16 issues affecting the Grand Strand were on the agenda, with Myrtle Beach city council members, Horry County council members and state lawmakers getting a chance to weigh in on all of them.
Interstate 73, tourism marketing, mass transit... it's rare that all of those big issues get discussed at one meeting. Monday, local city, county and state lawmakers got together to hash out a long list of issues affecting the Grand Strand.
No votes were taken and no conclusions reached, but officials attending the one-of-a-kind joint meeting say, at least they now have a better understanding of what they all need to work on.
Some issues, like an update of the state retirement system, took just a few minutes to cover. Others, like the I-73 project, went on for much longer.
In all, 16 issues affecting the Grand Strand were on the agenda, with Myrtle Beach city council members, Horry County council members and state lawmakers getting a chance to weigh in on all of them.
It was the first time anyone could recall that elected officials from all three groups got together at one time to find out what the others were thinking. "We're sitting here now with our delegation, and telling them what our needs are for Horry County, what the needs are for the City of Myrtle Beach," said Myrtle Beach mayor, John Rhodes.
Coming up with the funding to build I-73 took up a big part of the discussion. Some county leaders expressed support for an increase in the state gas tax, which hasn't changed in more than 20 years.
But state lawmakers quickly squelched that idea, saying any kind of tax increase right now is unlikely to pass. "I don't think that given our current economic climate, that this is anywhere near the time to be increasing taxes or adding taxes to folks," said SC Representative Alan Clemmons, (R), Myrtle Beach.
Though no decisions were reached after two hours of discussion, Mayor Rhodes says the meeting did accomplish something. "We have to begin somewhere, we have to have a starting point. This is the starting point."
The meeting was suggested by City Councilman Phil Render. He wants to make it an annual event, so that state lawmakers can find out first-hand, what city leaders want them to work on.
