North Myrtle Beach has three council seats up for grabs, with incumbents all running again
Voters in North Myrtle Beach could change the complexion of city leadership, with six candidate vying for three open council seats, including a trio of incumbents.
The fast-growing city continues to broaden its footprint by annexing nearby land for future development while balancing the needs of current residents who are wary of rising taxes and crowded streets.
Challengers Hunter Platt and Jolene Puffer did not respond to The Sun News’ questionnaire by deadline. Some answers have been edited for length and candidates are listed in alphabetical order.
J.O. Baldwin III
Age: 59
Past/present elected office: North Myrtle Beach city council
Occupation: Retired
Education: North Myrtle Beach High School
Political affiliation: Republican
Past/present bankruptcies, tax liens or felony convictions: None
Q: How would you improve relations with local businesses that feel ostracized by city leaders?
A: As a local business owner, myself in the city for many years, I understand the challenges business owners face. I am proud to have the support of many local business owners and North Myrtle Beach residents from all walks of life. The city has one of the lowest tax structures in the state and that helps us maintain a business-friendly environment and attract new small business to our area. I am and always have been available to meet with our citizens and local business owners to discuss any concerns.
Q: Would you support a return to live streaming city council meetings? How else would you improve local government transparency?
A: I support live streaming council meetings to encourage as much public involvement as possible. For years I have provided my personal cell phone number and email address to the public and I encourage folks to use them. I want to hear from as many people as possible on the issues that affect our city.
Q: Should North Myrtle beach continue to annex land for potential development?
A: I am not in favor of annexing land into the city unless it would otherwise have a negative effect on current neighbor hoods. Recent annexations have been designed to help LIMIT development since Horry County has fewer development restrictions than the city.
Q: How would you address ongoing complaints from residents about overcrowding from newly built developments?
A: Growth is, without a doubt, the biggest challenge we face as a community. As a lifelong resident, I know that better than anyone. This is a great place to live and we are going to continue to grow, the key is to continue to work and plan to make sure our infrastructure and our roads stay ahead of the development. We’ve increased impact fees to place the financial burden on developers, here it belongs. While I have served on council. I have always fought against high density developments. I supported buying land to create parks and natural areas so they would not be developed and I am working on many others as well, including Waites Island and Tilghman Point.
Fred Coyne
Age: 63
Past/present elected office: Currently serving on the North Myrtle Beach City Council
Occupation: Residential design build remodeler
Education: High school
Political affiliation: Republican
Past/present bankruptcies, tax liens or felony convictions: Two satisfied tax liens over a 30-year business career resulting from paperwork discrepancies
Q: How would you improve relations with local businesses that feel ostracized by city leaders?
A: North Myrtle Beach is a great place to do business. I know, I am a small business owner in the city. We have new businesses moving in every day and we have growing and thriving existing businesses that make this a great place to live. We’ll continue to support small business by keeping taxes low and maintaining a business friendly environment.
Q: Would you support a return to live streaming city council meetings? How else would you improve local government transparency?
A: Yes, I support live streaming meetings. I encourage citizens to be involved in city government.
Q: Should North Myrtle beach continue to annex land for potential development?
A: The city needs to look at this on a case by case basis. We have no immediate plans at further annexation, but I am pleased that we were able to limit density and slow the development of land that was annexed from the county previously because the county has much less restrictive development guidelines than North Myrtle Beach.
Q: How would you address ongoing complaints from residents about overcrowding from newly built developments?
A: We have recently increased impact fees on developers to make sure they are paying for the new roads and infrastructure needed to service these new residents. By making sure our roads and water and sewer infrastructure are in place and updated BEFORE new developments come online, we can limit the impact on current residents.
Deborah Lombardino
Age: 67
Past/present elected office: none
Occupation: Retired United States Department of Agriculture and part-time UPS
Education: bachelor’s degree
Political affiliation: Republican
Past/present bankruptcies, tax liens or felony convictions: none
Q: How would you improve relations with local businesses that feel ostracized by city leaders?
A: Directly engaging business owners is the only way to find out what are the most significant issues they are facing. To that end, I would invest adequate time and resources to improve and obtain input from business owners, particularly regarding passing new ordinances that directly affect business owners. This could be accomplished using traditional and digital platforms such as forums, online panels, verbal and written communication and personal visits.
Q: Would you support a return to live streaming city council meetings? How else would you improve local government transparency?
A: There is no reason to not live stream city council meetings. As a council member, I would utilize online community engagement which enables more people to have their say, at their convenience. And I would be pro-active in this regard. As a candidate, I have regularly posted specific issues through Facebook and Nextdoor to obtain residents’ feedback on some of the same issues you are raising now. As a council member, I will continue to use Facebook and Nextdoor to apprise residents of significant upcoming issues pending before the council and actively seek residents’ opinions. I would also investigate the advance distribution of the council’s agenda to interested residents via email blasts or on social media, so residents are kept informed. I believe an official written comment period should also be instituted for those residents who cannot attend meetings but can still voice their concerns.
Q: Should North Myrtle beach continue to annex land for potential development?
A: I believe the current “annexation” process, one project at a time, focuses on short-term benefits i.e., property and other tax revenues that will benefit the community in the short run is not a successful use of the “annexation” process. Annexation should focus on the long-term impacts on current residents and their properties and businesses. Long term costs include current and future infrastructure construction and maintenance, expansion of special transit services for elderly and disabled persons, the expansion of emergency services, increases in school costs and other civic facilities, and increases in services for employees and residents of new development (e.g., affordable housing for resort workers). Failure to consider such costs before infrastructure funds have been committed can have fiscal and other impacts on residents for years to come through increased taxes and fewer services. Annexation proposals should be accompanied by a site plan with enough specificity to allow the city to conduct a thorough and complete fiscal impact analysis.
Q: How would you address ongoing complaints from residents about overcrowding from newly built developments?
A: Residents should be informed of applications to build new developments in their neighborhoods. Additionally, access to staff reports and recommendations to the planning commission must be made available to local residents affected by new developments far in advance of planning commission meetings. This must be followed by meaningful consultation and opportunities for residents to take an active part in the decision-making process of the commission and ultimately council. Currently, residents provide input with city leaders through written and verbal communication and the three minutes they are given to address concerns at city council meetings. More weight should be given to residents’ opinions and experiences which oftentimes does a better job of identifying the impact new developments have on the city’s existing infrastructure such as highway congestion, density, and quality of life related issues affecting local residents. At a minimum, and particularly when discussion regarding a new development is tabled (delayed), this should be followed by an official written comment period for concerned residents.
Hank Thomas
Did not respond to biographical questions.
Q: How would you improve relations with local businesses that feel ostracized by city leaders?
A: I would want any business that felt ostracized to know that I have an open-door mind set. I may not agree with what you say however I fully respect and defend you right to say it. I always want to discuss controversial issues so we all know each other’s positions and maybe open the door to understanding why that position might be taken. Businesses and city leaders always need to talk.
Q: Would you support a return to live streaming city council meetings? How else would you improve local government transparency?
A: I would not have any issue with live streaming. The city in my opinion does a good job of trying to keep citizens informed especially through electronic media. All council agendas are posted online along with all city department reports. Also, the city website is continuously updated.
Q: Should North Myrtle beach continue to annex land for potential development?
A: As one council person, I would not support any further expansion of city boundaries. There are pockets within those boundaries “doughnut holes” that I would consider for annexation. Also, if there were an abutting industrial or commercial venture that generated high revenues, I would consider the possibility of annexation. Residential, no.
Q: How would you address ongoing complaints from residents about overcrowding from newly built developments?
A: With the rapid growth the city leaders and city staff are focused on improving infrastructure to accommodate this growth. Primarily roadways, it will take a few years to get it all done and it is a primary focus of the council that I sit on.
