Horry County sues Myrtle Beach over intention to sell campground property
Myrtle Beach and Horry County are headed to court again, this time over the city’s intention to sell municipally owned property being used as campgrounds.
Horry County indicated its intention to sue last month, arguing the sale would hurt the Myrtle Beach International Airport, which currently benefits from 75-85 percent of the lease revenue for the land in question. Despite potential legal action, Myrtle Beach city council voted unanimously to move forward with the sale.
The city is seeking to sell the two properties for around $60 million to the respective owners of the campgrounds after landing on a figure between two appraisals that were done on the property. The city currently leases the land to the campground owners.
Details of the lawsuit
In the lawsuit, which was filed in Horry County court this week, the county argues it will suffer “irreparable harm” if the sale of the properties progresses and argues that the current price is below fair market value. Because of that, the county says it won’t be able to make up the difference between the price and the fair market value, the lawsuit states.
“Put simply, public officials cannot donate or give away public property at their whim,” the suit reads. The county contends that governments have a duty to make sure public property is sold for a fair value.
The lawsuit asks for one of two outcomes from the court: either to prohibit the city from selling the property or delay paying out the money from the sale until the lawsuit is over.
Horry County asked a judge to immediately step in and stop the sale before the end of the year.
City and county reactions
At a city council meeting Tuesday, council members said the city shouldn’t own the land, which was conveyed to the city from the federal government following World War II, because it isn’t being used for city purposes. The deal outlines that the land should continue to be used as private campgrounds if the sale goes through.
“I’ll point out that I don’t think that the city should be in the business of owning a property that’s leased to a campground,” council member Gregg Smith said at Tuesday’s meeting, adding that he brought up selling the property years ago. “I’m still on the side of selling this.”
City spokesman Mark Kruea declined to comment further, saying the city doesn’t comment on pending litigation.
Horry County spokeswoman Kelly Moore said the county doesn’t comment on pending litigation, but county councilman Gary Loftus previously told The Sun News that the City of Myrtle Beach needs to “live within their damn budget” and asked questions about how the municipalities would make up for the lost revenue from the leases, which are currently set to last until February 2025.
“Why we have so darn many airlines coming in here is our landing fees are reasonable, in addition to tourists and so forth, we have reasonable landing fees,” Loftus told The Sun News before the suit was filed. “What do they want us to do? How are we going to absorb $2.5-3 million dollars in airport operations? Are they going to pay for that? If they want to pay it, we don’t care.”
Before the suit was filed, county councilman Johnny Vaught also told The Sun News that if the sale does go through, the county would need to be involved in the process to make sure the airport gets the revenue it needs.
“Right now we’re insisting that they follow the lease, the way the thing is written, and that we continue to go ahead, if they’re going to sell it, then we’re going to have to be involved in that process, and see that the proceeds go to the [airport],” he said last week.
If a judge rules the sale can’t legally go through, city council members discussed Tuesday the possibility of extending the leases with the current terms for another 25 years.
The lawsuit comes as two other cases between the city and the county drag on. After initially reaching a settlement in the hospitality fee case, the two municipalities are back to the drawing board following a South Carolina Supreme Court decision to toss the settlement. The two are also on opposing sides in an ongoing argument over redevelopment at the former Air Force Base. That suit also includes Horry County Schools.