RESULTS: July 18 City Council Meeting

During the July 18 North Myrtle Beach City Council meeting, Employee Longevity Awards were presented to Heavy Equipment Operator/Welder Jimmy Wilson (20 years of service), Crew Leader I Isaiah Livingston (20), Fire Battalion Chief Mike Davis (20), Custodian Jackie McCullough (15), Motor Equipment Operator Lamorris Gore (10), Permit Clerk Betty Viles (10), Maintenance Worker Robert Jackson (10), Motor Equipment Operator Danny Vereen (5), Firefighter/EMT Joshua Beck (5). The City presents Longevity Awards in five year increments to employees who provide consistently excellent customer service.

Police Sergeant Raymond Pollack was named Supervisor of the Quarter for his successful role in coordinating the 11th Annual Palmetto Police Motorcycle Skills Competition held April 5-9 in North Myrtle Beach. The North Myrtle Beach Department of Public Safety was the host agency and the event brought together 51 motorcycle officers and their families from towns and cities in the United States and Canada. The annual competition helps to enhance motorcycle skills and at the same time enhances safety.

The event also raised about $10,000 for Camp Happy Days. Since 1982, over 1,500 children with cancer and their families have benefitted from Camp Happy Days’ cost-free, year-round programs. Camp Happy Days welcomes all children with cancer across South Carolina without charge. For more information, visit www.camphappydays.org.

The Humane Society of North Myrtle Beach offered City Council a presentation on its accomplishments in 2015 and reviewed some of its future goals. According to the Humane Society Executive Director Sandi Kendrick, in 2015  762 animals were adopted, 115 were reunited with their owners, 122 were fixed through S.N.A.P., and 699 were micro-chipped. 122 animals were fostered and 1,061 homeless animals were provided shelter. 310 volunteers donated 10,155 hours of their time. 49,000 pounds of pet food were donated.

In 2015, the Humane Society incurred $387,557 in total expenses for animal care, employee payroll, insurance, supplies and other expenses. Total income received during that year was $383,243 largely from adoption fees, micro-chipping, donations, the City of North Myrtle Beach, events, fundraisers and other sources.

The Humane Society is also focused on achieving a larger, more modern building in which to house pets and do its work.

Current shelter conditions include kennels that have concrete floors that are not sealed properly or at all, which can contribute to the spread of disease. Chain link fencing exists between kennels, which allows nose to nose contact and creates opportunity for the transmission of disease. The kennels generally are in poor condition and require replacement. The shelter is inadequate for current programs and not viable for new programs. As the city has grown over the years, so has the need for more shelter space.

The Humane Society has begun the process of moving forward to build a new facility, which will take the help of the entire community. Requests for Information with conceptual building designs have been completed and reviewed. Preliminary schematics and pricing have been received. Preliminary materials and strategies for a capital marketing campaign have been received.

A new facility would provide a safe, efficient and sanitary environment for animals and staff; an appealing place for residents to adopt pets and volunteer; space in which to hold events and fundraisers; and space to provide pet education programs.

Following Kendrick’s presentation, Mayor Marilyn Hatley thanked the Humane Society for its work, and assured Kendrick that the City and the community would be involved in helping to shape a positive future for the Society’s important work in North Myrtle Beach.

Council passed motions to approve special events permits for the 13th Annual Irish Italian International Festival to be held 10am-4pm September 24 on Main Street, the 911 Candlelight Memorial Vigil to be held 7pm-8pm September 11 on Main Street, and the Trifecta Triathlon to be held 7:30am-10am September 11 on Main Street.

Council passed first reading of an ordinance to adopt the International Building Code. Standard codes relating to the regulation of construction activities are typically revised every three years. On July 1, 2016, in compliance with Section 6-9-50(A) of the South Carolina Code of Laws, 1976 as amended, the South Carolina Building Codes Council (BCC) formally adopted the following construction related codes for mandatory enforcement by all jurisdictions within the state. The mandatory codes that must be adopted include:

(1) International Building Code, 2015 Edition, with the S.C. Modifications.
(2) International Residential Code, 2015 Edition, with the S.C. Modifications
(3) International Fire Code, 2015 Edition, with the S.C. Modifications.
(4) International Mechanical Code, 2015 Edition.
(5) International Plumbing Code, 2015 Edition.
(6) International Fuel Gas Code, 2015 Edition.
(7) International Swimming Pool and Spa Code, 2015 Edition.
(8) International Energy Conservation Code, 2009 Edition.
(9) National Electrical Code, 2014 Edition.

City Council tabled until its August 15 meeting a petition to rezone one lot approximately 6.4 acres in size located on Main Street from HC (Highway Commercial) to PDD (Planned Development District).

City Council passed first reading of an ordinance to amend Chapter 20, Land Development Regulations, of the City’s Code of Ordinances. City staff is proposing a text amendment to the Land Development Regulations to clarify the process by which private streets may be converted to public streets. The Land Development Regulations address construction and acceptance of new public streets, but are silent with respect to the conversion of existing private streets.

To protect the City's financial posture, a procedure for evaluation of these streets should be established, with the possible requirement of maintenance bonds or other measures to bring the streets into an acceptable condition. The condition of such streets would be evaluated by the public works department, and if immediate maintenance or retrofitting of the streets or drainage systems is required, the department would come up with a cost estimate for that work. Then a resolution to convert them to public streets could be considered by City Council, with a recommendation by public works that a maintenance fee be paid in advance. Council would decide whether to assess the fee and/or accept the streets.

City Council passed first reading of an ordinance to amend the Zoning Text Amendment as it pertains to the Main Street Priority Investment Activity Center overlay concerning required parking.

Following Council's direction, staff referred back to the Planning Commission for its further consideration the original text amendment considered by Council in May. The revised amendment included a "fee-in-lieu" alternative, wherein a property owner could pay into a public parking development fund in lieu of providing their own required parking. The fee-in-lieu money would be used by the City to create additional parking in the Main Street area. The fee schedule has not been determined and would need to be established by Council at a future date.
L-R City Mgr. Mike Mahaney, Mike Davis, Jackie McCullough, Isaiah Livingston, Betty Viles, Robert Jackson, Danny Vereen, Joshua Beck, Lamorris Gore, Jimmy Wilson
L-R City Manager Mike Mahaney and Sergeant Raymond Pollack

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