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Myrtle Beach supports I-73

Recent media reports indicate that Horry County Council will consider cancelling its contract with the South Carolina Department of Transportation for Interstate 73. Those reports quote a member of County Council as asserting that the County will have “no revenue source to pay for the work” because of the litigation involving the County and the municipalities, including the City of Myrtle Beach.

The City of Myrtle Beach publicly stated in Apri...l 2019 that it would devote resources to the I-73 project, as did other municipalities within Horry County. As far as the City of Myrtle Beach is concerned, nothing has changed in that regard.

Horry County is able to continue collecting some $22 million in hospitality fees annually in the unincorporated areas, even after the circuit court’s injunction in June prohibiting it from imposing its hospitality fee in the incorporated areas. That amount of money, $22 million, plus contributions by the City of Myrtle Beach and other municipalities, would be more than enough to fund the contract with the SC Department of Transportation.

Any decision by County Council to cancel the I-73 contract is solely a result of its unilateral decision to do so and is not attributable to actions taken by the City of Myrtle Beach or other municipalities to protect their residents, businesses and visitors.

A member of County Council also is quoted in recent media reports as stating that there has been “no movement” by the parties in their mediation discussions. This statement is contradicted by the comments of Horry County Council Chairman Johnny Gardner to the news media following mediation sessions.

In those comments, Mr. Gardner is attributed as saying that “both sides worked hard at it… it was a good mediation, it was just the parties just did not see eye to eye on the final details,” and that “both sides worked hard during the 13-hour session, but more time is needed to work out the differences.” He is further quoted as saying, “we made some good points today and made some progress.”