Brad Lofton was handed a pretty big task when he was named executive director of the Myrtle Beach Regional Economic Development Corporation earlier this year -- bring in 500 new jobs within the first 18 months.
At Tuesday’s Horry County Council meeting, Lofton stood before the council to give his quarterly report and one of the points he hit on was his status after eight months on the job.
Lofton said there are 285 new jobs that are ready to move forward, and it’s just a matter of moving the incentives packages forward before making a formal announcement. Those packages were approved by the council.
“We’re excited to be in a good position to have a good year,” Lofton said.
He added that they have another 20 projects they’re working on that represent 5,000 new jobs.
“Not all of them will close,” Lofton said.
Renovations to airport building could still happen
The $2.5 million set aside by the Horry County Council to renovate a building at Myrtle Beach International Airport for leasing is still available for use despite the prospective tenant backing out of the deal.
County attorney Arrigo Carotti said it was anticipated that a company would locate to the airport and lease one of the buildings there, which necessitated the $2.5 million in renovations. The budget was amended by council to make the money available.
Carotti explained that, for some reason, the unnamed business decided to withdrawal.
Despite this, an amendment was presented that would give the county’s Department of Airports the flexibility to have that money available if another tenant desires to lease that same building, Carotti explained.
The amendment would remove reference to the old company and make the building available to any future tenant.
Mike LaPier, executive director of Myrtle Beach International Airport, said the work includes a fire protection system that’s not available at this point. He added that the renovations make the building more desirable.
The amendment and the second reading of the ordinance passed 11-1, with Councilman Marion Foxworth casting the “nay” vote.
Out-of-county waste staying out
The Horry County Solid Waste Authority’s initiative to battle out-of-county garbage appears to be working.
Mike Bessant, the SWA’s governmental affairs director, told the board of directors at Thursday’s meeting that they’ve had no instances of out-of-county trash since the last incident in the summer.
The high-dollar amount of the fee appears to be the deterrent.
In late spring, the SWA approved a prohibited waste load fee as a deterrent for keeping out-of-county waste out of the local landfill, which violates an Horry County ordinance.
It includes a tier schedule for repeat offenders. On a first offense, it’s $100 per ton, plus the normal $29 disposal fee. A second offense is a $125-per-ton fine, followed by $150 for a third.
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