. We had a lot of people sign up. I just want to remind people of the rules. By rule, the total public input can last no longer than 30 minutes. Each person gets up to five minutes. We have this clock here. Green is go, go, go. Yellow will remind you you only have one minute left, time to wind it up, and red is stop.
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