Public news and announcements are brought to you by the Horry County Public Information Office.
On June 22, 2020 in County News, voting
Due to the number of absentee ballots as a result of COVID-19, the short time frame between the primary and runoff, and the difficulties associated with returning a ballot to Conway in midsummer, the Horry County Voters Registration and Elections Office announced that every polling place has been designated as an extension absentee office for tomorrow’s runoff election.
This means:
Voters can find their polling place and get a list of all polling places in the county at scvotes.org. For questions, call the Voters Registration and Elections Office at (843) 915-5440.
On June 22, 2020 in General
Horry County Government will conduct aerial spraying for mosquitos Wednesday, June 24, 2020, between 5:30 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. and dusk, weather permitting in the following locations:
The Horry County Stormwater Department operates the mosquito control program and offers regular service to residents in the unincorporated area of Horry County. In addition, anyone in the unincorporated areas that would like to request mosquito spraying in their area can call the Road and Drainage Hotline at (843) 381-8000. To help keep our honeybee population safe, beekeepers are urged to contact Horry County Stormwater to identify the location of their colonies or fill out a no-spray zone form on our website.
The chemicals used for mosquito control spraying are approved by the EPA and pose minimal risk to humans or animals. Individuals with asthma or other respiratory illness may wish to stay indoors and close windows and doors during spraying. In addition, homegrown fruits and vegetables should be washed, scrubbed, and/or peeled before eating.
On June 19, 2020 in Weekly Update
Upcoming Meetings
Meeting attendees are encouraged to wear a face-covering when entering the building and when social distancing is not possible or practical.
Infrastructure & Regulation Committee
Tuesday, June 23, 2020, 9 a.m.
Click here to view and download the agenda or here for the packet.
Administration Committee
Tuesday, June 23, 2020, 2 p.m.
Planning Commission Workshop
Thursday, June 25, 2020, 3 p.m.
Library Board of Trustees
Thursday, June 25, 2020, 4:30 p.m.
Horry County Recreation Centers to Reopen
Horry County Department of Parks & Recreation facilities will re-open to the public on Monday, June 22nd. This includes Recreation Centers, Community Centers, and the Cochran building. All HCPR facilities will resume their normal operating hours. Those with memberships will be refunded a pro-rated amount based on the amount of time our facilities were closed and their memberships will remain valid until the original expiration.
The Recreation Centers will be offering pickleball and basketball during designated hours only, while the walking tracks will be open the entire day. Gym schedules can be found below. Fitness classes will be offered with limited capacity, so those interested are encouraged to register online here to ensure their spot.
In an effort to make our facilities as safe as possible and to stop the spread of COVID-19, our staff will be wearing masks, gymnasium capacity is limited, cleanings are being conducted more frequently, drinking fountains have been disabled, hand washing stations have been added, and social distancing markings have been placed throughout the Centers.
We appreciate your understanding during this time and ask that everyone visiting our facilities please be respectful of social distancing guidelines. We strongly encourage visitors to wear masks while in common areas and will have them available at the buildings. Please bring your own water bottles and any personal equipment needed for fitness classes.
Click here for Recreation Center Gym Schedules.
Horry County Assessor to Mail Assessment Notices
The Assessor’s Office will begin mailing 2020 Assessment notices this week. These notices will go to 22,000 taxpayers. These are notices for people who have recently purchased or made significant additions or improvements to their property.
The remaining taxpayers should see no change in their valuation as this is not a reassessment year. Those who do receive notices will have 90-days from the date of the notice (September 18, 2020) to make an appeal based on the new data. All other taxpayers will be able to make appeals based on their tax notice, which will be mailed around October 1, 2020.
In addition, the Assessor’s Office will be mailing out several hundred letters to taxpayers who may be eligible for an Agricultural exemption on their property. The office identified approximately 500 taxpayers who might be eligible but have not yet applied for the exemption. If you receive one of these letters, you should go online to apply for the exemption. You can find the application online.
If you have any questions, please be in touch with the Assessor’s Office at (843) 915-5040.
Please Complete the Greater Grand Strand Promise
The Welcome Back Horry County Committee has launched its Greater Grand Strand is Open website and they are asking all Grand Strand/Horry County residents, businesses, and visitors to please take a minute and complete the Greater Grand Strand Promise.
Please visit https://www.greatergrandstrandisopen.com/ to submit the form and make the promise.
The same committee encourages you to share the Greater Grand Strand Promise campaign on your social own media accounts.
Below are links to all of the social media sites below for you to share.
Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/GreaterGrandStrandisOpen/
Twitter - https://twitter.com/gspromise
Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/greatergrandstrandisopen/
YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC-SfaDcNXgESSsJFM6i_Vrw
Horry County Government COVID19 Operations Update
Following the guidance from Governor McMaster and state agencies, Horry County will allow public access to its buildings with best safety practices being implemented. Safety measures will include:
To help alleviate crowding in public areas, Horry County encourages individuals to continue to do business online and over the phone with county departments where possible. Horry County will continue to phase into operations as conditions permit, and ask for patience if wait times exist.
Anyone planning to visit a County building should be prepared to check in with staff located at the entrance to the facility. Visitors may be asked to wait outside the office or facility depending on the capacity of the facility.
County officials remind everyone to continue to follow CDC and S.C. DHEC safety guidelines as well as Governor McMaster’s executive orders that remain in effect.
All Horry County Parks and Recreation centers remain closed at this time. Information about reopening facilities and resuming programming will be provided as soon as possible.
Jurors called by the Horry County Clerk of Court are excused through the end of July.
All local Magistrate Offices are open to the public for filings and court.
Central Traffic Court in Conway is open as well as is the Central Jury County. Central Jury will only be receiving guilty pleas, so the public will not be required to serve jury duty.
Preliminary Hearings will resume on June 19, 2020, and like Central Traffic Court hearings will be spaced out over the course of the entire day with all parties having a specific time to appear.
On June 19, 2020 in Closings, County News, Emergencies
Horry County Department of Parks & Recreation facilities will reopen to the public on Monday, June 22nd. This includes Recreation Centers, Community Centers, and the Cochran building. All HCPR facilities will resume their normal operating hours. Those with memberships will be refunded a pro-rated amount based on the amount of time our facilities were closed and their memberships will remain valid until the original expiration.
The Recreation Centers will be offering pickleball and basketball during designated hours only, while the walking tracks will be open the entire day. Gym schedules can be found below. Fitness classes will be offered with limited capacity, so those interested are encouraged to register online to ensure their spot. Register here: https://bit.ly/2Bo0vjE
On June 12, 2020 in County News, Emergencies, Weekly Update
Board of Architectural Review
Tuesday, June 16, 2020, 2:30 p.m.
County Council
Tuesday, June 16, 2020, 6 p.m.
The June 16th Council Meeting will take place in-person in Council Chambers. Social separation protocols will be enforced and seating will be very limited. Overflow space will be available to accommodate public viewing. Attendees are encouraged to wear a face-covering when entering the building and in Council Chambers. The meeting will be broadcast on the Horry County Government website as well as Spectrum/Time Warner channel 1301 or Horry Telephone Cooperative channel 14.
IMPORTANT NOTICE CONCERNING PUBLIC COMMENT
Members of the public will have an opportunity to provide public comment via telephone on the items having a public hearing. You must sign up in advance to speak on public hearing by 3:00 p.m. on Tuesday, June 16, 2020. You can sign up by calling Pat Hartley in the Council Office at (843) 915-5120, or by emailing hartleyp@horrycounty.org. You can also provide written comments to be provided to each Council member at the same email, hartleyp@horrycounty.org. The Public Input segment that is held at the beginning of each meeting remains suspended until further notice.
Public Hearings that are scheduled for June 16th include:
Welcome Back Committee-Rescheduled to 6/25/20 @ 10:30 a.m.
Thursday, June 18, 2020, 10:30 a.m.
Board of Fee Appeals-CANCELED
Thursday, June 18, 2020, 3 p.m.
Horry County to Conduct Mosquito Spraying
Horry County Government will begin aerial spraying for mosquitos next week. Aerial spraying will be conducted in the evenings usually between 5:30 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. and dusk, weather permitting. The locations for aerial spraying will be announced prior to spraying at https://www.horrycounty.org/Departments/Stormwater.
We anticipate an increase in mosquito population due to the recent excess rainfall and riverine flooding. In preparing for this increase we have increased our monitoring efforts through inspections and trapping and accelerated our larvacide program, especially in areas prone to high mosquito populations. Mosquito population numbers are likely to increase over the next two weeks, in line with the typical lifecycle of a mosquito. Regular ground mosquito spraying continues, weather permitting, for approximately four to five hours after dark Monday through Thursday. The addition of next week’s aerial spraying will allow us to cover a larger portion of the county.
The Horry County Stormwater Department operates the mosquito control program and offers regular service to residents in the unincorporated area of Horry County. In addition, anyone in the unincorporated areas that would like to request mosquito spraying in their area can call the Road and Drainage Hotline at 843-381-8000. To help keep our honeybee population safe, beekeepers are urged to contact Horry County Stormwater to identify the location of their colonies or fill out a no-spray zone form on our website. The chemicals used for mosquito control spraying are approved by the EPA and pose minimal risk to humans or animals. Individuals with asthma or other respiratory illness may wish to stay indoors and close windows and doors during spraying. In addition, homegrown fruits and vegetables should be washed, scrubbed, and/or peeled before eating.
Following the guidance from Governor McMaster and state agencies, Horry County will allow public access to its buildings with the best safety practices being implemented. Safety measures will include:
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