Officials may strip SC leader’s name from building amid sexual harassment claims
Horry County’s $24 million emergency operations center may have a former official’s name stripped from it amid sexual harassment claims.
If approved, it appears that it will be the first time the county has renamed a building over allegations against one of its own.
The Randall S. Webster Emergency Operations and Communications Center opened its doors in August 2022. The 43,000-square-foot facility bears the name of Webster, the former deputy administrator for public safety, who announced his retirement on Oct. 17, citing health reasons. His retirement came while being interviewed by human resources about a sexual harassment claim against him, officials said.
The agenda for Tuesday’s infrastructure and regulation committee shows county officials will debate whether to keep Webster’s name on the building. Changing the name on the building would require full county council approval.
The day before Webster announced his retirement, a now-former Horry County Police Department officer, Kelsey Manemeit, submitted a formal complaint to human resources alleging sexual harassment by Webster, according to a lawsuit filed by Manemeit and former Horry County public information director Mikayla Moskov.
In the lawsuit, Manemeit and Moskov claim that their recent resignations were forced after they raised concerns about Webster, The Sun News previously reported.
Manemeit’s HR complaint claimed that Webster kissed her on the cheek, told her that he loved her and dreamed about her, according to the lawsuit.
The pair are suing Webster, the county, the police department and its chief after losing their jobs and taking damage to their reputations after a public report was released by the county claiming they were involved in non-criminal misconduct sexual relationships with coworkers.
They were among five employees who resigned on Nov. 6 after an Internal Affairs Investigation revealed the alleged sex scandal. Other officers were Lt. Misty Gore, Detective Donald Kobithen and Sgt. Torry Lewis.
Horry County officials released a statement on Nov. 21 that said Webster’s retirement is not connected to the sexual harassment allegations. The county statement said that Webster’s retirement was due to health issues, which then ended the investigation.
Webster had been with the county for more than 30 years before his promotion to assistant administrator.
