Mayor and City Council Members and City Manager participated in Municipal Association of South Carolina Annual Meeting

North Myrtle Beach Mayor Marilyn Hatley, City Council-man Bob Cavanaugh, City Councilman Fred Coyne, City Councilwoman Nicole Fontana, and City Manager Mike Mahaney participated in the Municipal Association of South Carolina Annual Meeting held in Hilton Head, SC July 20-23.

A prevailing theme of the annual meeting was one of big cities and small towns finding success by using a variety of diverse strategies and tools to enhance what they already have, instead of embarking on drastic and costly reinvention. This preserves what is good about a community and protects against spending precious resources on impractical goals.

“This theme certainly rings true for the city of North Myrtle Beach,” said Mayor Hatley. “We are made up of four towns that joined together to preserve and grow their beach community identity, and as a City Council we continue to emphasize growth that enhances what is already good and natural about our community. We have been able to avoid the pitfalls associated with pursuing change for its own sake. As a result, North Myrtle Beach continues to experience economic and social success.”

The subject matter of the seminars in which the Mayor and City Council members participated included best practices for redevelopment, keeping residents connected to a city’s vision for the future, emerging new building codes, front line police training opportunities, an update on pending and new state legislation, breakout sessions where elected officials from various cities and towns discussed issues and challenges they face in their communities, human resources challenges in a changing world, information on the upcoming 2020 Census, and more.

The annual meeting also offered an exhibitor showcase featuring products and services designed to enhance a city’s efficiency and effectiveness.

Throughout the annual meeting, 15-minute Tech Talks addressed technology priorities for local governments.

“It’s important that we participate in these networking opportunities,” Mayor Hatley said. “Not only do we have a lot of positive experience to offer to other cities and towns, but they also have a great deal of experience and information that we can learn from and apply here at home.”

Shown left to right in the accompanying photo are City Manager Mike Mahaney, Mayor Marilyn Hatley, City Councilman Fred Coyne, City Councilwoman Nicole Fontana, City Councilman Bob Cavanaugh.