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OPENPUBLICA · PUBLIC MEETING RECORD

Record of Proceedings

Horry County Council Transportation Committee Meeting - March 24, 2026

County Council — Tuesday, March 24, 2026

BodyHorry County, South Carolina

SessionCounty Council

DateTuesday, March 24, 2026

StatusFILED

Video Record

0:00 / 53:50

Transcript — VerbatimClick a timed line to jump · ⧉ to share it

0:01

Go ahead and call today's meeting to order.

0:03

If you would all mind um standing for invocation and a bunch of allegiance.

0:09

Lord, we ask that you please guide us in making decisions that are for the benefit of our community today.

0:15

Please give us your divine wisdom in making those decisions.

0:20

We ask that you please protect all county employees, all of our constituents, especially those in our public safety department.

0:28

And we ask that you bring about an east a peaceful Easter season for us here in Ory County.

0:34

Your name we pray.

0:37

Pledge allegiance is the United States.

0:50

All right, thank you.

0:51

We'll start today with um we I know we have Miss Kathy Farish signed up for public input, so we'll start with you today, Kathy, if you wouldn't mind coming up to the podium here.

1:01

And just saying your name and talking about what you'd like to discuss.

1:07

Okay, my name is Kathy Farrish, and I live at 9705 Arm Oak Drive in uh Myrtle Beach, which is in Plantation Lakes, and I'm here today to discuss with you guys an ordinance that's coming up on the transportation committee regarding the use of e-bikes and the effects that the e-bikes are having on our community safety.

1:30

Um that's my number one thing is is the safety issue, along with how some of the uh young folks that are driving these e-bikes are causing issues in our communities like on our common grounds, um private property, and you know they're they're they're just not abiding by any of the rules they're riding those e-bikes down.

1:51

Carolina Forest Boulevard on the walking paths, and so I'm afraid that someone is going to get hurt.

1:59

Several of us met with um Councilman De Sabato, um Chief Lamphart uh back about three weeks ago, and we brought this issue up to down, so we want to just see what we can do about getting some kind of resolution through an ordinance of how to use those particular seating.

2:17

Thank you.

2:17

Thank you.

2:19

All right.

2:20

Um next up review and approval of the agenda contents.

2:24

Is there a motion?

2:24

Oh moved.

2:25

Second.

2:26

All in favor?

2:27

Aye.

2:27

Okay.

2:28

Next, approval of the minutes for the January 27, 2026 meeting.

2:32

Is there a motion?

2:33

So moved.

2:33

Seconded.

2:34

All favor?

2:35

I okay.

2:36

Moving on to discussion items.

2:38

An update uh on the post RTA by Brian Pias.

2:50

Is this number of laser thing?

2:55

Okay, cool.

2:58

Good afternoon.

2:59

Full house here today.

3:01

Um this represents our third committee that we've been a part of here at Ory County Council, so uh for that.

3:08

But uh happy to come and give you an update uh to say that we're busy is a serious uh understatement.

3:15

We've got a lot of things going on, and I wanted to kind of give you all a rundown of that.

3:20

Uh I've got uh three items on my agenda.

3:24

One is we're proposing some service changes to be effective for June 1st, and I'll go through those.

3:30

Uh we have a facility update.

3:32

Um we actually have a uh site plan for you all to look at today.

3:38

And then I just wanted to warn you about um an upcoming uh FY26 uh revision to our budget.

3:46

So we need to get that through council uh later on this summer.

3:50

Our board will probably finalize it in April, so we'll be coming back to transportation in May to kind of get you through all that.

3:56

This will be your forever home by the uh I'm thankful for that.

3:59

I felt like kind of a big one ball bouncing back and forth between uh committees.

4:04

So all good.

4:06

It's all good.

4:07

Um service change proposal effectively adds three buses into the daily service.

4:13

Uh we're correcting uh some cuts that we had to make late in the road use fee days, uh going back to 60 minute frequency on a number of routes.

4:22

I'm gonna talk a little bit about that.

4:24

Um I think the most controversial thing that we're proposing is to actually remove service on the entertainment shuttles.

4:31

We had two routes, one in Myrtle Beach, one in North Myrtle Beach, uh, that just operate during the summer.

4:37

Um in their heyday, uh two two trolleys in Myrtle Beach would operate from Memorial Day to Labor Day, uh, 11 a.m.

4:47

to 11 p.m.

4:48

and transport 70,000 people in 90 days.

4:51

Uh in the last uh two summers, it's been about 9,000.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting

Engineering And Infrastructure██████████████████████████████████34%

Public Transportation████████████████████████████28%

Transportation Safety█████████████13%

Procedural████████8%

Public Safety████████8%

Technology and Innovation████4%

Fiscal Sustainability███3%

Parks and Recreation██2%

Summary of Proceedings

Horry County Council Transportation Committee Meeting - March 24, 2026

The Horry County Council Transportation Committee met on March 24, 2026, at 3:00 PM in the County Council Conference Room. The meeting featured updates from Coast RTA, the RIDE program, and the Public Works Department, along with the approval of road acceptances and an ordinance regulating personal electric devices. All votes were unanimous unless noted.

Consent Calendar

The committee approved the agenda and the minutes from the January 27, 2026 meeting.
A resolution to accept roads and drainage in Auberon Woods Phase 2 (Auberon Parkway, Glacier Way, Hibernation Way, Forage Drive, and Rupert Drive), Coastal Farms (Keithland Drive, Squirrell Run Drive, and McGill Drive), and Villas @ Carolina Forest (Marigold Drive) into the county maintenance system was approved without discussion.

Public Comments & Testimony

Kathy Farish (resident of Plantation Lakes, Myrtle Beach) addressed the committee regarding the proposed ordinance on e-bikes. She expressed strong safety concerns, noting that youth on e-bikes ride on walking paths along Carolina Forest Boulevard, trespass on private property, and cause hazards. She reported meeting with Councilman DiSabato and Chief Lamphart three weeks prior to seek regulation.

Discussion Items

Coast RTA Update (Brian Piascik): Piascik presented three agenda items.
- Service Changes (proposed for June 1, 2026): Adding three buses to daily service, restoring 60-minute frequency on the Conway-to-Myrtle Beach route (from 75 minutes), increasing service in Carolina Forest (from 2-hour to 60-minute intervals), and discontinuing summer entertainment shuttles (ridership dropped from 70,000 in past summers to 9,000 recently). The changes are cost-neutral for FY26 but add $1 million in FY27 operating costs, to be covered by an OM reserve.
- Facility Update: A 21.5-acre site was acquired for $6 million (with the city paying ~$1.1 million for a fire station portion). A new site plan shows a triangular transit center, 40 bus parking spaces (up from 21), 60 small vehicle spaces, and a public meeting room. Construction manager at risk selected; site work begins fall 2026, transit center opening late 2027/early 2028, maintenance facility in 2028. A land swap with a neighbor is in progress.
- Budget Revision: Revenue down $600,000, expenses up $400,000 (mostly capital). Early arrival of four new Flyer buses (2027 models at $715,000 each, up from $487,000 in 2021) creates a cash hit in April 2026. Piascik also noted delays in FTA and SCDOT grant releases and ongoing work toward the OM reserve.
- The committee discussed real-time bus tracking integration with Google Transit (free option) and the fire station land cost.
RIDE Program Update (Anna Barnhill):
- RIDE III: Fred Nash Boulevard opened in January 2026, featuring a unique “hamburger” roundabout. Current construction includes 4.34 miles of dirt roads paved (Group 3), with work continuing on Bedford, Birchfield, Maple Wild, Sweet Home, Tranquil, Turner, Harrelson, and Dawn roads. SC9 widening in Loris is nearing completion (signals open). The 701 widening in North Conway starts soon (Palmetto awarded, Santee Cooper relocating poles). The 501 realignment (completion early 2027) and 501 mainline widening (completion late 2026) are progressing. Forest Brook clearing and grubbing has begun. Upcoming projects include Group 4 dirt road paving (design), Conway Perimeter Road (letting likely 2027), and Carolina Bays/22 extension (permitting).
- SC 22 Extension: The NEPA process has reduced alternatives from 16 to 14 preliminary routes. Tier 2 screening will incorporate public feedback and environmental factors, with public meetings anticipated in fall 2026.
- RIDE IV: Design awards are in progress for 38th Avenue North Widening, 17 Bypass/Robert Grissom Parkway interchange, and the 31/Sand Ridge Road Connector. Construction timeline for the interchange is estimated at 2–3 years. Revenue projections remain on track.
- The committee inquired about accelerating the Conway Perimeter Road timeline; Barnhill noted 12+ months for design and right-of-way work, with potential for acceleration.
Public Works Department Overview (Randy Plummer & Ashley Dulcey):
- Road Maintenance: Public Works maintains 1,587 of 4,500 center-lane miles in the county, including 450 unpaved miles. Dirt roads are graded every 3 weeks. Staff fabricate and repair road name signs in unincorporated areas. Pothole repair uses hot mix on cut asphalt. In the last 5 years, 65+ drainage improvements and 28 bridge replacements have been completed. Two crews assist with dirt road paving.
- Beach Maintenance: Nine miles of unincorporated beach are maintained, including parking areas and trash collection (Fourth of July sees extra crews). The department provides 38 free beach wheelchairs and 4 mobility mats, with highly positive feedback from users.
- Litter Collection: A dedicated crew collects over 1,000 bags of litter monthly on tourist routes; one general fund crew serves other roads.
- Disaster Recovery: Staff respond to hurricanes, snow, and ice, clearing sand from roads (e.g., in Garden City) and temporarily reinforcing dunes to limit ocean water inflow. Equipment is escorted by police during emergencies.

Ordinance

Personal Electric Device Regulation (David Jordan): The committee considered an ordinance similar to Myrtle Beach's, targeting motorized electric dirt bikes (not pedal-assist bikes). It would prohibit devices on roads with speed limits over 20 mph, sidewalks, county parking lots, parks, and green space, and ban holding a phone while riding. The initial fine of $100 was amended to $200 to align with moving violations (motion by Councilman Crawford, seconded). The committee voted unanimously to forward the ordinance to full council, with a request to expedite summer adoption.

Key Outcomes

The committee unanimously approved the e-bike ordinance amendment ($200 fine) and voted to move it to full council for final action.
All three road acceptances (Auberon Woods Phase 2, Coastal Farms, Villas @ Carolina Forest) were approved.
The next Transportation Committee meeting is scheduled for May 26, 2026.

Meeting Transcript

Go ahead and call today's meeting to order. If you would all mind um standing for invocation and a bunch of allegiance. Lord, we ask that you please guide us in making decisions that are for the benefit of our community today. Please give us your divine wisdom in making those decisions. We ask that you please protect all county employees, all of our constituents, especially those in our public safety department. And we ask that you bring about an east a peaceful Easter season for us here in Ory County. Your name we pray. Pledge allegiance is the United States. All right, thank you. We'll start today with um we I know we have Miss Kathy Farish signed up for public input, so we'll start with you today, Kathy, if you wouldn't mind coming up to the podium here. And just saying your name and talking about what you'd like to discuss. Okay, my name is Kathy Farrish, and I live at 9705 Arm Oak Drive in uh Myrtle Beach, which is in Plantation Lakes, and I'm here today to discuss with you guys an ordinance that's coming up on the transportation committee regarding the use of e-bikes and the effects that the e-bikes are having on our community safety. Um that's my number one thing is is the safety issue, along with how some of the uh young folks that are driving these e-bikes are causing issues in our communities like on our common grounds, um private property, and you know they're they're they're just not abiding by any of the rules they're riding those e-bikes down. Carolina Forest Boulevard on the walking paths, and so I'm afraid that someone is going to get hurt. Several of us met with um Councilman De Sabato, um Chief Lamphart uh back about three weeks ago, and we brought this issue up to down, so we want to just see what we can do about getting some kind of resolution through an ordinance of how to use those particular seating. Thank you. Thank you. All right. Um next up review and approval of the agenda contents. Is there a motion? Oh moved. Second. All in favor? Aye. Okay. Next, approval of the minutes for the January 27, 2026 meeting. Is there a motion? So moved. Seconded. All favor? I okay. Moving on to discussion items. An update uh on the post RTA by Brian Pias. Is this number of laser thing? Okay, cool. Good afternoon. Full house here today. Um this represents our third committee that we've been a part of here at Ory County Council, so uh for that. But uh happy to come and give you an update uh to say that we're busy is a serious uh understatement. We've got a lot of things going on, and I wanted to kind of give you all a rundown of that. Uh I've got uh three items on my agenda. One is we're proposing some service changes to be effective for June 1st, and I'll go through those. Uh we have a facility update. Um we actually have a uh site plan for you all to look at today. And then I just wanted to warn you about um an upcoming uh FY26 uh revision to our budget. So we need to get that through council uh later on this summer. Our board will probably finalize it in April, so we'll be coming back to transportation in May to kind of get you through all that. This will be your forever home by the uh I'm thankful for that. I felt like kind of a big one ball bouncing back and forth between uh committees. So all good.

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