Officials vote to remove SC leader’s name from building amid harassment claims
Officials Tuesday voted to remove a former county leader’s name from Horry County’s $24 million emergency operations center amid sexual harassment claims.
In a decision that took mere seconds, the infrastructure and regulation committee voted in favor of a resolution that would remove Randall S. Webster’s name from the county’s Emergency Operations and Communications Center, following claims that Webster sexually harassed a county employee.
The resolution will now move on for a vote by the full county council. If approved, it appears that this will be the first time the county has renamed a building over allegations against one of its own.
The center opened 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, The Sun News previously reported. His retirement came while being interviewed by human resources about a sexual harassment claim against him, officials said.
Webster had been with the county for more than 30 years before his promotion to assistant administrator.
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, The Sun News previously reported.
Manemeit and Moskov claim in the lawsuit that their resignations were forced upon raising 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 when a public report was released by the county claiming they were involved in non-criminal misconduct sexual relationships with coworkers, The Sun News previously reported.
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.
County officials released a statement on Nov. 21 stating Webster’s retirement was not connected to the allegations. The statement said that Webster’s retirement was due to health issues, which then ended the investigation.
