Little fanfare for budget and tax hike at may city council meeting

By Charlie McCarty | City Council Reporter

On Tuesday, May 12, Folly Beach City Council led off their monthly obligations by holding a Work Session at 6 p.m. It was billed as a “discussion” of forthcoming drafted amendments to the City’s noise ordinance. As the agenda indicated, the proposed amendments would then be offered immediately following this session in a First Reading at the regular Council meeting.

In the course of the discussion, it was noted a majority of noise complaints received since the original ordinance was enacted seemed to come from short-term, vacation rental properties in residential areas. Also, the ability to enforce, prosecute and adjudicate noise violation would be improved by fine-tuning just four provisions of the existing ordinance: definitions, enforcement by discretionary authority, better posting of notices, and listing of examples of prohibited noises. Mayor Goodwin and Councilmember Dale Stuckey led the discussion that promoted changes to the last version enacted in 2009, promising a newer version that would be shorter as well.

Regular Meeting of Council

The Regular Meeting kicked-off promptly at 7 p.m. with a near capacity audience of citizens and visitors attending. At roll call, Councilmembers Clamp, Ellis, Scruggs, Rich, Stuckey, and Mayor Goodwin were present. Councilmember Hickman was absent. Staff present included: Mary Cunningham, Clerk of Council; Aaron Pope, Zoning Official; Eric Lutz, Building Official; Lee Gessner; Comptroller; and Steve Mims, Deputy Director of Public Safety.

Although the first order of business scheduled was the public hearing on the Fiscal Year 2015/16 Budget, through oversight, apathy or full confidence, no citizens present signed up to comment on this item. Mayor Goodwin moved quickly into his opening comments, thanking members of the County Council for their work in sponsoring the move to weekly recycling pickup in the City during the height of Summer visitors.

Staff Reports

Eric Lutz announced that the new broadcast video camera was on order and expected it to be installed and operational for the June Council meeting. There was no video of this Council meeting, but the audio was broadcast.

Personal Appearances

Seven people came forward requesting Council’s approval for special events. The first was Rebecca Balitsaris of the American Lung Association who requested permission for its Seventh Annual Lung Force Run/Walk on Nov. 14, to start at 8:00 a.m. It was approved unanimously. Next, Dean Foster came before the Council requesting permission to host the Sixth Annual Hands Across the Sand event on the beach extending from the Tides hotel on Saturday, May 16 at approximately 11:45 a.m. to 12:15 p.m. He expected more than one hundred participants. It was approved unanimously. Greg Elliott of East Ashley Avenue requested approval to give private surf lessons at 13th Street East by appointment only as he has for the past 22 years through the summer months. It was approved unanimously.

Kai Dilling along with Tom Carroll of the College of Charleston, asked for approval for The College to conduct two sections of Beginning Surfing classes 1-4 p.m. on Tuesdays and Wednesdays, September 1-2 through Nov. 10-11, at East 8th Street. Carroll stated this is the first time The College will be holding such a class and he believed it was a good way to build community spirit with The College and its students. It was approved unanimously.

Paul Martin of the Surf Dreams Foundation, asked Council to approve a “Take a Kid Surfing Day” in June from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., and anticipated 50 to 75 people would attend at The Washout.  Councilmember Scruggs brought up preferred dates for the event. After some discussion, Martin selected June 27 as the date for the clinic, with the clinic concluding before 3 p.m. It was approved unanimously.

Joe Kohut, in a repeat appearance as previously requested by Council, again asked for approval of Thomas & Kohut Midnight Run on Friday, Oct. 23, 2015 starting in front of the Fishing Pier on West Arctic at 11:30 p.m. Since his prior appearance he had discussed the event with Chief Gilreath and had ironed out options that could include traffic control measures to protect the participants during the Run. Deputy Chief Steve Mims was present and confirmed there had been no issues or incidents with the Run in previous years. A vote was taken and the run approved 4-2. Councilmembers Rich, Clamp, Ellis and Mayor Goodwin approved while Councilmembers Stuckey and Scruggs dissented.

Finally, Mike Ezelle of East Ashley Avenue asked for approval to conduct Stand-Up Paddle (SUP) Board & Surf Lessons on the beach at Second  Block East by the Pier through October. He expected classes of two to six persons at a time, during hours of 8 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. On completion of the beach instruction any SUP/Surfing launches would be restricted to the surf zone only.

Citizens Comments

Ed Iames, owner of Loggerhead’s Beach Grill, expressed concerns about the proposed noise ordinance. He felt it needed several points clarified relating to where the noise source is located in relation to the location of the complainant. He also expressed concern regarding additional training needed quickly to prepare Public Safety Officers for their new expanded responsibilities.

Richard Brendle of East Cooper Avenue encouraged the Council to open the pedestrian right-of-way on the East 5th Street block. He also expressed his concern about the noise ordinance, saying it could affect the business community. He felt Folly Beach has been a “breeding ground” for new music and as currently drafted the amendments could “crush the purity” of the music.

C.J. McCarthy of the 200 block of West Ashley Avenue, spoke to his long-term noise problems living next door to a long-standing restaurant over many years where he felt he lost his rights with regards to noise issues and he indicated that he would plan to take court action if things aren’t changed soon.

Andy D’Allesandro of Tabby Drive asked that “No Parking” signs be placed at East Ashley Avenue and 13th Street as cars parked there now block the field of vision for drivers. Mayor Goodwin said he would speak to the Building Official and the Zoning Administrator about the concerns. Lutz and Pope about this matter.

Jim Setford, also of Tabby Drive, said he had signatures on a petition to change the name of the City to “Venice Island” due to the amount of water on the roads recently. He also said he would like to see some of the runs approved by Council be held on the West Side to give residents there the opportunity to share the experiences that those on the East Side have had for so long.

Roger VanDyke of West Ashley Avenue said he would like to see the speed limit adjusted down to 25 m.p.h. and additional stop signs added to West Ashley Avenue.  Councilmember Rich indicated that the State Department of Transportation controls both of those issues. VanDyke also said more bathroom facilities are needed on the beachfront. Mayor Goodwin responded that there is no available land near the beach that would support sewerage requirements.

Roger Rutledge of East Hudson Avenue also expressed concerns about the noise amendments. He asked who would get a ticket if a noise ordinance violation occurred at a bar. Mayor Goodwin responded it would be the manager on duty. The Mayor went on to say it is at the discretion of the investigating officer to determine if multiple noise complaints are considered harassment.

Scott Koster of West Cooper Avenue stated that both the old and new noise ordinances remained ambiguous and he would like a thorough legal review of the proposed ordinance before going forward.

Mat Nelson of West Arctic Avenue felt that music is part of the “fabric of life” in the City and he would like to see something that clearly establishes measurability in the noise ordinance. Mayor Goodwin said the old ordinance is even worse than the proposed ordinance.

Charlie McCarty of West Cooper (this writer) stated that Section 131.31 of the noise ordinance, “Prosecutorial Discretion,” would seem to be adding new prosecutorial responsibilities on our public safety officers and could lead to them being vulnerable to charges of  “selective enforcement” and require additional substantive training. Councilmember Stuckey stated the reason that section was developed was to point out in the ordinance that officers have police discretion already and it was not intended to expand their discretion but simply to emphasize what they have, as is the case of judicial discretion already granted to our judges. She noted later in the meeting that the officer and judges have their respective discretions even if that section does not appear in the ordinance.

Brian Ross of East Erie Avenue said the measurability of the noise, or lack thereof, remains a significant issue with the noise ordinance. He said the proposed ordinance would affect the Beach Movie Night at The Tides, which he hosts. Councilmember Scruggs said there is a provision to request approval of such special events included in the ordinance.

Unfinished Business

Moving on to more important financial matters, Council quickly approved at second reading and adopted the Budget (Ordinance No. 02-15) that estimated City revenues and proposed expenditures at $5 million and set the increase in the mill levy to taxpayers beginning July 1, 2015 and ending June 30, 2016. There was no discussion. All voted in favor except for Councilmember Ellis who dissented.

New Business

Council first dealt with vacancies in three key City Boards, Commissions and Committees. They voted unanimously to re-appoint Dennis Bickford and James Grady to the Board of Zoning Appeals, and appointed Jeff Randal, Annie O’Brien and Brook Burroughs to the Community Promotions Foundation. Finally, two candidates were presented for the single vacancy on the Election Commission: Mechelle Neunsinger and Nick Thomas. Neunsinger was appointed, supported by Councilmembers Clamp, Stuckey, Ellis, and Mayor Goodwin. Thomas was supported by Rich and Scruggs.

Council then moved to approve two resolutions unanimously: No. R19-15 amending and clarifying rules for renting the Folly River Park, and No. R21-15 recognizing the Post & Courier for winning the Pulitzer Prize Public Service Gold Medal for its series on domestic violence.

They then unanimously approved two Ordinances in first readings: No. 04-15 amending Chapter 38 of the Code changing the distribution of hospitality tax, and Ordinance No. 05-15 amending Chapter 113 to change the receipt and distribution of Accommodation Tax Funds. Mayor Goodwin noted these changes were necessary to bring them into compliance with the budget.

Moving on, Council unanimously approved in first reading Ordinance No. 06-15, a franchise agreement with South Carolina Electric & Gas Company granting non-exclusive right, power and authority needed by the company to render service to its Folly Beach customers and other powers relating to franchise fees and funding.

In a grand finale, Council grabbed hold of its noise amendments, Ordinance No. 07-15, with Councilmembers Rich and Ellis citing the need for input from the City Attorney (not present at this meeting), and the negative public sentiment expressed by several citizens, and motioned to postpone the ordinance. However, all other Councilmembers voted against postponement. This set forth a flurry of amendments to the proposed amendments.

In key motions, Rich and Ellis successfully moved to restore noise restricted hours from 10 p.m. back to 11 p.m. weekdays, and 11 p.m. back to 12 a.m. on weekends as it applied to musical and other sound producing devices. The vote was as follows: Yeas: Ellis, Clamp, Rich, Goodwin. Nays: Stuckey, Scruggs.

Councilmember Rich made a motion to amend sections dealing with noise on the beach and noise from watercraft being restricted from 50 feet to 100 feet. All Councilmembers voted in favor, except Councilmember Stuckey who voted nay.

Councilmember Ellis said he would like to get input from the Folly Association of Businesses and the Civic Club on the ordinance, giving more people an opportunity for input.  Mayor Goodwin noted that is how the original ordinance came about in 2009 and this ordinance is not any different. 

Councilmember Stuckey made a motion to amend to add the “musical section that disturbs the quiet, comfort or repose of any person in any dwelling or other type of residence except for those residents in or within one block of the downtown commercial and island commercial districts.” Councilmember Ellis seconded the motion. Councilmember Stuckey said this change would make things fair for those businesses outside the business district. A vote was taken with all in favor.

Councilmember Rich made a motion to amend the section dealing with restricted domestic animal noise to 15 minutes instead of 30 minutes. It was approved with all in favor except Ellis.

Councilmember Ellis made a motion to remove the “Prosecutorial Discretion” section and renumber everything that follows. Councilmember Rich seconded the motion. Mayor Goodwin noted the officers and judges still have that discretion even if that section is removed.  A vote was taken as follows: Ayes: Clamp, Rich, Scruggs, Ellis. Nays: Stuckey, Goodwin.

All took a deep breath and then voted on the amended amendments, and it passed first reading, with the following vote tally; Ayes: Stuckey, Scruggs, Clamp, Goodwin. Nays: Ellis, Rich.

City Council Comments

Councilmember Rich reminded everyone of the upcoming Center Street Beautification Project on May 18. He also said the Brick Fundraiser project is now active on the City’s website.  Councilmember Scruggs thanked everyone involved in the budgeting process. Councilmember Ellis reminded all the questionnaires regarding the street festivals would be on the website until May 15. Councilmember Clamp expressed his thanks to those who serve on the committees for their valued work for the City. Councilmember Stuckey said that the new noise ordinance can still be revisited if changes need to be made. With that commitment, Council adjourned at 8:48 p.m.

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