A new city manager is coming to Myrtle Beach. Here’s what you need to know.
A new Myrtle Beach city manager will soon inherit the position as the city reels from the coronavirus pandemic, faces financial uncertainty and aims to fix deep problems in its downtown area.
Myrtle Beach City Council voted Thursday to begin negotiating a contract with current Deputy City Manager Jonathan “Fox” Simons. If the contract terms are accepted, Simons will begin Jan. 7 following a special city council meeting.
“My family and I moved here six years ago and loved every minute of it,” Simons said. He added that he’s looking forward to the opportunity and the challenges that may be ahead as developing downtown becomes a priority next year.
City Manager John Pedersen announced his retirement earlier this year and has been working with the city on a week-by-week contract during the search for a replacement.
The search for a replacement
The city manager is responsible for the city’s day-to-day operations and overseeing the city’s roughly 900 employees. The city worked with a management consultant to conduct a national search, which resulted in 66 applications. After the consultant narrowed down the search, 11 candidates were presented to city council before identifying and interviewing the three finalists last week.
The finalists in the search for a city manager were asked a series of questions about their experience and plans for the city, including how to ensure the success of the city’s downtown master plan, respond to emergency situations and manage crowd control.
Priorities going into 2021
In his application, Simons pointed to his experience with the city of Greenville as evidence that he was up for the challenge of working as Myrtle Beach’s city manager. Working in Myrtle Beach since 2015, Simons has already been involved with issues such as the downtown master plan and looks to use that to make the transition into the new position as seamless as possible.
In a year that’s proven especially difficult for cities like Myrtle Beach which rely heavily on tourism revenue, Simons will enter the position as the city’s finances are up in the air and more than 50 city employees lost their jobs due to the pandemic. Along with the potential long-term impacts of the pandemic, the city has become embroiled in a series of lawsuits with Horry County which could determine how the city’s finances will play out in the coming years.
“I’m fortunate that I’ve been here for six years so there’s not going to be a lot of a learning curve at all,” he said. “[We’re going to] continue with the downtown and the revitalization and the growth.”
Mayor Brenda Bethune pointed out that Simons applied for the city manager position in 2014 when Pedersen was hired, and said he was a finalist at the time.
“That shows the level, the high level, the quality of a candidate that Fox was six years ago and that he still is now,” Bethune said.
Several current plans aim to improve the quality of life for residents in the city, mainly in the downtown area. From the questions directed at applicants in the application process, it appears the ability to carry out the downtown master plan were vital as council chose a new city manager.
“We have a lot going on,” Simons said. “We’re going to continue the downtown revitalization. We have a lot of opportunity being the second-fastest growing [metropolitan area] in the United States, and with that comes a lot of challenges. And doing it in the middle of a pandemic just adds icing to the cake.”
Current city manager bids adieu to Myrtle Beach
Thursday’s meeting was Pedersen’s last, and council members vocalized their appreciation and wished Pedersen well in his retirement.
“You made everybody feel like they had a worth to the system,” Council man Philip Render said.
Bethune called Pedersen a “strong leader with heart.”
“The level of patience that you showed me in teaching me the ropes was just phenomenal and something I’ll never forget,” she said.
At his final meeting, Pedersen thanked the city staff and called them “friends first.”
“It’s been a pleasure working for the city of Myrtle Beach,” he said. “I love the city, I love the people, I still love the job. And the only reason I’m leaving is because i think it is time to flip to a new chapter and start something new.”
This story was originally published December 17, 2020 at 3:54 PM.
