Surfside Beach will soon have a new mayor. Here’s who’s running
Surfside Beach voters will choose a new mayor on Nov. 7 among a pool of three candidates who have experience in public service, either through being elected or appointed.
Leaders in the town of roughly 4,000 have spent the past year grappling with delays for a much anticipated pier restoration along with growing and zoning issues. Here’s a look at who’s on the ballot. Some responses have been edited for length and candidates are listed in alphabetical order.
Cindy Keating
Age: declined to answer
Past/present elected office: currently serving on the town council
Occupation: Retired
Education: bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering and a master’s degree
Political affiliation: Republican
Past/present bankruptcies, tax liens or felony convictions: None
Q: Has the pier rehabilitation project been mishandled?
A: “Mishandled” is a bit of an overstatement. There have been challenges. The town did not procure the services of an experienced project manager to lead the project. This was a serious mistake. The COVID pandemic has not helped the project either. There have been issues with design information missing or conflicting, specified material availability, and a cumbersome approval process. The project is in its final stages; however, the design team is still issuing additional design changes that will further delay completion.
Q: How would you restore trust and transparency with constituents who have raised concerns over those issues during the past several months?
A: We have made progress with transparency in the last four years. There is more information available to most today than there’s ever been. Having access to information, and understanding why thing are the way they are can be two different things. We still have work to do in this regard. This goes back to staffing. With the right people in the right positions, information can be readily shared. There is no reason that the town administrator cannot be sharing major project updates at each council meeting. We have a new town administrator that has implemented an “administrator’s report” at each council meeting. I will encourage him to expand his report to include “open item” status reports to keep high priority initiatives at the forefront.
Q: How can Surfside Beach balance its need to grow with preserving the small town feel that it’s known for?
A: We need to embrace our 10-year comprehensive plan. If the plan is adopted with the “future condition” defined, we need to dedicate ourselves to supporting the corresponding goals and objectives. This plan should be our road map for zoning, ordinances, policies, and major initiatives. The plan supports the town’s vision of “Surfside Beach is the No. 1 family destination in South Carolina.”
Robert Krouse
Age: 61
Past/present elected office: None
Occupation: Retired, formerly automotive engineer and manager
Education: bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from Carnegie-Mellon University
Political affiliation: No party registration
Past/present bankruptcies, tax liens or felony convictions: None
Q: Has the pier rehabilitation project been mishandled?
A: Yes. The town council and administration do not have the knowledge or expertise required to manage a construction project of this magnitude and should have hired and retained a project manager from project onset and through its duration in order to represent the interests of the town and its residents. Dissension over the selection of a contractor led to an intra-council lawsuit and additional acrimony and division, further complicating management of the construction project. Direction to the Pier Committee to stop bringing ideas forward until pier completion, which ultimately led to committee suspension, indicates a lack of understanding on how to equip, run and promote an investment of this size. Lastly, the council and administration are often less than forthcoming about sharing potentially negative information regarding the pier, as seen in the recent code violations report.
Q: How would you restore trust and transparency with constituents who have raised concerns over those issues during the past several months?
A: As mayor, I would first listen to the residents—and that means more than just letting residents have five minutes public speech in council meetings and/or not deleting negative social media posts. I would expect the entire town council and administration to consider what is being said and particularly pertaining to critical items, try to learn why. I would address any legitimate concern, sometimes with direct response to the resident but more often raising the issue as a discussion item in a future meeting, continuing until the issue is resolved. I would also use surveys and polls at various times to proactively solicit input so that residents know their opinions are valued and that the town government is not trying to hide anything. I would not be afraid of or defensive about criticism as we all learn more when we examine what went wrong, rather than congratulate ourselves when things have gone well. I would add informal workshop meetings with more open discussion on critical topics and also limit the use of closed-door executive sessions to only absolutely necessary topics.
Q: How can Surfside Beach balance its need to grow with preserving the small town feel that it’s known for?
A: I do not accept the premise that Surfside Beach “needs” to grow. Many municipalities around us chase growth and become encumbered by debt and suffer a corresponding loss in quality of life. Proper financial management is a far better strategy than seeking every additional property tax dollar at any cost. As a small oceanfront community, Surfside Beach has a limited amount of unimproved property available for additional housing, but it has significant amounts of commercially-zoned property on U.S. 17 Business. The small-town feel will continue in our existing neighborhoods; I will oppose any zoning proposals that would allow taller buildings or any other item in opposition to our small-town. As I interact with residents, they have been clear that preserving the family beach is paramount, and any development in town will have to fit the family beach image. One type of development that could improve the U.S. 17 Business corridor and draw residents and tourists alike, is something like the Hammock Shops in Pawleys Island. This approach would allow the kind of economic development Surfside Beach residents have indicated they want, with well-managed residential growth and a face lift along portions of the highway, but only upon stringent review and due diligence to avoid unintended consequences.
David Pellegrino
Age: 51
Past/present elected office: Previously served on town council from 2014 through 2021
Occupation: Small business owner
Education: bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from Clemson University and a master’s degree from Webster University
Political affiliation: conservative
Past/present bankruptcies, tax liens or felony convictions: None
Q: Has the pier rehabilitation project been mishandled?
A: Yes. In 2021 we had a signed contract to build the pier for $13.1 million in 520 days. The completion date on the original timeline was June 8, 2022. The pier project is $7 million over budget, and almost a year and a half late. There is also a provision in the contract which requires the contractor to pay a penalty of $500/day for each day after the completion date. There have been no penalty fines collected. Decisions have been made by the four-person majority of town council to approve change order after change order, which has resulted in increased constructions time and millions in extra spending. For the first time, the town now has millions of dollars of debt.
Q: How would you restore trust and transparency with constituents who have raised concerns over those issues during the past several months?
A: I would lead in a manner that sets the expectation to always communicate in a respectful manner. During a meeting in 2019, I gave a misleading answer to a question. I felt terrible after the meeting when it was brought to my attention. As a result, in the next town council meeting, I apologized to the public on record, and said that I would do everything in my power to not let that happen again. Humans make mistakes. How you handle those mistakes show your commitment to either a transparent life or a life of subterfuge.
Q: How can Surfside Beach balance its need to grow with preserving the small town feel that it’s known for?
A: We must always maintain the current building height, never increase them. This is one way we can keep away large hotels like Myrtle Beach and maintain the small town atmosphere. A second way is to improve the family atmosphere. This can be done by maintaining trees, parks, sidewalks, and yards large enough for a swing set.
