Thread: Horry County Council to tackle three key issues

Tuesday, May 15, 2007
Posted on Tue, May. 15, 2007
Council to tackle three key issues
Casino boat ban, immigrant labor, airport on agenda
By Travis Tritten
The Sun News
When they meet today, Horry County lawmakers are scheduled to take on three of the weighiest issues facing the county - airport expansion, a ban on casino boats and a crackdown on illegal immigrant labor.

The County Council must find a way to resurrect its plans to expand Myrtle Beach International Airport during a special meeting at 4 p.m. in Conway. If not, the airport faces losing and repaying millions in federal aviation funding.

Two approaches are on the table after the city Community Appearance Board rejected plans last month for a 14-gate terminal.

The first proposal, sponsored by Councilman Kevin Hardee and supported by five other councilmen, calls for a joint committee with the city of Myrtle Beach that would find a new expansion plan for the airport.

The new committee would consult a Boyd Group air service study scheduled to be released today in Myrtle Beach and a North Eastern Strategic Alliance regional airport study that could be completed by fall.

A second expansion proposal requests the City Council find a way to put the terminal's future back in the hands of the County Council despite the CAB rejection, a move council Chairwoman Liz Gilland has urged for the past couple weeks.

The proposal "is not specifying any one thing," Gilland said. "It is just putting it back in front of [City Council] one last time."

If the council cannot agree on the next step, the FAA could cut off up to $9.7 million in airport funding this year and require some or all of $16 million contributed to the terminal project be repaid.

Meanwhile, after years of wrangling between council and casino owners, a final vote could determine if the gambling boats will be kicked out of the county.

However, a taxing agreement could still be reached with casino operators and pursuit of a ban could be dropped, Councilman Harold Worley said.

"We are obviously still working with the casino boat industry trying to come up with something everybody can live with," Worley said.

Two casino boats, owned by Florida-based SunCruz Casinos and Diamond Casinos, operate out of Little River and both owners have repeatedly offered to pay the county a passenger boarding fee.

But Worley says the boats should be regulated and taxed under state law, which allows boats to be taxed on gross gambling proceeds. That law is being fought in court by SunCruz.

If banned, the boats are allowed to continue operation for a five-year grace period.

Also today, the public will comment on a proposal to crack down on the employment of illegal immigrants, an issue attracting more attention as immigrants swarm to the area for jobs in construction and the tourism economy.

Under the proposal, sponsored by Councilman Marion Foxworth, any employer who hires illegal immigrant workers faces losing their county business license for 60 to 90 days.

Similar laws have recently been passed by two other S.C. counties and local governments across the United States as an answer to an influx of millions of illegal immigrants over the past decade.

But the measures have also drawn legal fire, such as a similar law recently passed in Hazelton, Pa., that triggered a lawsuit by the American Civil Liberties Union.

"To me, it is a fairness issue," Foxworth said.

Illegal labor can be exploited by employers, undercuts legal workers and forces local government to pick up the tab for education, health care and law enforcement, he said.



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If you go
What | Horry County Council special meeting to discuss expansion of Myrtle Beach International Airport

When | 4 p.m. today

Where | Horry County Government and Justice Center, second-floor multipurpose rooms, 1301 Second Ave., Conway

Why | Council is under pressure to choose a new course for airport expansion after a Myrtle Beach board rejected its plans for a new terminal. Some council members propose reaching out to the city and creating a joint board to plot a course.

What | Public hearing on a proposal to crackdown on illegal immigration and a final County Council vote on banning casino boats

When | 6 p.m. today

Where | Horry County Government and Justice Center, council chambers, 1301 Second Ave., Conway

Why | Council will decide whether to go ahead with fines on businesses that employ illegal immigrants and whether to follow through a casino boat ban supported by a majority of council during a vote last month

Also at the council meeting

Ban on feeding waterfowl | Council takes a final vote on a ban it says will allow county police to act on areas such as the Myrtle Trace community where feeding of ducks and geese becomes a nuisance

Neighborhood gates | Council votes on whether to leave up gates to block through traffic at the intersections of Myrtle Ridge Road and Myrtle Trace Drive, Timber Ridge Drive and Forest Lake Drive outside Conway

http://www.myrtlebeachonline.com/142/story/68578.html

Contact TRAVIS TRITTEN at 626-0303 or ttritten@thesunnews.com.
© 2007 MyrtleBeachOnline.com and wire service sources. All Rights Reserved. http://www.myrtlebeachonline.com

This is great news!!!!!!

Dixie

Also today, the public will comment on a proposal to crack down on the employment of illegal immigrants, an issue attracting more attention as immigrants swarm to the area for jobs in construction and the tourism economy.

Swarm is exactly what they do.