CITY OF NORTH MYRTLE BEACH, SOUTH CAROLINA NORTH MYRTLE BEACH CITY HALL CITY COUNCIL MEETING Monday, August 17, 2020, 6:30 PM

Minutes

1A. ROLL CALL: 6:29 PM Mayor Hatley called the meeting to order and asked the Clerk to call the roll.

Marilyn Hatley JO Baldwin Bob Cavanaugh Fred Coyne Nicole Fontana Hank Thomas Terry White

A quorum was established.

1B. EXECUTIVE SESSION: The Mayor called for a motion to go into Executive Session for a discussion regarding the appointment of three new members to the Hazard Mitigation Planning Committee and a legal briefing regarding the lawsuit between the City of Myrtle Beach and Horry County concerning local accommodations and hospitality taxes. The motion was made by Councilman Baldwin and seconded by Councilwoman Fontana. The motion passed 7-0. The Council returned to Chambers at 6:55 PM. The Mayor announced that no votes were taken at the session.

1C. CONTINUATION OF CALL TO ORDER: 6:57 PM Mayor Hatley asked the City Manager to deliver the invocation.

The Mayor led the Pledge of Allegiance.

2. MINUTES: The motion to approve the minutes for the City Council Meeting of Monday, July 20, 2020 and the Emergency City Council Meeting of Friday, July 31, 2020, as presented, was made by Councilwoman Fontana and seconded by Councilman Coyne. The motion to approve passed 7-0.

3. COMMUNICATIONS: A. Brian Piascik, General Manager/CEO of Coast RTA, presented an update of the operations and service improvements of Coast RTA. Mr. Piascik stated ridership had increased 32% since 2015 and, fortunately, they were running at 50-60% capacity throughout the pandemic. They had spent between $650,000 and $660,000 on personal protection equipment and hazard pay for employees. The CARES act had helped tremendously to protect their company and employees. Mr. Piascik stated North Myrtle Beach had not had transportation services since 2006, but it was critical to their future five year plan. On October 1, 2020, Coast RTA will establish transportation between Myrtle Beach and North Myrtle Beach. Mr. Piascik stated he was seeking public input before the October timeframe. The hours of operation will be from 7 AM to 8 PM with the route

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to include retail outlets, Ocean Drive, Barefoot Landing, Carolina Forest, etc., benefiting both residents and visitors. Included in the five year plan would be investments from all the municipalities and a referendum by 2024 or 2026.

Mayor Hatley stated she believed they had done a great job in changing Coast RTA to a more user-friendly platform and was very impressed with the bus fleet, especially how clean and comfortable they were. Mr. Piascik stated the fleet of buses had almost been totally replaced. Mayor Hatley stated she hoped the community would get behind this service and give it a chance. Mr. Piascik added he was engaging the Chamber through virtual meetings, launching a new website, and including signs and wraps on buses.

B. Mayor Hatley stated that the Departmental Monthly Reports for July 2020 were available online. There were no questions concerning the reports.

4. ANNOUNCEMENTS BY MAYOR AND CITY COUNCIL: Mayor Hatley thanked Representative William Bailey and Tom Keegan, from Representative Tom Rice’s office, for being at the meeting. Mr. Keegan stated Congressman Rice sent his best regards and support to North Myrtle Beach residents.

5. CONSENT AGENDA: A. Declaration of Extended State of Emergency B. Extension of Emergency Ordinance

Mayor Hatley asked if the Council would consider taking the two agenda items together, since they were related. The Council was in agreement. Mike Mahaney, City Manager, read the Declaration of State of Emergency and the Emergency Ordinance Extension by title. Mayor Hatley called for a motion. Councilman Thomas motioned to approve and was seconded by Councilwoman Fontana. Having no comments from the Council or the public, Mayor Hatley called for a vote. The motion to approve passed 7-0.

6. UNFINISHED BUSINESS: ORDINANCE/SECOND READING: Amendment to Chapter 21, Article II, Stopping, Standing and Parking, Section 21-40, Annual Parking Fee Exemption. Manager Mahaney read the ordinance by title. Mayor Hatley called for a motion to approve the ordinance. The motion to approve was made by Councilwoman Fontana and seconded by Councilman Baldwin. Having no comments from the Council or the public, Mayor Hatley called for a vote. The motion to approve passed 7-0.

7. NEW BUSINESS: A. RESOLUTION: To approve the annual assessment report and updated assessment roll for the Cherry Grove Improvement District. Manager Mahaney read the resolution by title for assessment year 2020-2021. Mayor Hatley called for a motion to approve the resolution. The motion to approve was made by Councilwoman Fontana and seconded by Councilman Coyne. Having no comments from the Council or the public, Mayor Hatley called for a vote. The motion to approve passed 7-0.

B. RESOLUTION: Pre-annexation Agreement for Lot L on Cenith Drive. Manager Mahaney read the resolution by title. Mayor Hatley called for a motion to approve the resolution. The motion to approve was made by Councilman Thomas and seconded by Councilwoman Fontana.

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Councilman Thomas stated this was a good resolution for the city. It would allow the added benefit of having water and sewage tied into the property. Having no further comments from the Council or the public, Mayor Hatley called for a vote. The motion to approve passed 7-0.

C. ORDINANCE/FIRST READING: Proposed Amendment to Chapter 23, Zoning of the Code of Ordinances for establishing a minimum driveway length of 24’. Manager Mahaney read the ordinance by title. Mayor Hatley called for a motion to approve the ordinance. The motion to approve was made by Councilwoman Fontana and seconded by Councilman Baldwin. Councilman Coyne asked for clarification on the diagram, example 3. He stated there was a similar set up with some property on Main Street. He stated he was trying to find the relevance of this particular example. Jim Wood, Director of Planning and Development, stated the intent of the example was to show a portion of parking under a raised house could count towards the 24’ of driveway length. If a resident had a raised house and there was parking underneath, there did not have to be 24’ of exposed parking.

Mayor Hatley provided an example from her neighborhood. One particular neighbor did not use the space under the house for parking, but for another purpose and, consequently, their truck, with an extended cab, stuck out in the road 90% of the time. To drivers unaware of the vehicle sticking out, problems could arise, especially at night. Two cars would be unable to pass on the street. Mayor Hatley stated the intent of this ordinance was to address the issue of the backend of vehicles obstructing roads. She inquired why the staff would allow 3-4’ to be counted under the house; it seemed not to address the issue. Director Wood stated the total length would have to be 24’ and could not violate other ordinances. He stated the staff would take a second look at the diagrams. Councilman Baldwin stated he would like to see a minimum dimension, from the point of the driveway to the house, stated in the ordinance. Councilman Coyne stated it may need to be clarified that the sidewalk and road cannot be obstructed. Director Wood stated zoning regulations and setbacks would still apply. Councilman Cavanaugh stated the diagram needed to have a dotted line cutoff to protect the sidewalk. Mayor Hatley added it needed to protect the street, as well. Councilman Cavanaugh stated in example five, there was a line indicating the 24’ measurement before the sidewalk. Councilwoman Fontana suggested this be applied to all the diagrams, not just example five. Director Wood stated example five was a very rare scenario that was specific to a pedestrian path or sidewalk that was located outside of the street right of way in a private easement. Mayor Hatley stated the Council could pass the ordinance on the first reading, but asked staff to look at their suggestions, especially for new construction. Councilman Thomas stated it would clean up the area and in regards to example two, he suggested the U-shaped driveway should be able to accommodate at least a minimum of two cars.

Mayor Hatley stated she appreciated the staff for working on this ordinance and to come back with changes for them to look at for the second reading. Having no further comments from the Council or the public, Mayor Hatley called for a vote. The motion to approve passed 7-0.

D. ORDINANCE/FIRST READING: Proposed ordinance to repeal Article III, Towing and Wrecker Services, from Chapter 22 of the North Myrtle Beach Code in its entirety and to adopt new language for Article III, Wrecker Services and Non-Consensual Towing. Mayor Hatley called for a motion to approve the ordinance. The motion to approve was made by Councilwoman Fontana and seconded by Councilman Coyne. Mayor Hatley stated Chris Noury, City Attorney, was unable to be in attendance at the meeting, however, Manager Mahaney telephoned him, in order to represent the city at the meeting. Mr. Noury explained the city had received numerous phone calls and emails from vacationers who have had their vehicles towed from condos. One vacationer was staying at Sea Marsh II on July 27, 2020. He had a parking pass located inside his vehicle, however it was towed by a local towing operator. Upon contact with the company, the staff stated there was no 3 parking pass in the car. Once arriving at the towing company, the manager informed him it was not that he did not have a parking pass, but could not read it. The towing fee of $150 was still charged, even with proof of having the parking pass in the car. The second example was a vacationer who stayed at Pier Watch Villas. She saw two employees of a towing company, looking into her vehicle, and she inquired what they were doing. They stated they could not read the date of the parking pass. She showed them the parking pass. The next day, her car was towed by the same towing company. She had to pay the towing fee, even though she verified the pass was valid and in the car, except it was on the floor board, when she picked up her vehicle. The car rental company covered the towing fee for her. Mr. Noury stated those were some examples of the complaints received by the city. The ordinance was for nonconsensual tows (i.e., tows without authorization of the vehicle owner). In the previous ordinance, the owner or agent of property, had to have an original signature on a tow request, in order to remove a vehicle from the property. What some towing companies had been doing was photocopying the original signature, then driving around the area making their own determinations of which vehicles to tow. The proposed ordinance would require an original signature of the agent of record or the owner of the property and for them to be present requesting the tow in the presence of a police officer, on the scene. Another significant change to the existing ordinance would allow the use of debit and credit cards to pay towing fees and cash to be accepted on scene. Mr. Noury stated the updated ordinance would eliminate predatory towing.

Jay Fernandez, Director of Public Safety, explained the ordinance was updated previously in 2016. Before a tow could happen, an original signature was required on the paperwork. There were tow companies that had photocopied the forms with a signature, which meant it was not an original signature. Director Fernandez explained in the new ordinance, if a car needed to be towed, the agent would call a tow service and Public Safety. Public Safety’s response time would be approximately 3-5 minutes. Public Safety would be in control of the towing forms and assign a case number. The towing companies would no longer control the paperwork. The police officer would have the signed form, denoting a valid tow. There should be no delay to residents in getting a valid tow. Mayor Hatley asked if Director Fernandez had many complaints of tow companies preying on individuals and impounding cars for money. Director Fernandez stated the department had numerous calls of this nature. He had taken two in the past week, one via email. In one of the cases, a gentleman parked unknowingly in a wrong lot, had a quick lunch and his car was towed. We interpret this as a predatory company, which was not good for the city.

Mayor Hatley stated she had been informed that some towing companies were willing to pay property owners under the table to call them about a car that should be towed. She stated that was dirty business. The city was a tourist community and it was our industry. Mayor Hatley stated she was totally against preying on people just for money. Director Fernandez stated another concern that had come to light were property owners that did not live in the area. The owner could appoint an agent of record, for example an HOA board member(s) and/or a neighbor(s) and have numerous approved agents of record on file with Public Safety. This would help to eliminate fraudulent calls requesting a tow and not having authorization. Mayor Hatley stated she had received emails from individuals expressing their experiences with improper tows. She stated insurance companies have contacted her regarding improper impounding, holding the vehicle for 10 days and then charging $250 for title searches, when the actual cost was less than $10.

Mayor Hatley stated it had been put out on social media that a property owner or business owner did not have a right to tow a vehicle. She asked Director Fernandez to explain this situation.

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Director Fernandez stated if you were an owner of a residence or business, you did not have to send in an agent of record. If a car, trailer, boat, etc. was illegally parked on your property you could call Public Safety and a towing company and the form could be signed when Public Safety arrived. It would be an easy process. Councilwoman Fontana stated there was misinformation online that the Council was trying to take away property owner rights and this needed to be clarified.

Mayor Hatley asked if there was a penalty included in the ordinance for operators that did not follow the ordinance. Councilwoman Fontana read from Section 22-42 on page 7 of the ordinance. Mayor Hatley inquired if there was a fine. David Slough, attorney from Nexen Pruett Law Firm, stated the fine was from the General Provision, Section 1-6. It was a fee of $500 per day and would also give the ability to revoke a business license. Councilwoman Fontana thanked everyone that worked on the proposed ordinance. She expressed a frustration with the one company that had been violating the rules over and over for several years. Mayor Hatley stated there were very good towing companies that followed the rules and she appreciated them, but some others ran their business on the shady side.

Councilman Baldwin stated his concern over a property owner needing to be present for a tow to occur. He understood having an agent of record, but that could be an unnecessary burden. Councilman Baldwin also stated there could be a safety risk. He agreed there was a problem, but didn’t want to create more problems. Director Fernandez stated in the present ordinance, a Public Safety officer did not have to be on the scene. In the proposed ordinance, the police would be involved to help keep the peace. Councilman Thomas stated there did need to be something done. Instead of having a representative or agent of record, Councilman Thomas suggested if there was an incorrect tow, then the towing company would not be able to charge the owner for the tow. Mayor Hatley stated what had become an issue was running copies of signatures and not having an original. Manager Mahaney stated in addition, the issue was paperwork for non-consensual tows not being faxed to Public Safety. This has caused chaos within the city operations. Councilwoman Fontana asked why one company could not follow the rules. Councilman Thomas stated it would create a burden on second homeowners and he would like to see the bad company penalized. Director Fernandez stated some of the towing companies were not within the jurisdiction of the city. If they were to go to the towing company outside of city limits, they would not have any authority to take action. He stated that our calls were not a priority for Horry County and due to understaffing, they would not have the time to enforce the city ordinance. Director Fernandez stated he would rather take care of situations within the city limits.

Mayor Hatley opened the floor to public comment. Linda Koucky, 2200 North Ocean Blvd (Springs Towers), North Myrtle Beach, stated she has had personal experience not having a place to park where she lived until they signed a contract in 2015 with a towing company. She stated there were six beach accesses and two restaurants around the towers and they were inundated with locals parking there illegally. She stated they were not parking for Snooky’s and people were trespassing in their garage. Ms. Koucky stated the response time of three-five minutes needed to be stated within the ordinance. She stated there were 56 owners who would be agents of record. She stated the ordinance would require the tow company, agent of record, and police to be present before a tow could occur. The city would have to hire more employees because of the amount of tows they would have to process. If the city police were to come, they needed to charge the person for trespassing. Councilwoman Fontana asked if there were

5 no trespassing signs. She suggested adding signage of no trespassing and private property. Ms. Kouchy stated no one read the signs and had no respect to private property.

Marijane Ambrogi, 6200 North Ocean Blvd, Unit 102 (Sea March I), North Myrtle Beach, stated she was the President of the HOA. She had lived in this residence for 8 years and for 7 ½ years, they have had a horrible time with parking problems. There were no spaces for residents or renters. There were people legitimately allowed to park in the garage and the city allowed people to break the law. Mayor Hatley stated the intent was not to stop towing, but to make sure it was done properly. Ms. Ambrogi inquired with the thousands of calls the police officers were going to get, how could they respond in three minutes? They have more important things to do than respond while she was standing by a car, hoping the police officer arrived before the perpetrator beat her to a pulp, because she called the police officer. Many people don’t like the fact a towing company was called. The next thing you know, they find out which condo was yours, bang on doors at night, and scratch up your vehicle. Ms. Ambrogi stated she’s too afraid to be around when the towing company comes. She signs the paper and stands back by the building. Ms. Ambrogi inquired if there were only one or two towing companies doing illegitimate business, why not make them public and not use them? She stated if a towing company towed a car that should not have been towed, the company should fit the bill. Mayor Hatley added another concern was taking only cash and not allowing the use of credit cards and holding their vehicle hostage. Ms. Ambrogi stated if the majority of towing companies were abiding by the rules, single out the ones that were not, and let the homeowners know not to use those companies.

Dana Earl-Bruno, 221 1st Avenue South, North Myrtle Beach stated years ago there used to be a problem with parking, until the ordinance was passed. When she called a towing company, she met them at the vehicle and they took a picture for proof. Ms. Earl-Bruno stated why make an issue for property owners, when it’s the towing companies that have the issue. She stated she had not had a car towed recently, however when she did, they did make them pay in cash. She stated the problem was a lack of city planning. She stated this summer, she had to park in city parking herself, because people blocked her driveway. She had put up many signs and stakes in the ground. She had pictures of individuals taking her signs down. Mayor Hatley stated this ordinance would not affect her. Ms. Earl-Bruno stated it didn’t, because she was there on the property. She stated her tenant had to be guaranteed parking, as well. Mayor Hatley reiterated the ordinance would not affect her. Ms. Earl-Bruno stated the last time she called the police station, it took 30-40 minutes for an officer to arrive. She stated the residents paid many taxes and paid to live by the beach. The city needed to do more planning for tourist parking or they would keep invading their property.

Jim Shore, 2812 Ship Wheel Drive, North Myrtle Beach, stated there seemed to be confusion and the Mayor stated the previous speaker would not be affected. However, the ordinance specifically stated it was unlawful to remove any motor vehicle from private property without authorization from the vehicle owner. Mayor Hatley stated she would be able to call the police department for a towing, she would not have to have a designee. Mr. Shore stated the ordinance went on to say signs would have to be posted. The confusion was coming from Section 22-45. Mr. Slough stated if there was an illegal vehicle on your own property, you could call the police department for a tow. That would be a law enforcement initiated tow and would not need a sign. If you called a towing company first, that would be a non-consensual tow and the towing company could not tow a vehicle unless there was signage on the property. That was the distinction. Mr. Shore stated that may be the intent, but that was not how it was written within the ordinance. He referred to page ten of the

6 ordinance regarding a misdemeanor. He asked why a ticket could not be hung on the car and let the tow company tow the ticketed car. He stated there was confusion on what was a condo, hotel, commercial property, and private parking and what would require signs.

Pam Stanley, represented the HOA and 28 home owners from Pier Watch Villas, Cherry Grove, located beside a public access and the fishing pier. Ms. Stanley stated on any given day, there were 10-12 tows, which resulted in property damage. She stated there was no presence on the property. Without hiring security, a registered agent or owner would not be on the property to call the police. Hiring security would be an added cost and burden to home owners. 95% of all tows were legitimate. She stated one renter brought 9 vehicles and 2 motorcycles on the property for one unit. Mayor Hatley asked if the property was rented by a management company. Ms. Stanley stated it was and she called the company and they would not take care of the situation and left it to the owners to take care of it. Mayor Hatley stated rental management companies had agreed to take care of these situations. Ms. Stanley stated they lied and so did the renters. Mayor Hatley stated there would be a workshop on the short term rentals. Ms. Stanley stated she would be there, because the 2.5 number proposed per vehicle was ridiculous and it should be 5. Manager Mahaney stated she needed to attend the workshop on short term rentals. Ms. Stanley stated the real world implications of these changes had not been considered. Councilwoman Fontana stated the ordinance had to be revisited because there was one particular towing company, within the city, that sought out cars to tow. They were paying people to put eyes on cars pulling into parking spaces and were violating the ordinance, as it was written. Councilwoman Fontana stated there were five companies on rotation with the city and one company continually performed illegal tows. Ms. Stanley inquired why put this upon the residents and not on the company who violated the ordinance. Manager Mahaney stated this would strengthen the ordinance, for legal purposes. Manager Mahaney explained the process of having a business license revoked.

Don Porter, 2200 North Ocean Blvd. (Springs Tower) North Myrtle Beach, stated before entering into an agreement with a towing company, they could not find parking for owners or guests. Mr. Porter stated they have plenty of signage and will put more. For 5-6 years, we have been doing it this way without any complaints from the city. Mr. Porter stated he came to the meeting with one opinion and as he listened, he formed another. It puts a big burden on a place like Springs Tower. He explained how many different people park in their garage. Mayor Hatley stated they did have a problem around their area with parking. Mr. Porter stated it was a big burden to put on home owners, when it’s the tow company that had the issue. He didn’t know how home owners would live up to this ordinance. He recommended the Council consider tabling the ordinance and have a workshop. He asked not to drag home owners into it to solve the problems with one tow company.

Richard Pate, 1014 Anne Street, North Myrtle Beach, stated he represented his own towing company and wanted to address some of the items that had been brought up that were not true. He inquired if the city had proof of what they said, before someone got accused of it. He stated in one of the examples, the gentleman was staying in Sea Watch I, but parked in Sea Watch II, which was why he was towed. Mr. Pate stated if anyone had asked, they would have been glad to tell them. The other example he wanted to explain was the one where his guys were going around a car to look for the pass and towed the lady’s car the next day. It was three days later when they saw the car had no pass. They called the property manager to come on the scene and he asked for it to be towed and they towed it. Mr. Pate explained their company did not ever tow a vehicle without taking pictures. If anyone wanted to take a look at anything they towed, they could ask. It was not

7 right to be accused of something, when he’s never been asked about it. He stated they represented over 300 properties and did most of the non-consensual towing in the city. He agreed the city had a problem with parking. Mr. Pate stated he put this subject on social media and there were over 9,000 hits on this particular issue. There were a lot of people concerned. Mr. Pate stated it would have been nice to have had some input on the ordinance. He had been doing business for 35 years and they took pride in their job and took it seriously. They worked with the Highway Patrol, Atlantic Beach, and Horry County. They had not had anyone complain about the job they were doing. He didn’t believe Mr. Fernandez would say they did a bad job. There were just a few differences on how the city ordinance was written. Mr. Pate stated he had asked Mr. Fernandez to sit down and talk about this and called the City Manager, Chris Noury, two times to discuss. His calls had not been returned. All he has wanted to do was work it out. Mr. Pate stated he’s been doing this for 35 years, if there was a problem with a wrecker company, get in a room and talk about it. He stated now all of a sudden, the Council had been getting calls. Before you assume that everything was bad, ask. He stated that Ms. Fontana said he had taken money. If she had proof, he would like her to show him. Councilwoman Fontana stated she did not say him personally. Mr. Pate stated you said my company.

Tom Branson, 2305 North Ocean Blvd, North Myrtle Beach, stated he and his family own Atlantis Pancake House and parking over the years had been really bad. About two years ago, he said enough was enough. He stated he was there every morning and there were broken bottles of beer in the parking lot. People would park in his restaurant parking by 9-10 am for the beach or to hear a band play at the bar across the street. He stated he and his family have gotten cussed at, on his own property, when he asked someone to move their car. At night, there have not been places to park on his own property. His own daughter’s birthday, there was no place to park at his restaurant. Mr. Branson stated he had enough. He stated you would have to be blind not to see the signs he had in place, but the restaurant got blamed for it. One thing a lot of people had not brought up was giving business licenses to places that did not have adequate parking. He stated their signs for parking needed to be bigger and clearer. His restaurant was taking the brunt of the problems. He stated Coastline had done a great job for them.

James Gause, 2491 Highway 9 East, Little River, represented one of the towing companies on rotation, Gause’s Towing & Recovery. He wanted to address some of the things that had come up and didn’t need a workshop to solve. He stated his drivers worked on a cash basis on the street, but it was about integrity and when bad things happened, we all needed to work to make it better. Mr. Gause stated there was a gray area of the SC law regarding charging fees. He explained how SC Highway Patrol did not allow some fees to be charged. Mr. Gause stated to put in the ordinance not to charge those particular fees, give a ticket, and then suspend. No one was standing up for the right side. It was about a personal agenda and favoritism. Mr. Gause stated he required cash on the street when it came to a no tow, but would accept credit and debit cards at the office. Mayor Hatley stated if he would take credit cards in person. Mr. Gause stated as long as the person with the credit card appeared in person and had proper identification, they took cards at the office. Mr. Gause stated to put rules in place within the ordinance. Mr. Gause stated there was no penalty for doing something wrong. The ordinance didn’t reflect a penalty system. If the police department wanted to come to a private party tow, great, but the department would have to be dedicated to be on time. His guys were paid on what they towed. Mr. Gause stated the second issue was the person who owned a house was different than someone owning a commercial business. The definition needed to be better defined in the ordinance. Again, he asked what the penalty for doing wrong was. He

8 suggested to keep suspensions for 30 or 60 days. For the Highway Patrol, if you broke the rules, a company was subject to be suspended for a certain amount of time. The problem seemed to be the city not implementing the penalties, because being afraid of going to court or someone being upset. Mr. Gause stated it was on the street that a person could call someone to do their bidding for them and make it smooth. The parking issue would not be solved by a towing company or a police officer showing up. Mr. Gause stated they documented all cars and damage to vehicles. Mr. Gause stated he didn’t represent bad service, he worked hard to represent the city properly, and asked to please make sure there were fines, not just word of mouth.

Barbara Beaty, 6100 North Ocean Blvd. (Sea Point), North Myrtle Beach, stated she owned her property and a towing company, which was not currently in the state. Where she lived, there were at least 5-10 illegally parked cars a day and they did have signs. Since the city instituted paid parking, parking had been terrible. Ms. Beaty stated police officers had better things to do than attend to private property tows. She inquired if Public Safety had enough employees to manage this situation. The police would not be able to respond to the amount of calls this would generate. Ms. Beaty stated her towing company had trucks that cost around $150,000, the insurance was outrageous, and had many other expenses. She could not allow drivers to stand around waiting for public service to respond. Ms. Beaty stated the towing drivers would need to take pictures to prove their cases. She inquired of all the complaints that were received, had anyone investigated the tow company or took pictures of the claims? She asked for the Council to give more thought to the ordinance, because they did not have enough staff to handle the problem.

Director Fernandez stated they would have the ability to respond. Since January 1, there had been a total of 60 non-consensual tows documented. There may be hundreds of tows they were not made aware of. If there were 5-10 tows a day for one property, the city had not being notified of the other tows and that was illegal. The required documentation had to be properly faxed into the office or hand delivered. At least 50 % of those 60 tows did not have the required documentation. Director Fernandez stated an officer, that was in attendance at the meeting, had talked to a wrecker owner regarding the required ordinance and the owner stated, “That ordinance did not apply to me.” A gentleman from the audience asked if Director Fernandez dealt with that wrecker company. Directory Fernandez stated in 9 ½ years of employment, he had been trying to deal with that wrecker company and made no ground. He stated he had on video two people from the same company that had been belligerent and unprofessional to a police officer. The gentleman stated to pull the business license. Director Fernandez stated he could do that, but the owner could go and get another LLC and have the same wrecker company, but in another name and would not solve the problem. The ordinance would allow the police to control the paperwork and if a complaint came in, they would have access to it quickly and know it was a valid tow or not. Mayor Hatley stated what she was hearing was the city did not have records of these hundreds of tows and no one was reporting them. The towing companies were supposed to keep records and then turn it in to the Police Department. Director Fernandez stated they knew they did not have the paperwork coming into the department. They would be able to control this, if the Public Safety controlled the paperwork. The department could easily respond to 60 calls in 3-5 minutes. He knew of no call that took over 2 hours to respond to, even on July 4th.

Terry Reid, 929 South Ocean Blvd. (Atlantic Dunes), North Myrtle Beach stated his condo had 22 units with 48 parking spaces, and needed to be able to police their own property. The response time of three minutes was not what he had experienced. They paid $1000/quarter to maintain permit

9 parking places. These were not for anyone off the streets to use. They did have signs up. The house next door didn’t have parking for all the cars they brought and took four of their spaces and tore up the tickets. Mr. Reid called a wrecker service, then the renters from the house called the police on him. Mayor Hatley asked if the house was rented by a management company and he did not know. He stated they were restricted to two parking spaces per unit, not including handicap spaces. When people go to the beach and used their parking lot, it caused problems. Mr. Reid stated it should not be his responsibility. Councilman Cavanaugh stated he wanted to protect the property owners as a whole. Mayor Hatley stated she understood his dilemma. She did not think he should have the responsibility to run out everyone who would park illegally. Mr. Reid stated he did not want to be punished for what the towing companies were doing or because the city had paid parking.

Richard Pate stated they had to call in every time they tow a car. He inquired if the city had a problem and Mr. Fernandez didn’t get all the reports, why didn’t they come ask them about it? The city has had fax and phone service issues, which they have talked to Mr. Fernandez about several months ago. Mr. Pate stated they were not bad people and were trying to do the right thing. Mr. Pate suggested to have a workshop to talk about it and stated it was not as bad as it looked.

Mayor Hatley closed the public comment portion and asked if the Council had any more discussion. Councilman Thomas stated it was a good discussion and parking was a critical issue. He recommended amending what they had. If reporting was an issue, scan the call log. The burden would fall on homeowners. Unfortunately, people will violate the rules. Councilman Thomas stated Mr. Gause had a good point on having fines and penalties. There needed to be a workshop to discuss more of the issues. Councilman Cavanaugh stated clearly there was a problem and something was missing. He stated the penalty should be removing the tow company from the rotation before taking their business license. Councilman Cavanaugh stated he believed the Council needed to go back to a workshop and identify the problem based on the issues brought out in the meeting. Councilwoman Fontana stated they could pass the ordinance on first reading and then do a workshop. Manager Mahaney suggested to pass the ordinance on the first reading and hold the second reading until individuals closest to the problems returned from quarantine. Manager Mahaney stated a meeting needed to be conducted with Public Safety, attorneys, and the towing companies to establish an agreement with the facts and come up with a plan. There was more than one attorney involved in the situation. After the meeting, then Public Safety and attorneys come back and have a work session with Council. Manager Mahaney stated the city acknowledged there was a parking problem. Mayor Hatley stated she believed that was a great idea and also wanted to address the misunderstandings of private ownership and the ability to tow a car from their home.

Manager Mahaney stated he understood Council’s frustration, but recommended passing the ordinance on first reading to get the attention of some people. He also stated that Council needed to watch the videos of tow operators showing disrespect to officers in front of the public, which needed to stop. Manager Mahaney reiterated for them to have the meeting and then come back for a work session and then move forward. Councilman Thomas specifically wanted Director Fernandez to ask towing companies how many tows they have had since January 1. Mayor Hatley stated they would need to show proof, but it was evident not everyone was reporting the tows. Councilman Thomas stated there could be a one-time grace period and then hold them responsible.

Mayor Hatley stated the comments would be closed. Councilwoman Fontana amended the motion to pass the ordinance on first reading, for Public Safety and the towing companies to have a

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meeting, and then a Council workshop before the second reading. Councilman Coyne seconded the motion. He stated it would give time for some of the paperwork to get caught up and a chance to look at the numbers based on feedback from Public Safety, HOAs, and property owners. The motion passed 7-0.

8. PUBLIC COMMENT:

Patricia Kellers, 503B 43rd Avenue South, North Myrtle Beach stated she was a retired former public health official and stated there was a garbage problem in the town. On July 28, she sent an email to Councilwoman Fontana with pictures of some garbage problems. Councilwoman Fontana replied and stated she sent the email to the City Manager. Ms. Kellers stated she had received no answer. Another neighbor had sent emails and there had been no response. She inquired why the sanitation ordinance was written so lean. The city needed to refer to the City of Myrtle Beach and mirror their ordinance. It stated that garbage needed to be contained and lids must close. People leave trash cans out a week before collection and roll carts at the curb. What was the city going to do about the situation and why was it not enforced? Manager Mahaney stated to come back on Wednesday for the workshop on short term rentals. Ms. Kellers stated it was not just a short term rental problem. Manager Mahaney stated the whole issue had been exacerbated by COVID-19 and the amount of trash people were generating. There were 550 VRBOs not on the beachfront route. People were doing a lot of self-quarantining and eating at their rentals or ordering take-out food. Currently, the beachfront route was being run four times a week on Friday, Saturday, Sunday, and Monday to try to keep the trash down. They had been paying for two times a week collection, but we had been collecting four times a week. However, there were other platforms not on the beachfront route. The Public Works Director would be working on how to service the 550 that were not on the beachfront route and how much that would cost. There were many issues, not just trash, like people having sex in the pool, large parties, cars parked illegally. Manager Mahaney stated this was a thumbnail sketch of what a lot of people did not realize and there would be no way to return all of those calls. Ms. Kellers stated she wanted an answer to why the ordinance was not being enforced and what could be done to strengthen it. She stated it was not just a short term rental problem, but city wide. Councilwoman Fontana stated she received the majority of her complaints about trash from residents around short term rentals. Mayor Hatley stated there was a need to look at the trash and if home owners could not contain their trash, they needed to rent a third trash bin. She reminded the audience that the Council would have a workshop on short term rentals and they would look at Myrtle Beach’s new ordinance.

Councilman Thomas brought up a minor issue of parking in the right of way in certain areas. He stated going forward, to look at having only parallel parking within a right of way area.

9. ADJOURNMENT:

Mayor Hatley stated she appreciated all of the comments and it was good to discuss these issues. The meeting was adjourned at 9:19 PM.

Respectfully submitted,

Allison K. Galbreath, Clerk to Council

MARILYN HATLEY, MAYOR

Minutes approved and adopted this 21st day of September 2020. 11