A settlement has been reached in a dispute between Atlantic Beach and one of its residents over the town's annual Bike Fest.
In 2008, resident Paul Curry filed suit against the town and alleged the town disregarded local and state law during the Memorial Day Bike Fest.
Curry said the town's ordinances clearly prohibited drinking in public and excessive noise levels, but during Bike Fest, Curry said both of those were blatantly ignored by town officials.
Curry also alleged the town was renting golf carts for town employees who drove them on public property. Curry said the carts were not properly licensed through the SC Department of Motor Vehicles.
More than two years after Curry filed the suit, both sides came to an agreement and Atlantic Beach admitted it wasn't following its own ordinances and was breaking the law by operating unlicensed golf carts.
While the town agreed to follow its own ordinances on the noise and drinking issues and license the golf carts, the agreement leaves room for the town to change any of the ordinances that are currently in place.
And that's what the town council did a few weeks ago when it passed a Bike Fest ordinance which would allow drinking in public and permit loud noises just during the three or four day Bike Fest.
"I'm glad we've been able to come to a resolution. There's no reason why the Town of Atlantic Beach should not have a festival if they want to do it. But ... they must comply with their own laws and with state laws," Curry said Tuesday after the agreement had been reached.
Curry said the agreement also addressed counterfeit goods during Bike Fest and how the town would toughen enforcement of bogus merchandise. The town will notify vendors prior to the festival that counterfeit goods won't be tolerated, and if caught, the vendors would be asked to leave.
The town will also pay Curry $5,000 for attorney and court fees, though Curry says he's spent more than that.
Also, the town must issue Curry a public apology for when one of its prior managers called Curry a harasser after he filed his original suit in 2008.
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