Myrtle Beach city facilities will increase occupancy to 75-percent of capacity, effective Thursday, April 1. Many city buildings have been operating at reduced capacity or were closed to the public due to COVID-19 for most of the past year.
Myrtle Beach officially became a town on March 12, 1938, when the State of South Carolina issued the official charter. Voters went to the polls in 1937 to answer the ballot question about incorporation of Myrtle Beach. The vote was overwhelmingly in favor: 133 to eight.
We all were shocked and saddened by the sudden death of former Mayor John Rhodes on January 17. He served three terms as mayor of Myrtle Beach, having first been elected in November 2005 and serving through December 2017. But, he was a Myrtle Beach booster and supporter long before that.
Myrtle Beach City Council met this afternoon and selected Jonathan Fox Simons, Jr., to succeed John Pedersen as city manager. Simons joined the city nearly six years ago and is the current deputy city manager. He was one of three finalists for the manager’s position. If Simons and Council agree on a contract, he will become manager on January 7, 2021.
The City of Myrtle Beach has received more than $600,000 in Community Development Block Grant funds to provide relief for small businesses reeling from COVID-19’s economic effects. The application for this one-time money will exist later this week. The primary objective is to assist low-to-moderate income people by retaining jobs that would have otherwise been lost due to hardships attributable to COVID-19.
In March 2019, the City of Myrtle Beach approved an increase in its Local Accommodations Tax from 0.5% to 3% and implemented its 2% Hospitality Tax. In July 2019, the city began to collect these taxes, and Horry County ceased collection of its 1.5% Hospitality Fee inside the city’s corporate limits. Recently, the city and the county reached a settlement of the lawsuit contesting the county’s collection of the 1.5% Hospitality Fee from city businesses.
Saturday night’s senseless murder of Officer Jacob Hancher was a punch in the gut for the Myrtle Beach Police Department, the entire city staff and this community as a whole. In a matter of seconds we lost a teammate who will be remembered for his infectious smile, great sense of humor and heart of a true public servant.
A couple of private sector projects already are underway in Myrtle Beach’s new Arts & Innovation District. Now it’s time for some public improvements to the parking area that serves the block bounded by Ninth Avenue North, Oak Street, Main Street and Kings Highway.
Here’s a chance to put your artistic skills to good use and have your creation appear in public! The City of Myrtle Beach has received a grant from the AARP Community Challenge to create and display bicycle and pedestrian safety messages at 10 key intersections throughout the city. The contest is for 10 illustrations that convey a Myrtle Beach-related message about bicycle or pedestrian safety, wayfinding or proper social distancing for walkers and bikers.
The City of Myrtle Beach is actively involved in floodplain management, and we want you to be, too. Here’s information about building permits, zoning and more….
