RESULTS: June 18 North Myrtle Beach City Council Meeting

Prior to the June 18 North Myrtle Beach City Council meeting, Council members met in executive session for a legal briefing on a potential contract between the City of North Myrtle Beach and the North Myrtle Beach Chamber of Commerce, and a legal briefing regarding the Sandridge Development Agreement. Council also discussed potential property acquisitions. Council took no action.

During the Council Meeting, Myrtle Beach City Manager John Pedersen presented Mayor Marilyn Hatley with a Proclamation from the City of Myrtle Beach, signed by Myrtle Beach Mayor Brenda Bethune, honoring and congratulating the City on its 50th anniversary of incorporation.

North Myrtle Beach Chamber of Commerce Chairman Scott Ellisintroduced Pete Brooks, the chamber’s new director of public relations and governmental affairs, and its interim chief executive officer.
             
Three City employees received Employee Longevity Awards. Provided in five-year increments, the awards recognize employees who consistently demonstrate excellent customer service. Receiving awards were Public Safety Officer Ian Vaughn (10 years of service), Barefoot Swing Bridge OperatorRoderick Glenn (5), and Assistant Purchasing AgentJanice Knorr (5).

City Council passed a motion approving the July 4, 9:30-10:00 p.m. fireworks display at the Cherry Grove Pier. The North Myrtle Beach Chamber of Commerce and the City of North Myrtle Beach are co-sponsors of this annual event. Zambelli Fireworks conducts the show.

City Council passed a motion approving the Music on Main Concert Series.

City Council passed a motion approving the appointment of Roger Quinn, Jr. and Ricky Martin to the Board of Zoning Appeals, each for a four-year term.


City Council passed second (final) reading of an ordinancerezoning 14 acres of land located on Ye Olde Kings Highway from R-2B (Single- Family Residential Medium Density) to R-IB (Single-Family Low Medium Density).

City Council adopted a Resolution approvingan agreement between the City of North Myrtle Beach and Horry Countyfor the City to provide fire protection services in certain areas of Horry County near or adjacent to the City limits. For the first year of the agreement, the County pays the City $41,424.89. For each year thereafter, the rate increases by the lesser of 2% or the then current Consumer Price Index as defined in the agreement.

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Charleston District Awards Myrtle Beach Storm Damage Reduction Project Contract

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Charleston District, recently awarded a $34.8 million contract for the Myrtle Beach Storm Damage Reduction Project to Great Lakes Dredge and Dock Company, LLC, which will place approximately 1.4 million cubic yards of material on Myrtle, North Myrtle, Garden City and Surfside Beaches.

The project will begin in August. The nourishment will include approximately eight miles on Myrtle Beach, four miles on Surfside and Garden City Beaches, and two miles on North Myrtle Beach. Details on the starting location and direction the project will move in have not yet been finalized. The project will be completed no later than December 15th.

This storm damage reduction project goes along with the regularly scheduled plan for this area, which is to place sand on the beach every 8 years. Last year, North Myrtle, Garden City and Surfside Beaches received 1.3 million cubic yards of sand using emergency funding made available after impacts from Hurricane Matthew.

“The storm damage reduction project aims to minimize the impacts to people and property behind the dunes in a storm event,” said Wes Wilson, project manager. “While we acknowledge that people may see temporary inconveniences while the project is underway, the project has many long-term benefits, especially during storm season.”

The public will be able to track the progress of the project on a real time basis located on the Charleston District’s web mapper https://arcg.is/Ly4Ce. During active construction, the majority of these beaches will remain open and available for the public to enjoy.

The contractor works 24 hours a day, seven days a week during construction, usually completing up to 500 feet per day, barring mechanical or weather/sea condition delays. This means that active construction moves quickly and will only be in front of any particular building or area for two or three days. Pipelines running along the beach outside of the fenced area can safely be crossed where the contractor places crossover sand ramps over the pipes. The public should keep away from lines and only cross them at the sand crossovers.

As a portion of the project will take place during sea turtle nesting season, the contractor will comply with the requirements of the Endangered Species Act and the Marine Mammals Protection Act. 

PLEASE NOTE: When all information is in place, the City of North Myrtle Beach will provide details concerning its portion of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Storm Damage Reduction Project.

Enjoy The Paul Grimshaw Band in a FREE June 15 Concert at the North Myrtle Beach Park & Sports Complex

Enjoy The Paul Grimshaw Band in a FREE June 15, 7pm-9pm concert at the Sandhills Bank Amphitheater in the North Myrtle Beach Park & Sports Complex.

The concert is part of the Sounds of Summer concert series presented by the City of North Myrtle Beach Parks & Recreation Department, and sponsored by Avista Resort and RV Outlet USA.

Expect a great show of Classic & Roots Rock.

Bring a beach chair.

For more information or to view the complete Summer Concert Series schedule visit www.parks.nmb.us.

For day of event updates & cancellations call the “Rec Check” hotline at (843) 280-5594 ext. 3.

Enjoy ENVISION in a FREE June 14 Concert at the Horseshoe on Main Street in North Myrtle Beach

The public is invited to enjoy ENVISION in a free concert June 14, 7:00 p.m.- 9:00 p.m. at the Horseshoe on Main Street . 

Expect an incredible variety of Motown and Beach Music hits. 

Bring a beach chair.

The free concert is part of the North Myrtle Beach Parks & Recreation Department’s Music on Main summer concert series sponsored by Coastal Carolina National Bank (CCNB).

ABOUT ENVISIONENVISION’s stage show is as exciting to watch as it is to dance to, covering hits from the 60’s, 70’s and 80’s, all the way up to the contemporary sound of today’s Top 40. Although specializing as a “party band”, ENVISION'S repertoire encompasses a wide variety of musical styles, including R&B, Beach Music, Motown/Oldies, Pop, Dance, Funk and Jazz.

ENVISION has performed as the opening act for several national artists, ranging from actress and American Idol alum, Jordin Sparks and The S.O.S. Band, to R&B sensations Kem and Marsha Ambrosius. The group has opened for the nationally syndicated Tom Joyner Morning “Sky” Show. Most recently, the group has opened for nationally acclaimed author-comedian-talk show host Steve Harvey.

For day of event weather information call the “Rec Check” hotline at (843) 280-5594 ext. 3,www.Facebook.com/NMBParksandRec, or visitparks.nmb.us.  

City of North Myrtle Beach Hurricane Evacuation and Reentry Procedures, and More


The official hurricane season for the Atlantic Basin (Atlantic Ocean, Caribbean Sea and Gulf of Mexico) is June 1 to November 30, but it never hurts to get a head start on preparing for the season.

Mandatory Evacuation Procedures

 IF a hurricane threatens our area and, IF the Governor issues an evacuation order, evacuation routes will be managed as follows:

-- Once the Governor issues a mandatory evacuation, lane reversals automatically occur
for two sections of Highway 501— U.S. Highway 501 from SC 544 to SC 378, and U.S. Highway 501 from SC 22 to the U.S. Highway 501/SC 576 split in Marion. Once you enter a lane reversal pattern, you will not be able to get back out. Never enter a lane reversal pattern unless directed to do so by law enforcement.

-- The Horry County evacuation plan to which all in North Myrtle Beach are subject requires all people located north of Briarcliffe Acres to evacuate via SC 9 North to I-95 and beyond.

-- These requirements stem from the South Carolina Hurricane Evacuation Study for the Northern Conglomerate released by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in 2012.

Reentry Procedures

When reentering the city of North Myrtle Beach after a hurricane evacuation, property owners, renters and business owners should be prepared to show either their driver’s license, a copy of a recent water bill or property tax bill, a rental agreement, or other form of identity that proves residency or property ownership within the city.

Owners of businesses with employees who do not reside within the city limits but who are essential to business recovery should provide those employees with a letter written on company letterhead identifying them as being essential to the recovery of the business. When identifying an employee, please use their name as shown on their driver’s license so that authorities can match the two for verification.

The City of North Myrtle Beach does not require filing residency or business information prior to a storm.

The City’s goal is for the return of property owners and others to North Myrtle Beach as soon as possible following a hurricane evacuation so that all can help in the recovery process. However, some areas of the city may not be safe or essential utilities damaged, resulting in delayed reentry to the affected locations.

Be aware that other jurisdictions that you may travel through on your return to North Myrtle Beach from a hurricane evacuation (State, County, or other municipality) may have different identification requirements or different reentry priorities depending on damage that may have occurred in their jurisdictions.

Do you know your ZONE?

 You may remember that different areas of Horry County, including North Myrtle Beach, have been assigned different “Zones” with respect to the potential impact of hurricane storm surge on a given land area.

IF a hurricane is to strike our area with force, and IF the Governor calls for a mandatory evacuation, he might do so by identifying the ZONES that must evacuate. The zone locations in Horry County are as follows:

Zone A

All areas east of U.S. 17 Business (Kings Highway), up to intersection with U.S. 17 (Kings Highway) and then all areas east of U.S. 17 (Kings Highway) to the northern county line.

Zone B

All areas south of S.C. 707 and Longwood Drive, including all areas in Longwood Plantation (Blackmoor) to the Waccamaw River and all areas east of U.S. 17 Bypass (Mark Garner Highway) to U.S. 17 (North Kings Highway) and all areas east of U.S. 17 (North Kings Highway) to the northern county line.

Zone C

All areas between U.S. 701 and S.C. 544, south of Brown's Chapel Avenue and Hwy. 814, plus all areas east of S.C. 31 (Carolina Bays Parkway) to S.C. 90 and all areas east of S.C. 90 to U.S. 17 to the northern county line.

The Horry County Emergency Management Department provides an interactive Zone Map. Access County information at www.horrycounty.org.

How will the City stay in touch with you?

 During a hurricane emergency, the City will communicate advisory, damage assessment, reentry and other information to the public using these resources:

-- www.NMB.us (See “Press Releases” on the home page)
-- Via our Email News Group, whose members receive all news releases at the same time we send them to the news media. This is a free service. To be included in the Email News Group, provide your email address to Pat Dowling at pcdowling@nmb.us Please specify if you want to

receive all City-related news or only hurricane-related information. We will not use your email address for any other purpose. You can opt out at any time.

The City also forwards its information to local and regional news media outlets, Horry County Emergency Management, the North Myrtle Beach Chamber of Commerce, and the Myrtle Beach Area Chamber of Commerce. The North Myrtle Beach Chamber of Commerce shares City of North Myrtle Beach announcements with its members and its social media audiences.

The Myrtle Beach Area Chamber of Commerce serves as the umbrella agency for the Area Recovery Council (ARC), which serves as a clearinghouse for information from all sources within Horry County during hurricanes and other disasters.

Questions about North Myrtle Beach procedures?

Contact Pat Dowling at pcdowling@nmb.us

City of North Myrtle Beach Begins Oyster Mitigation Project

The City of North Myrtle Beach has begun work on the mitigation of oyster beds disturbed during the recent dredging of the Cherry Grove canals. As required by its U.S. Army Corps of Engineers dredging permit, the City must reestablish oyster beds that were disturbed during dredging.

The oyster shells will be placed at various locations in the marsh, outside of any future dredge paths. The oyster shells will serve as the hard substrate to which developing oysters will attach themselves as they mature over several years.

Beginning this weekend, about half of the overflow parking lot at the Heritage Shores Nature Preserve at 53rd Avenue North will be closed so that trucks delivering the oyster shells can unload them on to barges that will ferry the shells to the locations where the new oyster beds will be created.

It will take about 23,000 bushels or 1 million pounds of oyster shells to create the new oyster beds, which equates to about 50 barge trips.

The work must occur now because it synchronizes with the maturation time frame of oyster larvae.

HOW OYSTERS DEVELOP

Fertilized oyster eggs drift in the water column undergoing cell division until they become juvenile larvae. Oyster larvae live in the water column for about two weeks maturing through different stages. Larvae swim in the water currents in order to follow the phytoplankton, their source of food. Larvae are not capable of swimming horizontally, but they can move vertically. Once the larvae are about two weeks old and in the pediveliger stage (larva with a foot), they begin to concentrate at the bottom of a water system to search for a hard substrate. The larvae utilize an appendage that they grow called a foot. This foot helps them crawl around on the bottom to find a suitable substrate for them to attach to. Once they have successfully located a suitable location, usually an oyster shell, they begin to attach to the shell by secreting a glue. The larvae then undergo a complete metamorphosis of internal anatomy and become what we call a spat. From there, they develop over time into a full grown oyster. -- Source: University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science Horn Point Oyster Hatchery

The accompanying photo shows oyster eggs or "spat" attached to an oyster shell.

Medicine Drop-Off Tent Offered at May 12 MayFest on May Festival in North Myrtle Beach

MEDICINE DROP-OFF TENT OFFERED AT MAY 12MAYFEST ON MAIN®FESTIVAL
During the May 12 Mayfest on Main® Festival, the North Myrtle Beach Public Safety Department Department will offer a Medicine Drop-Off Tent at the main entrance to the festival closest to U.S. Highway 17.

Bring your unused, expired and unwanted prescription and over-the-counter medicines to the Medicine Drop-Off Tent during festival hours.

Do not bring liquids or syringes. 

Unused medicines in homes create a public health and safety concern because they can be accidentally ingested, stolen, misused, or abused.