Conway city council could see new faces with competition for trio of seats
Conway’s incoming slate of city council members will find themselves confronting big decisions about the how the Horry County seat should look over the coming decades.
Ongoing Riverfront development, a surging demand for more homes and questions about annexation are all ahead for the six-person council. Five candidates are competing for three open seats on the panel in next month’s election.
Candidates Julie Ann Hardwick, Justin Jordan and Tyler Thomas did not respond to The Sun News’ questionnaire by deadline.
Some responses from participants have been edited for length and appear in alphabetical order.
Kendall Brown
Age: 37
Past/present elected office: none
Occupation: Administrative assistant, Horry County government
Education: Graduate, Horry County Schools and Horry-Georgetown Technical College
Political affiliation: Non-partisan candidate
Past/present bankruptcies, tax liens or felony convictions: none
Q: Conway for the first time came out in support of Pride Month. How do you see your role in promoting diversity and inclusivity?
A: As a young minority in Conway, I feel especially inspired and obligated to promote diversity and inclusion within my community. Although this subject matter created some division, there are also many other groups, organizations and topics that are heavily controversial as well. As we strive to promote unity as it relates to any subject, I feel that we can be respectful to others – even in the event that our personal beliefs may not align with others. One major suggestion that I have always been inspired to recommend if elected, is to revitalize our town hall meetings. As a result, these meetings will bring community members together to talk about not only issues we would like improved, but also how to engage positive dialogue between different backgrounds. As a leader within Conway, I will strive to bring respect and love to all constituents that I am sworn to lead and serve. As we change our approach to these topics, we can bring about positive change.
Q: For years, the former Whittemore school was in disarray and nothing happened. What steps should the city take now, and why should residents have confidence that something positive will occur this time?
A: The Whittemore Elementary School task force is now in session and working towards discussing opportunities for the vacant site. This particular issue is currently a heightened topic for many different reasons. However, I believe that all options and opportunities should be thoroughly drafted and discussed. Several years ago, the City advertised and held multiple town hall meetings for constituents to come together and discuss within groups the possibilities for options. As we move forward with the task force, I would strongly propose reviewing the information from those sessions. We should go back and reflect on the true history of the site and make our next move to commemorate the site and make decisions on the future that are not only responsible, but enhance the community that we know and love. The task force is a great first stop in the process – and I trust that we will move forward and make our entire community proud.
Q: Two large-scale residential developments have been proposed on Conway’s north end, and the town has said it wants to grow along the U.S. Highway 501 corridor. Can all of this be done without raising taxes to support the costs of new services?
A: First, with any development project request, there are many variables that have to be taken care of. The process of the request has to go through planning commission with public input sessions and staff recommendations. Next, it must go through the design approval process and be discussed within multiple departments along with city council. Smart growth is very much welcomed within the city; however, we must be fiscally responsible not to approve such annexation requests without reviewing our current city services workload – and envisioning the future. Any approvals for annexations in which I personally vote on will not have added taxes assessed for the constituents without proper review and discussion between my fellow leaders. As it relates to our current planning an development staff, I believe they are doing an exceptional job with the planning process with our future land use maps to ensure our future annexations are in able to be achieved and streamlined properly.
Q: Riverfront development remains a focal point as part of the city’s long-term plan. How can the district be made more pedestrian friendly, and would you support an “alcohol consumption zone?”
A: As an avid user of the Conway City Riverwalk and regular consumer of the downtown restaurant corridor, I’m very much in favor of more pedestrian friendly options. The current expansion of the downtown’s Riverwalk which is planned will increase foot traffic to our beautiful riverfront town. In addition, I welcome the opportunity for more walking trails within our city. The city’s planning department released a walking plan a few years ago which detailed many ways to increase walkability within the area. Also, I’ve personally enjoyed attending a workshop in Myrtle Beach with other leaders around the area to find ways to increase safe bicycle paths within our various municipalities. As it relates to an alcohol consumption plan, I personally would not vote for this imitative for many reasons. The most important reason of them all is for safety reasons. We must make decisions which not only benefit our city, but are responsible in every aspect.
Larry White
Age: 69
Past/present elected office: Member of Conway City Council since 2009
Occupation: Retired teacher
Education: graduate of Elizabeth City State University, Coastal Carolina, Clemson University, Clark University and the University of North Carolina
Political affiliation: Democrat
Past/present bankruptcies, tax liens or felony convictions: none
Q: Conway for the first time came out in support of Pride Month. How do you see your role in promoting diversity and inclusivity?
A: As a citizen and member of society, it is important that we should treat all of our citizenry with respect. When decisions are made, they need to be inclusive and mindful of the diversity in our city.
Q: For years, the former Whittemore school was in disarray and nothing happened. What steps should the city take now, and why should residents have confidence that something positive will occur this time?
A: I am a proud graduate of Whittemore Elementary School, and I am too ready for some positive outcomes to this property. As a member of the community, I also am glad that we now have a task force of members of our community working on some ideas that we, the council and community can come to some consensus about what will happen to this property.
Q: Two large-scale residential developments have been proposed on Conway’s north end, and the town has said it wants to grow along the U.S. Highway 501 corridor. Can all of this be done without raising taxes to support the costs of new services?
A: Conway and Horry County are growing, and all decisions concerning new growth and development should be well planned with the assistance of builders. Costs associated with new growth should not be shouldered by local citizens. I believe these services such as police, fire, proper drainage, water and sewage and other services should be discussed with builders and that we (council) should revisit the use of impact fees as expansion takes place, so that more of these fees might be used for these needed services. Council should also listen to our citizens as these decisions are made, as well.
Q: Riverfront development remains a focal point as part of the city’s long-term plan. How can the district be made more pedestrian friendly, and would you support an “alcohol consumption zone?”
A: To make the riverfront more pedestrian friendly, we have to be intentional about the activities and events that we offer our citizens. All of our citizens have different likes and dislikes, and we need to meet some of their likes. If there was a consumption zone, I would approve it, but not for every day, but for special events. We have to realize that we have children and non-alcoholic drinkers in our community. We don’t want Conway to become a city where you can buy a drink and walk down the streets, at will. There are laws about public consumption, and we must also remind ourselves of these laws. As we think about and make adjustments concerning recreation, we must always and also think about public safety.
