Folly Beach City Council – September 8 work session
Staff Report
To Styrofoam or not; what was the question?
The City Council was supposed to address an ordinance that would ban Styrofoam on the beach. However, it was lost in a circular sea of conversation, debate and opinion on the innumerable issues surrounding litter. For an hour, the Council jetted from the Styrofoam discussion to other topics such as glass, signage, environmentalism, bureaucracy, national parks, public opinion, recycling, alcohol bans, and street litter … to name a few. It was basically a time for the Council to vent an opinion on anything related to litter with the exception of Charlie McCarty who, twice, attempted to get the Council to take “one small step” with the Styrofoam ordinance to no avail. Council member Eddie Ellis adamantly debated against banning Styrofoam, using the argument that the Council would be unable to stop banning things once they started.
The Council never voted on the ordinance or even officially postponed it. In the end, no real progress was made from the previous meeting. Instead, they simply finished with an agreement that Council member Tom Scruggs would emcee the future October work session and, hopefully, allow the Council to discuss litter issues more effectively.
Gobble gobble
Preceding the regular work session was a “Special Meeting”, the sole purpose of which was to discuss an Ordinance that would allow guns to be fired within City limits for an annual Turkey Shoot. The City Council originally attempted to pass a resolution at its August meeting. However, Council member Dave Stormer pointed out that the law can not be changed in such a way with a resolution; a statement which the City attorney confirmed. Insurance may not cover an accident if the City did not properly permit the Turkey Shoot. As a result, the Council was forced to draft Ordinance 18-09, which would amend the existing law so that the annual Turkey Shoot could be legally held within City limits. The City Council passed first reading of the Ordinance unanimously.
Impact assessment
Council member Eddie Ellis once again removed an Ordinance which would allow the City to charge future developers a fee for potential impacts which the City might incur as a result of the development. It would require developers to pay for an “impact assessment”, which would evaluate issues and consequences of development, such as increased traffic and the need for more water and services. The City could then determine a fee for that increased strain. However, Ellis, who introduced the Ordinance, stated that it is a very complex Ordinance and was recently edited so that it was more “tailor fitted for Folly Beach”. It was removed from consideration to give Council members a chance to further evaluate the changes.
Praise for Beach Patrol
Folly Beach resident Nancy Brooks took a moment to tell the City Council that the new Beach Management Patrol is doing an excellent job. She stated that members of the Patrol have been seen speaking to people on the beach and providing information and trash bags.
“There was so much less trash this year,” she said in reflection of the Labor Day weekend. Several Council members also stated that the beach was especially clean throughout the weekend. Although the lack of litter was partially attributed to news campaigns that stressed that litter is not acceptable on Folly Beach.
The Beach Management Patrol is responsible for walking the beach several times a week, focusing on the weekend, and picking up trash while informing beach goers of laws, providing trash bags, and instilling pride for the beach.
