Conway moving city council meeting virtual due to COVID-19
The City of Conway, due to the rising number of COVID-19 cases in the area, will hold its next city council meeting virtually via Zoom, hearkening back to earlier days of the pandemic.
Conway Mayor Barbara Blain-Bellamy said the city hasn’t made a decision yet on whether future meetings will be held virtually or in person.
But, she said, the decision to hold the upcoming one — scheduled for Tuesday, Sept. 7 at 4 p.m. — was made due to “the growing number of COVID cases in our community” and that the city wanted to “model what is responsible decision making with regard to gatherings.”
“It leaves a bit to be desired, human presences, human personalities shine brighter in person,” Blain-Bellamy said. “But we believe the business of the city can be done virtually for this meeting.”
According to an email from Alicia Shelley, the city clerk, members of the public can watch the city council meeting by going to the city’s website, www.cityofconway.com, and clicking the “Latest News” tab at the bottom of the home page.
Residents who wish to voice a concern or comment on city business should call city hall at 843-248-1760 or email Shelley, at ashelley@cityofconway.com prior to noon on Sept. 7, Shelley wrote in the email.
“To assure proper recording of public comments left on the city’s voicemail, callers are urged to clearly pronounce their names and addresses, preferably providing spelling for both,” Shelley advised in her note.
Blain-Bellamy added that while residents are required to wear a face covering when entering a city building, the city isn’t currently restricting access to any public buildings or requiring appointments.
“We’ll just watch and wait before we decide” about future meetings or further restrictions, Blain-Bellamy said.
At its meeting Tuesday, Conway City Council is set to vote on a number of annexations and land rezonings, as well a number of special event permits. Permits for the 2021 Conway Fall Festival (Oct. 2, 2021), the Conway Ghost Walk (Oct. 21, 22 and 23, 2021), the Halloween Golf Cart Parade (Oct. 30, 2021) and the 2022 Conway/Myrtle Beach Walk & Roll (May 14, 2022) are all on the city’s agenda for a vote.
Conway City Council will also vote on whether to send a resolution to state lawmakers asking them to explicitly make all municipal “user fees” legal. Earlier this year, the South Carolina Supreme Court ruled that Greenville County’s road maintenance fee was unlawful because residents who pay the annual fee don’t receive a greater benefit than visitors to the area.
Following the ruling, and a similar lawsuit in Horry County, county leaders worried that their road maintenance fee — a $50 annual charge on all registered vehicles — could be in jeopardy and also asked state legislators to change state law to make such fees explicitly legal. Some state lawmakers have signaled they’re willing to make the fix. The South Carolina Association of Counties also plans to lobby lawmakers to make the change.
Conway now joins those efforts.
In the past two weeks, Horry County has seen more than 3,200 people test positive for COVID-19 and has seen more than 30 deaths. Nearly a quarter of county students are quarantining due to positive cases in the schools, and some county offices are putting restrictions in place.
This story was originally published September 2, 2021 at 12:11 PM.
