RESULTS – NOVEMBER 2 CITY COUNCIL MEETING
City Council met November 2 at City Hall for a 6:30 p.m. executive session and a 7:00 p.m. meeting.
During the executive session, City Council discussed the appointment of two members to the Planning Commission, the potential sale of City property to Horry Telephone Cooperative (HTC), a potential property acquisition, and received a legal briefing regarding Chapter 9, Section 9-3-Special Election to Fill Vacancy, of the City’s Code of Ordinances. Council took no action.
During the meeting, City Council recognized the North Myrtle Beach Wakeboard Team out of the Shark Wake Park at the North Myrtle Beach Park & Sports Complex.
Five wakeboard riders from the team competed on September 20-22 in the World Wake Association (WWA) World Championship held at the Valdosta Wake Compound in Valdosta, Georgia.
Ethan Bellamy faced 20 competitors in the Kids Features Division. He finished first with scores of 100, 96, and 91 to become a WWA World Champion.
Tristen Cannon qualified and competed in the 18 & Under Men’s Features Division finishing with scores of 91 & 78.
Will Hall competed against 23 wakeboarders in the 18 & Under Junior Men’s Features Division, finishing third with scores of 92, 96, and 78.
Brandon Nixon placed first in the Open Men’s Wakeskating competition with scores of 100 and 100, making him a World Champion.
Charlie Pfahler faced 15 people in the 18 & Under Junior Men’s Traditional Division, finishing third with scores of 91, 88, and 84.
Mayor Marilyn Hatley presented a Proclamation to the Ocean Drive Elementary School, declaring the week of November 16-20 to be “Ocean Drive Elementary Blue Ribbon School Week” in North Myrtle Beach.
Ocean Drive Elementary School is one of six South Carolina schools recognized by United States Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos as National Blue Ribbon Schools for the year 2020.
Ocean Drive Elementary School earned its prized status as a Blue Ribbon School for its Exemplary High Performance, measured by student achievement being in the top 15 percent on state assessments for English, language arts, and mathematics. This designation is the highest honor a school can receive from the United States Department of Education.
The United States Department of Education solicits National Blue Ribbon School nominations from top education officials in all states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, the Department of Defense Education Activity, and the Bureau of Indian Education.
The Department of Education recognizes all schools in one of two performance categories, based on all student scores, student subgroup scores and graduation rates. One category is for Exemplary High Performing Schools that are among their state’s highest performing schools as measured by state assessments or nationally normed tests. The other category is for Exemplary Achievement Gap Closing Schools that are among their state’s highest performing schools in closing achievement gaps between a school’s student groups and all students.
City Council passed the second (final) reading of an ordinance amending Chapter 20, Land Development Regulations, of the City’s Code of Ordinances.
The City’s Land Development Regulations specified standards for street design based on the City’s commitment to Complete Streets principles. Occasionally, updates are required to the street design standards to ensure they include all aspects of street design. Having the street design standards within the Land Development Regulations ordinance made it difficult for people to access, read and use them, and for the City to update as needed. Final passage of the ordinance removed Complete Street Design Guidelines from the City's Land Development Regulations ordinance and created a separate Street Planning Manual containing the same policy information. It is now easier to share the information, and the Planning Commission has the authority to approve future revisions to the Street Planning Manual.
The next regularly scheduled City Council meeting is December 7.