[0:02] This conference will now be recorded. >> It is now 6 PM and it's my distinct

[0:07] honor and privilege to call to order the regular town council meeting of

[0:10] September 8th, 2026 for the town of Surfside Beach. Please stand as we begin

[0:15] with an invitation by Pastor Oki Landers of Pine Drive Gospel Church.

[0:23] Let's pray. Father, as always, we humble ourselves before you at the beginning of

[0:29] this town council meeting. Father, not only do we humble ourselves

[0:36] this evening, but often we are humbled by the

[0:40] circumstances of life. We're especially mindful, Lord, in this time of year of

[0:46] 911, of the brevity of life, the sudden and

[0:51] unexpectedness of death, and aresh of our very real need of thee and

[0:58] dependence upon thee. Father, we pray for thy grace and thy

[1:04] mercy. Grace for the salvation which is in thy

[1:08] only begotten son, mercy for life, Lord.

[1:13] And we thank you for that grace which has attended many of us who are present

[1:17] here this evening and your mercies which are a part of all of our lives.

[1:23] Father, we especially thank you for those who serve in our community.

[1:28] those whose lives, Lord, are given that that others may live. May we never take

[1:35] for granted the mercies of life. May we always be a thankful people. And again,

[1:42] I pray for your continued grace, your continued mercy. How good you have been

[1:48] to Surfside. We thank you for this community. We

[1:53] thank you for our leaders, the powers that be are ordained of thee. I ask your

[1:59] blessing both upon the community and upon those who lead it, Holy Father. And

[2:06] I pray this evening that our deport before thee might be that which is

[2:11] acceptable unto you and pleasing in your eyes. And may the issue of this time be

[2:18] that which is your will. Thou art the God who is there. and we worship thee in

[2:25] the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen. >> Amen.

[2:32] I pledge algiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the

[2:37] republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible with liberty and

[2:44] justice for all. >> All right. Thank you very much.

[2:54] All right. I will now ask if there are any motions related to the agenda.

[3:00] » Hearing none, we'll move on to minutes approval from last meeting.

[3:04] » Mr. Mayor, I >> I'd like to make a motion that we

[3:07] approve the town council meetings from meeting minute meeting minutes from

[3:13] August 24th, 2026. >> Second.

[3:22] All right. Is there any discussion? All in favor? I opposed. None. Motion

[3:29] carries. Meeting minutes are approved. We will now move on to public comments

[3:33] on agenda items only. Do we have any public comment?

[3:39] All right. We'll now move into communications. Uh looks like we got a

[3:43] double header. Police and fire recognition. However you guys want to do

[3:47] it.

[3:52] Good evening, Mayor Council Public. So, this is I know I probably said this

[3:58] before, but it's one of my favorite things I I like to do in my job. I get

[4:02] to actually recognize some of the officers that do just such an

[4:06] outstanding job. And when they go above and beyond, you know, we like to really

[4:09] recognize them and and u in a public forum. So today uh our officers uh

[4:17] worked with uh our fire department and responded to an incident where they they

[4:21] excelled and saved a life. So we just wanted to share that with you. So how

[4:25] that came about is we were looking at some body cam footage on a call and when

[4:28] we watched it we were like wow what a great job officer did. We saw what the

[4:32] fire department did too. So I contacted the chief said hey I think we need to do

[4:35] this together and recognize our staff. So I'm just going to uh read this out

[4:40] loud. the uh this recognition of performance. On July 3rd, 2026, Corporal

[4:44] Corman responded to an address within Surfside Beach, South Carolina in

[4:48] reference to a one-year-old toddler that was unresponsive and not breathing.

[4:52] Corporal Corman arrived on scene before EMS medical staff to find a resident

[4:57] department conducting CPR on a child to which Corporal Commer took over until

[5:01] the Surfside Beach Fire Department arrived. A few minutes later, Corporal

[5:04] Corman remained with the patient and assisted medical staff by retrieving

[5:08] medical supplies as they administered medical treatment. With the child being

[5:11] well cared for, Corporal Corman and the other officer switched their focus to

[5:15] conducting an investigation in the circumstances into the circumstances

[5:18] behind the child's condition. While the care medical staff in the ambulance, the

[5:23] child regained consciousness before being transported

[5:26] to Grant Hospital for further treatment and observation.

[5:31] It is due to the swift action of Corporal Corman and the medical team of

[5:35] the Surfside Beach Fire Department providing immediate first aid and

[5:38] life-saving CPR that attributed to the child's survival. The child did make a

[5:42] full recovery and um DSS took over the investigation and took

[5:47] the appropriate actions. So, the child's alive and well thanks to Corporal Corman

[5:51] and the firemen. So, Corporal Corman, if you could come up here, please.

[5:57] And of course, we're all recognizing him, but this is what this is. This guy

[6:01] does this kind of stuff every day, all day. He um he's just solid. He's here.

[6:06] He's here. He's answers the call and uh he's a great he's a great asset to our

[6:11] community. And uh I just want to thank you for what you do. And uh saving that

[6:16] child's life wouldn't do it anywhere else.

[6:18] » All right. Good job. Appreciate

[6:39] I'd like to echo what said. I I feel as a department, both of us doing public

[6:45] safety, that's our job. It's what it is to take care of our public. And it just

[6:49] shows what a great team that we have that could work together in something

[6:52] like that. You know, police officers are already out on the street, so they can

[6:55] get there quick. They're trained to do what they need to do. Matter of fact,

[6:58] today they were our captain was teaching CPR to them. We put automatic external

[7:03] defibrills inside the police cruiser so that we could help out the public. And

[7:06] this just shows what we can do as a team. On July 3rd, 2026, Surfside Beach

[7:12] Fire Department Rescue 56 responded to a cardiac arrest involving an infant.

[7:17] Captain Paramedic Chanty Kelly, firefighter engineer Michael Henderson,

[7:21] and firefighter engineer Gabriel Lunders arrived to find Corporal Sedo Corman of

[7:26] Surfside Beach Police Department actively performing CPR. The Rescue 56

[7:31] crews immediately assumed medical care and initiated advanced life support.

[7:36] During the resuscitation efforts, the infant regained a heartbeat. Care by

[7:41] Rescue 56 and Corpal Corman continued until the infant was transported by

[7:45] ambulance to the hospital. Following extensive hospital stay, the infant was

[7:49] discharged. The incident exemplifies the very best of public safety services.

[7:53] Throughout our teamwork, professionalism, and unwavering

[7:57] dedication, these first responders work together to give the child a second

[8:01] chance. In recognition of this exceptional action and life-saving

[8:05] commitment, this Phoenix award is presented to the firefighters, engineer

[8:09] Michael Henderson, Captain Kelly, and Captain Sorry, promotion today.

[8:15] [laughter] Not one. You guys come up.

[8:40] Yes.

[8:48] Can we get one more up here?

[9:09] All

[9:14] right. Thank you very much, gentlemen. We do appreciate that and it is uh

[9:18] emblematic of the family beach. Um we'll now move on to our business items. Uh

[9:24] business item 7A, strategic payment services. Uh Director Guber, are you

[9:29] going to introduce that?

[9:33] » Yes. So, I'm gonna have Melissa Ali come up and give a presentation about the

[9:37] services they provide. >> And since we have an outside speaker,

[9:41] I'm going to suggest that we wait on a motion until after the presentation.

[9:48] » Oh, we're turnish

[10:00] equipment.

[10:16] warming up.

[10:19] » Yeah, we could probably hit at least the front lights.

[10:22] » The last turn on. Good evening, mayor and council members. Thanks for having

[10:25] me this evening. Um, I'm Melissa Elliot. I'm the vice president at Strategic

[10:30] Payment Services and I have my partner Jim Hutto with me as well who is the

[10:35] president and um actually began the company years ago. So we're going to

[10:40] talk a little bit today about what we offer to help you guys um with fraud

[10:45] protection as it relates to your accounts payable services. So, we do

[10:50] what's called a comprehensive payment solution through a process called Smart

[10:55] AP. And what Smart AP is, and I'm going to try not to get too far down into the

[11:00] weeds. I am an accountant by education and I've worked with uh local government

[11:05] entities and K12 school districts for almost 30 years and utilize the same

[11:11] financial system that you guys utilize here at the town. So it is a passion of

[11:15] mine and sometimes I have to make sure I don't get too far down into the numbers.

[11:19] But so what we do is we deploy a process through your existing financial system

[11:27] that helps you guys mitigate fraud, generate additional revenue, sharpen

[11:34] your oversight, and create efficiencies within the team. So really our value

[11:39] proposition is the fraud mitigation as well as the rebates that you earn and

[11:45] the efficiencies gain through this process.

[11:48] Now if we look at our key benefits you'll see here mitigate fraud. Anytime

[11:53] that we make a payment on the town's behalf the fraud for that payment is

[11:57] shifted to SPS. So

[12:01] [clears throat] it gives you some protection for some things that have

[12:05] happened in the past that we've seen across the state, across the southeast

[12:10] as well as that has picked up since really since 2020. We've seen fraud

[12:16] really accelerate since co um we monetize payments. So we have a supplier

[12:22] activation team that works directly with your vendors. Many of our team members

[12:26] have worked for entities such as this with the same accounting system as well.

[12:31] So, they understand the process, they understand your language, they

[12:34] understand Melany's language and her team because they've sat in their seats

[12:38] before. Um, as well as the sensitivity between you and your vendors.

[12:43] We maximize efficiencies. And when I say that, there's multiple ways that

[12:47] efficiencies are gained here. So keep in mind that when I say this process is

[12:51] called smart AP, it's just a deployment of a function that already exists in

[12:56] your financial platform. There's no changes to the process for your accounts

[13:01] payable team. There's no changes to how you get invoices, how they're approved,

[13:05] your procurement process to your POS. All of those things remain the same as

[13:10] well as all of your records are still maintained in your ledger.

[13:14] So the efficiencies that are gained are you'll no longer be standing in front of

[13:19] a large multifunctional machine to print checks. You'll no longer be reconciling

[13:23] hundreds and hundreds of checks that haven't cleared. Um all that will then

[13:28] move over to our team to process a payment file that's created at the end

[13:32] of your AP process. Uh the costs are reduced obviously from not buying check

[13:37] stock, from not putting postage on checks, folding them, all those sorts of

[13:41] things, not paying stop payment fees on those checks. All that is then picked up

[13:46] from our team. So when I say comprehensive solution,

[13:52] what does that really mean? So for a comprehensive payment solution that

[13:57] means that SPS strategic payment services manages your payment processing

[14:02] to ensure secure efficient transactions that reduce cost and risk and allow your

[14:07] team to focus on other high value task. So what does that consist of? Today

[14:15] you're paying all of your vendors with a check or with an a.

[14:19] Now, we all know that checks and AC hold the highest fraud risk associated with

[14:25] any payment channel. So, we have various payment channels that we work with your

[14:30] vendors with to accept a virtual card being the most secure. Have any of you

[14:35] ever heard of a virtual card? You know what a virtual credit card is?

[14:39] So, a virtual credit card is just like a credit card that you would have a

[14:44] physical card except for the vendor receives it via email. It's a card

[14:50] number that is a direct replacement of a paper check. It's only for that one

[14:55] payment and it's only for that specific amount. So, let's say you're paying

[14:59] Tractor Supply. There's 10 invoices on that payment. They receive this virtual

[15:04] credit card number. The total of the payments is $3,000.

[15:08] If they try to accept that payment on their point of sale system for $3,0001,

[15:13] it'll decline. Once they accept it for the $3,000, that number is no longer um

[15:19] activated. So, the next time the town pays Tractor Supply is a different a

[15:24] credit card number. It's a 16-digit number.

[15:27] So, it's our most secure form of payment. Um it's a Visa. So, we all know

[15:32] what a Visa is. Obviously, not all businesses accept credit cards. So the

[15:38] the businesses that we work with, not the businesses, the local government

[15:41] entities that we work with, um have a lot of local vendors that they work with

[15:46] that don't accept those types of payments. So we have to offer other

[15:49] channels as well. And the next channel we'll talk about is a secure AP plus. So

[15:54] secure AP plus is delivered via AC. Now, the difference in when we do an AP+ or

[16:00] an AC versus what you can do today is we don't make any payments via AC until

[16:07] we've done a micro deposit and verified the account. So, I'll just use Tractor

[16:11] Supply as another example. And let's say they prefer to have an AC or AP plus

[16:15] payment. We send a micro deposit to that account. They have to verify it with the

[16:20] amount back to us prior to us making any payment on their behalf.

[16:27] Uh the next form is a multi card. So uh basically this is an actual uh you can

[16:34] do a virtual or a physical. This number doesn't change. So we also have vendors

[16:38] that will accept a credit card for payment if the number doesn't change. Um

[16:43] or we also have um clients that order these for each department. Let's say

[16:49] your fire chief is going out and you have a procurement card for him. You can

[16:53] control his expenses. you can control what he can use that card for. Uh you

[16:58] can turn it on and off. Um there's all kinds of restrictions built into that,

[17:02] [clears throat] but it's just meant to help streamline point of sale um at the

[17:06] register purchases. So the other thing that helps with this,

[17:12] especially with smaller organizations, is separation of duties made simple. So

[17:16] as we all know, your AP person, your finance director, um your entire team

[17:22] here wears multiple hats. I was a finance director for a school district

[17:25] for 11 years and I knew that anything that I could implement to increase

[17:30] efficiency so that I could utilize the team for higher value um objectives was

[17:35] something that I was interested in also from an audit perspective. Everything

[17:41] here is cleared by your auditor is audit approved AP workflows. It reduces your

[17:46] risk of errors and payment fraud. Um efficient use of limited resource

[17:50] accountability every step one time to focus on

[17:57] So, how does this work? So, today you use a system called Smart

[18:02] Fusion. That's your financial accounting system. Your AP resource, she does the

[18:07] same thing she's doing every week when she processes AP. She's looking at those

[18:12] approvals. She's keying the invoices. The difference is when she gets to the

[18:16] end of the process, instead of standing in front of machine to print the checks,

[18:20] the system automatically creates a payment file that's sent to SPS to

[18:25] process on your behalf through those various channels we just discussed.

[18:29] It's one payment file. Um, it's one collection from your bank to fund the

[18:36] payment file. So, instead of doing a bank reconciliation, as I said before,

[18:41] for all of those checks, let's say this week's AP total is $400,000.

[18:46] You reconcile that one $400,000 to find that $400,000 file. You're no longer

[18:51] going through all of those processes and contacting vendors to say you haven't

[18:55] cashed this check. Um, did you lose it in the mail? Did the mail take three

[19:00] weeks to get it there, which we all know is also an issue now. Um so that's the

[19:05] way the efficiency is created at the top of the um

[19:10] the slide here at your bank account. So we collect the funds, we store them and

[19:14] we distribute them to your vendors um through those various channels.

[19:21] So you may say well what does it look like for our vendor? Everything is

[19:25] branded with your name and with your logo. So they re this is an example of

[19:32] an email. They receive this email. It will say town of Suride Beach here.

[19:37] It'll have your logo at the top. Tell them their steps here at the bottom to

[19:40] process it. When they click that green activate payment button,

[19:47] then the next screen pops up with their 16digit code. The remittance information

[19:52] that you currently have on your checks on the stub is the remittance

[19:56] information to send this email so they know where to post the payments.

[20:00] Um, [clears throat] in addition to that, the vendors that

[20:04] will not accept electronic payments, we mail a check on your behalf as well. So,

[20:09] those checks have your logo on there. [clears throat] They have um Town of

[20:14] Surfside Beach Care of Strategic Payment Services. Again, the remitt at the

[20:19] bottom is the same remitt information, so they know where it goes.

[20:26] Now, why choose SPS? Well, there's a lot of different

[20:30] reasons. Um, really the ERP integration with with this particular situation is

[20:36] very valuable because as I said, the process is already written in Smart

[20:39] Fusion. There's nothing you change there. Everything is outlined. I

[20:44] actually worked for the company that wrote this product and I helped develop

[20:49] this process into Smart Fusion. Um, so the integration is seamless. um the

[20:55] program manage piece of it which we talked about with our team and being

[20:58] market experts the fine print really understanding how this works and then

[21:02] the customer satisfaction. So, one important thing too, this is no

[21:07] cost to town. We are partners with Harris. We um went into that partnership

[21:12] probably 10 years ago. Um so they agreed that it

[21:19] was a value proposition for their product as well and that's why they

[21:23] agreed to write this functionality into the system. Um so there's no cost. Now,

[21:29] the payment channels that are electronic, such as the virtual card and

[21:33] the AP plus AC that's delivered via AC, the town actually receives a rebate on

[21:40] those. So, we've looked at your spend history over the last 12 months and

[21:45] we're estimating 12 to $15,000 in rebates

[21:50] based on this process that we'll be performing on your behalf if approved.

[21:59] So, we're going to pay you to protect your payments. [laughter]

[22:03] We've got client testimonials here. Um, if you go to our website, that that's

[22:07] really the end of the presentation. Um, our website's www.spsay.com,

[22:13] you'll see all of our clients listed there. There's video testimonials,

[22:16] written testimonials. Um, we only deal with, like I said, local government

[22:22] entities and K12 um, public school districts across the Southeast.

[22:28] » All right. Thank you very much. I am now going to request a motion to approve

[22:32] this proposal.

[22:36] As presented, I'm going to make a motion to uh I'm

[22:40] going to make a motion to approve this presentation

[22:44] to prove uh approve this process as presented.

[22:46] » Second. >> All right. I'm going to start the

[22:48] discussion then. So, um, Miss Miss Elliot, um, come back, please.

[22:53] » Oh, yeah. So, so I'm just gonna be blunt and lay

[22:58] it out there. >> Absolutely.

[23:00] » What's in it for you? >> What's in it for us?

[23:03] » Yes. >> So, the way that we make money, and this

[23:05] is always our question, is the processes that were with the virtual cards and

[23:11] with the AP plus generate processing fees. We share those processing fees on

[23:17] the back end with you guys. So Visa, for example, I'll use Tractor Supply again.

[23:22] We don't control those at all. The company that accepts a credit card has a

[23:26] merchant that they have negotiated with and said, "Yes, I'll take American

[23:29] Express, Mastercard, you know, Visa, and based on their volume is what they pay

[23:35] percentage-wise to accept a credit card." Well, we're the middleman

[23:39] processing those payments for Visa. So they're sharing a portion of that with

[23:42] us which then we share with you guys. >> So the only way that we make money is

[23:46] when we make >> and and and then the rebates similar is

[23:50] » that is the rebate. Yeah. That's that's what generates the rebate. Yes sir.

[23:53] » So so the rebates are actually much larger and you get a portion and we get

[23:57] a a portion. >> Correct.

[23:58] » And and so tractor the hypothetical tractor supply or anybody else is

[24:03] willing to pay these because they get security as well.

[24:07] » Correct. It has to be a win-win on both sides for the vendor as well as for us.

[24:10] » Okay. >> So, when our enrollment team is speaking

[24:13] to a vendor about the different payment channels, they discuss with them what

[24:17] the value points are each with each of them. We also have vendors that have

[24:22] maximum and minimums on the payment channel that they're accept. So, you can

[24:25] imagine for construction projects, we have really large $3.2 million payments.

[24:30] Well, that company may say, "I'll accept a credit card up to $30,000 and then I

[24:34] want the rest in a check or I'll accept it up to 30 and then I want AP plus and

[24:39] you know, so we handle all those in the background as well."

[24:43] » And and then I have one question for Director Grover. Is there any downside

[24:46] to this? >> Not that I can see.

[24:50] » That's all I have. Thank you. Anybody else?

[24:54] » Mr. Mayor, Mr. Stamy, >> I do have a question.

[24:56] » Absolutely. >> Not mostly for Mr. cover. Is this going

[25:00] to help you out with staffwise? Will it make it easier for your staff to be able

[25:07] to handle handle all this or does it change anything for y'all?

[25:11] » It it doesn't change the process the AP process. It's just the end when the

[25:17] checks would go to be printed. That we save the cost in the time of printing

[25:21] those checks, having to fold them, having to put them through the mail

[25:25] system that's in and out. And again, they they take on all the fraud

[25:30] liability.

[25:35] » Okay. I got one, >> just curious, how many um municipalities

[25:39] or jurisdictions you all currently? >> Uh, approximately 50.

[25:43] » 50. And that includes the schools as well.

[25:46] » Yes. Yes. >> Just curious.

[25:49] » And a large majority of them use the financial we're agnostic, meaning we can

[25:54] do it with any financial system. Um but a majority use smart fusion because of

[25:59] our partnership and our efficiencies that are written into the product.

[26:03] » Thanks. >> Uh Mr. Master Walls, um I guess you're

[26:08] aware of the scenario that we just went through unfortunately. So,

[26:15] I think it's important to for folks to know one of the main reasons that we're

[26:20] considering you and are so excited about this opportunity that Melanie brought to

[26:24] us was because um you incur all the liability, but from

[26:29] what I've understood, you've never had to

[26:33] pay. You've never had >> we have never had a claim

[26:37] » something like we had happen to us. You've never had anything like that with

[26:42] all your municipalities and the schools that you all

[26:45] » I have not >> Well, I know. I know. I'm really jing.

[26:50] But still, it's it's this has been going on for a while and

[26:54] it's spreading like wildfire. >> It is. It is.

[26:57] » For you all to have avoided this through your processes says a lot.

[27:01] » It does. We have an amazing team. >> Yes.

[27:04] So that's I just wanted to draw that out

[27:08] because when I was interviewing Melanie about this it was

[27:11] » she had mentioned this to me and I'm like no way

[27:14] » never had to >> I know we've been very very um lucky and

[27:20] you know we continue to improve our processes because

[27:23] » those that are trying to create the product continue to find new ways.

[27:28] » Thank you. >> Absolutely.

[27:30] » Mr. Mayor I'm gonna let Mr. Hay go first.

[27:33] » Yeah. I just um you know devils are in the details. Do we have a viewable

[27:37] contract that we can read that uh >> Oh, Melanie does.

[27:40] » Melody does. Okay. >> Yes.

[27:42] » So, you can get us a copy of that, Melanie?

[27:45] » Yes, she is. >> Okay.

[27:47] » Um

[27:51] how would your service have stopped the fraud that um occurred to us?

[27:57] » Because we would do a micro deposit prior to sending the payment to ensure

[28:00] it was the right amount. Explain to me a micro deposit.

[28:03] » So a micro deposit, let's say a vendor, it it could be one we're already paying

[28:08] via a or it could be a new vendor and they have sent us a form and said we

[28:12] want payment to go to this account number and this routing number.

[28:16] » Okay, we can do that. But we're going to send a micro deposit

[28:21] » and it's a different amount every time. Um so let's say it's 31 cents.

[28:25] » I see. >> Um they'll call us back the next day.

[28:28] They have to confirm the exact amount and the date that it was deposited.

[28:32] » Okay. I understand that this is part of an existing service that we're already

[28:36] receiving. >> It's part of your AP module with um

[28:39] smart. >> Why weren't we uh why didn't we have

[28:42] this in place before? Now >> question.

[28:48] » We didn't know about it until the Harris conference this spring that must have

[28:53] one. >> They attended a presentation that I did

[28:55] at the user conference for Harris. And that's how they became aware of it.

[29:02] » Thank you. >> Absolutely.

[29:05] » Anything else?

[29:09] » In that case, the motion on the table is to approve this uh

[29:13] uh service as presented. Miss Medina, will you call the role?

[29:18] » Mr. [clears throat] Allen. >> Yes.

[29:20] » Mr. Hay, >> can you come back to me?

[29:23] » No. [laughter] I would really like to see a contract

[29:27] first before I vote. >> You got to vote. Yes or no?

[29:31] » No. >> Mr. Lawhorn?

[29:34] » Yes. >> Mr. Walls?

[29:36] » Yes. >> Mr. Coleman?

[29:37] » Yes. >> Mr. Stamy?

[29:39] » Yes. >> Mayor K?

[29:40] » Yes. Motion carries six to one and the uh process is approved. Thank you very

[29:44] much. >> Have a great evening.

[29:47] » All right. We will now move on to uh the award of courthouse bids uh Christian

[29:52] Associates.

[29:58] Mr. >> Yes, sir.

[30:00] » Go ahead and make this. >> Um,

[30:04] » well, this is this is going to be a pretty short presentation. So, yeah, go

[30:07] ahead and make the or somebody can make the motion first.

[30:10] » M. >> Go ahead. I'd like to make a motion that

[30:13] we accept the bid the lowest bid on our new courthouse

[30:18] adjacent building of 460,350,000

[30:24] 4 million excuse me >> I would definitely approve that

[30:29] [laughter] >> with the contractor

[30:34] » I'll second

[30:39] [clears throat] thank you for having me here tonight to update you on the bid

[30:43] opening for the courthouse and council chamber project. Uh we opened bids uh

[30:48] August 11th. We received five total bids. The first bid was Coastal

[30:54] Structures Court at $4,18,141.

[31:00] BEC Construction at $4,60,350.

[31:06] Southcon Building Group at 4,573,681.

[31:13] Monteth Construction Company at 4,122,300

[31:20] and Sammit Corp at 4,486,67310.

[31:28] Uh all of those all of those bids do include a 5% owners contingency. So uh

[31:35] if you have your base bid plus owners contingency the number I gave you is the

[31:38] total of of those uh we have looked into uh the BC

[31:44] information that was presented to us. Everything seems to be in line. Uh

[31:49] reached out to a few of their uh clients that they've worked with and received

[31:53] good information. Um so I think uh next step would be to gain approval from you

[31:59] folks and enter into contract negotiations.

[32:03] » All right. Thank you very much. Any questions or comments on this uh

[32:08] recommendation? >> I have a question.

[32:11] » Yes, sir. >> I'd like to understand the contingency

[32:13] fee. >> Uh so we really what we asked them to do

[32:17] was uh provide a base bid for the work that was outlined in the project manual

[32:23] uh which consists of the project specifications and the contract

[32:26] documents uh and then a separate line item for owner's contingency of 5%. So

[32:31] they're carrying an owner's contingency for unforeseen items that may come up,

[32:38] unsuitable soils. >> So there's a base uh contract that's

[32:45] less than the amount you stated, correct?

[32:48] » And then there's 5% for cost overruns that can or cannot be used depending on

[32:55] what they are. Correct. And if they're not used, then that money does not go to

[32:59] the the bid amount, right? >> I think that would all be spelled out as

[33:03] we enter into contract negoti negotiations with them. There's

[33:07] different ways of handling it. Uh sometimes there is some sharing of that.

[33:10] A certain percentage would go back to them. Those remaining money or you can

[33:14] structure it, but it's all back to you. It really kind of depends on on how you

[33:18] structure your contract with the GC. You [clears throat] know, in the past, we

[33:23] got pretty burned by having a contract that was low

[33:27] » and then it turned out to not have been low because there was all kinds of stuff

[33:31] added to it over the years that made it quite high actually.

[33:35] » Yes. >> How do we make sure that this isn't

[33:37] going to happen here? >> Uh well, we will be acting as your

[33:41] contract administrator through the construction process. Uh keep an eye on

[33:45] all of the items. We'll be down here every two weeks to meet with um the

[33:50] contractor and owner representative. Um keeping an eye on construction, having

[33:56] making sure that our consultant team is down here, right? Um want to make sure

[33:59] that we have structural input, civil input at all various stages of

[34:03] construction. Um and we uh it's kind of how we hope to to mitigate any any

[34:09] potential issues. What in the contract says can be charged in addition to the

[34:15] contract amount? >> Uh I don't know. We don't have a

[34:18] contract uh yet. I think we're waiting to to gain approval for this first the

[34:23] acceptance of the bids and then we will enter into contract negotiations. And

[34:27] » so we'll have another chance to bid on this to vote on this later

[34:32] with the contract. Is that correct? Uh you will I

[34:36] » you approve you approve the the low bid for tonight and then the contract comes

[34:39] in two weeks >> and we get to approve that.

[34:41] » Yes sir. >> Okay. Very good. That's what I wanted to

[34:44] know. Thank you. >> A couple small [clears throat]

[34:47] um probably one for you and maybe one for Jared. [snorts] So first one that is

[34:52] for you guys. I'm I'm very familiar with how the federal government does this

[34:56] stuff but not as familiar on the local level. Are we required to take the

[34:59] lowest bid? >> No.

[35:01] » No. >> Okay. So back that would come back to

[35:04] you. So the due diligence um I I can read through your stuff that you talked

[35:10] to you know you you did a you did a review of the low bid. Yeah.

[35:14] » Did you also look at any of the other bids and at those companies?

[35:18] » Uh I didn't. Some of them I've worked with so I'm familiar with uh most of the

[35:25] ones on the sheet. Um, but in order to gain some familiarity with BC

[35:29] specifically, we did reach out to a couple of their clients, uh, a couple of

[35:33] their local ones and talk to them and received kind of positive feedback from

[35:37] from all that we spoke to. >> Okay. But we didn't So, you're familiar

[35:40] with the others, but you didn't reach out to customers of the others?

[35:42] » I did not. >> Okay. Um, I mean, I'm I come from the

[35:46] Pennywise pound foolish, you know, school, so sometimes saving $100,000

[35:52] ends up costing you a half a million. Um, so I'm a little concerned from that

[35:58] end about the due diligence at this point that we didn't at least look at

[36:02] the other companies just to get a qualitative

[36:07] evaluation. Are we picking the right people? I mean, we did get burnt,

[36:11] [clears throat] you know, before, you know, with in a different project,

[36:15] » right? And typically, Mr. Long, we do not go to the other biders unless

[36:18] there's a red flag on the first one, >> okay? because they have built a similar

[36:23] building a much similar building town hall and there were no red flags.

[36:27] » Okay. All right. So ne next question then when as your in your project

[36:32] administration function >> um I'm assum obviously there going to be

[36:36] there'll be a project plan and you said you'll be here every couple of weeks to

[36:40] to to meet with folks. Are we going to be given the as a council the the whole

[36:46] project plan, the layout of the schedule so that we have an understanding of are

[36:51] we on time? Are we on schedule? I'm just curious as to how that's going

[36:55] to look. >> Yes. Uh we will at kind of the kickoff

[36:58] meeting, we will request a number of different things. Schedule values is is

[37:02] the first thing that we ask for along with an overall project schedule. Uh we

[37:06] did as part of the the bid uh opening and the forms that are in that bid

[37:11] opening we did ask them to provide um days of completion. Uh so we have a

[37:17] overall idea of how long they think this will take. Um BC did give us 310 days uh

[37:24] for project completion. Now obviously that can change with weather events,

[37:28] rain delays, things like that. Um but those would all have to be accounted for

[37:32] and submitted to architectural team. And that's from groundbreaking, I'm

[37:36] assuming. >> Yes, it's you'll have to issue a notice

[37:38] to proceed. And once you guys get under contract, that includes their

[37:42] mobilization effort and the construction activities usually taking you to

[37:46] [clears throat] substantial completion, which ties in your warranty start

[37:50] periods and all of that. >> Okay,

[37:53] » I think that's it. >> Okay. I I got a couple. Um, so you you

[37:58] said you're going to be the contract administrator. Um on the previous

[38:03] project [clears throat] that they're talking about, no big secret, it's the

[38:06] peer. Um yes, that service was not offered by the architectural firm that

[38:12] we contracted. Is that correct? >> They did not have a project manager with

[38:16] their firm. So they did not offer it. That's correct.

[38:18] » So So right there's a difference, right? >> And you should be keeping a track. And

[38:23] and speaking of due diligence, um you're familiar with

[38:28] the other companies here, >> BEC or not, and that's where you did the

[38:33] research. You you I'm assuming that means you have a comfort level with the

[38:38] others that you didn't you already know that they have positive feedback on

[38:43] projects. Am I interpreting that correctly?

[38:45] » Um I know of them. I know they've done similar type projects. So, I think all

[38:50] of them are equipped uh to do this particular type of construction.

[38:54] [clears throat] Um like Jerry said, we don't typically move on and really dig

[38:58] in unless there's a red flag race spot the lowest bidder. Um and then typically

[39:03] that goes back to your statutes for choosing

[39:06] » the contractor what you can. >> You have to have a darn good reason not

[39:09] to choose the low bidder. >> But but again, you you have some comfort

[39:13] level with those other companies from what you

[39:15] » have heard. Okay. So, the one you didn't know, that's where you did

[39:19] » the extra due diligence. >> Correct.

[39:21] » Okay. I want to make sure it's clear uh how that is. So, um has has staff

[39:27] reviewed BEC construction and I mean I don't know if John John Adair, Director

[39:33] Adair has had any work with them, anybody not BEC construction.

[39:37] » Okay. So, we are we are going strictly with what Creeps and Associates is

[39:41] saying. That's correct. >> Okay. Um well, one thing I see here, um

[39:46] I I will got give you a hand. Uh the bids come in with a a total of 12.6%

[39:53] uh total variance from from top to bottom, which I think is generally an

[39:58] indication of clear requirements. I was an automotive engineer

[40:04] » and you can get wide widely varying bids depending on how well people understand

[40:12] it. So >> that's right.

[40:13] » I think that that speaks well of what you guys did. And in fact, the top three

[40:16] are only separated by one and a half%. >> So that makes me feel

[40:21] » better that everybody understands this project and that you're communicating

[40:25] well. So that again that that improves my comfort level.

[40:28] » Um and and also the fact that uh we started

[40:34] with a three and a half million dollar budget with the preliminary reviews with

[40:40] preach. We said we better go to four. And even at that point, we knew there

[40:44] were still going to be some other costs. And we said, we're going to deal with

[40:47] that once the bids come in. You know, the contingencies, the soft costs, we're

[40:51] going to deal with that. That'll be in two weeks.

[40:53] » Yes, sir. You'll have the contract and you also also have a budget amendment

[40:58] follow. >> So, so basically, these bids have come

[41:00] in right at what they told us they should be.

[41:03] » So, that again makes me feel a little bit better. Yes.

[41:07] That means you're doing your homework well.

[41:09] » Yes. >> All right. That's all I have.

[41:12] » Mr. Mayor, Mr. Sty, so before we get too far into this, uh, you you're saying

[41:19] Chris is going to be our project manager on this this

[41:23] job, >> correct?

[41:24] » I want you to tell who the project manager and what his affiliation is with

[41:31] Preach Associate. So we will know how much you're invested in this to keep

[41:36] your name in good standing along with getting something done. So with that,

[41:42] I'd like for you to tell everybody else what your position is in preach

[41:47] associate. Sure. Uh so our our CA team is I'd like to take all the credit, but

[41:52] uh it's made up of several different folks. Um Charles Pierce in our office

[41:56] handles uh some of the big work. Um, but I will be the one that you will see 98%

[42:02] of the time, unfortunately for you. >> Um, I am an principal at Reach

[42:07] Associates, so one of the owners.

[42:12] » That it

[42:15] » um, as you said, you look into BEC.

[42:21] Have they come on time with their projects? Have they

[42:26] Sorry. >> Have they come with other projects? Have

[42:29] they been on time with the timeline of completing the project?

[42:34] » Um to my knowledge they are. Uh they have. Um like I said, I don't I don't

[42:39] have a ton of familiarity with them, which is why we reached out to

[42:44] an owner that is in Ory County. It is Ory County. Um and had a good discussion

[42:50] with them regarding their work with them. Um and if there are any red flags

[42:55] from a delayed standpoint, from [clears throat] a billing standpoint

[42:58] sometimes, you know, with with design bid build situations, bid low and change

[43:04] order to death and so about their financials as well. They've got positive

[43:09] feedback from from the county and their their experience with BC.

[43:19] » Little nervous about that just because we got this town got so burnt with our

[43:24] beer. >> Yes.

[43:25] » That it's it's we're walking I'm walking very cautiously.

[43:31] » Well, we will do our best to make sure that everything goes smoothly on this.

[43:34] Um, we did we did add that contingency in place. Um, which is a fairly common

[43:40] practice to cover anything. You never know when you start taking dig what

[43:42] you're going to find. Um, but we have a a pretty tried and true method for

[43:46] reviewing any change orders, making sure a lot of times, you know, they'll say

[43:52] something like, uh, we found an issue here, we need to make a change, and

[43:56] they'll charge you for the change, but they won't necessarily credit you back

[43:59] for the information that was included in the set prior to it. So we uh we take

[44:04] time and look through all of that. Make sure if there is a change that credit is

[44:08] given for what was going to be in place and it's not just charges for new ones.

[44:12] Uh schedule making sure the schedule is followed uh and updated on a regular

[44:17] basis is really important. I'm sure you all are familiar. Time is money, right?

[44:22] And so we make sure that the schedule we want to schedule update preferably every

[44:27] two weeks but at minimum once a month. Um that way we can track any sort of

[44:32] weather delays, rain delays, all of all of those items and make sure that we are

[44:35] staying on budget >> and schedule.

[44:41] » Mr. Mayor, you done? >> Yes. Yes. M

[44:46] » first of all, uh are you sure you want this gig?

[44:51] I mean, knowing and and that leads right into what I'm going to add. How familiar

[44:56] are you with our previous circumstance? >> I know here. Yes. Uh yes, we're gonna

[45:05] we're gonna make sure that uh we we take good care of this project. Uh we are

[45:12] obviously devoted to this. We've been working with you folks for quite some

[45:15] time to develop this project. Um, as far as knowledge of your of the pier and the

[45:20] issues with it, I have bits and pieces, not the full full story, but I do know

[45:25] of it. >> Well, and also co happened with it. So,

[45:28] it was a it was just a nightmare from beginning to end, but there's some

[45:31] things outside of of probably what I dealt with. Guess where I'm going is

[45:36] it's it's going to be it's it's you're we're going to be going

[45:43] we're going to be scrutinizing you under not you but we're going to be asking you

[45:48] to take very good care of us. >> Yes.

[45:51] » Because we're a little bit gunshy. Maybe PTSD might apply to this situation. But

[45:57] » we're we're afraid. You know what I'm saying? We're just careful.

[46:01] » Careful. We don't want to repeat the mistakes of the past. So

[46:05] » yes, >> I just that's that's all I've got. We're

[46:09] going to do things differently than before.

[46:11] » Yes. >> First of all, the main thing is having

[46:14] you >> right

[46:15] » to represent us and overseeing that things are being done properly and on

[46:20] schedule. >> Thank you. You're aware. And

[46:26] » Mr. Mayor, >> Mr. Com um what kind of work What kind

[46:31] of buildings have they made previous? >> They have a a pretty good range of of

[46:36] project types. Um, as Jerry mentioned, they they do have a town hall, a couple

[46:42] other uh municipal type buildings. Uh, they do some uh commercial work, um,

[46:48] some higherend residential work. So, it it's a pretty good mix of building

[46:52] types, but there are a handful of those uh

[46:57] building construction types that closely align with with what we're building over

[47:00] there. >> Okay. So, that they didn't do a couple

[47:03] of bathrooms or a couple of kitchens. [laughter]

[47:05] » Yes.

[47:16] » I've got a second. >> Yeah.

[47:18] » Okay. I got a second. else has done. Um I think it's a really question for

[47:23] Jerry. So as we go through this process in inevitably there will be change

[47:29] requests um whether they're precipitated by by you but your company or contractor

[47:36] or us. What's going to be our process for review and evaluation

[47:42] of those types of things? Well, typically that's what your contingency

[47:45] is for unless you guys advise otherwise. I mean, when you when you talk about

[47:51] these projects, you know, John Adair brings you the projects for the north

[47:54] drainage project and also the underground wiring for a couple million

[47:57] dollars. He does change orders within the budget. It doesn't come to council.

[48:03] » Yeah. And I and I guess I'm concerned about that given, you know, the size of

[48:08] this project and and as everyone else has stated, our our history, right? Um,

[48:15] I I just want to make sure we have a understandable process and that whether

[48:20] it's requiring council approval or at least council notification,

[48:26] I I think we need to have more direct oversight of this, I guess, is my

[48:32] concern. You know, to make sure that I'm not saying people are going to come up

[48:36] with frivolous change requests, but you never know, right? And again, in my

[48:40] experience, that's where the money ends up coming out. It's because somebody

[48:45] gets an idea six months from now that, oh, you know, we needed we need mahogany

[48:50] desks or, you know, what you you name it. So, [clears throat] I I would like

[48:54] to make sure that we have a way to mitigate that. I'm just saying this as a

[48:59] clarification. Creech and BDC assuming it gets the it can't do anything without

[49:06] approval. >> Yeah. Typically it's it's a tail

[49:09] representative cre and the contractor that talks about train changes.

[49:12] » So it's it's whether it's you or it comes to council. That's what

[49:17] » that's my yeah and I can I can walk you. So so typically if there's something

[49:21] that comes up u the contractor will submit a potential change order to us.

[49:26] Um we will review it and make sure that we are in agreement. Um once we have uh

[49:32] given it a thorough review, we will then either sign or reject it uh and send

[49:37] that over to Jerry or whoever whoever's going to be handling it from the town

[49:40] side. Um from there, they can sign off on it and then that goes into it. Now,

[49:46] as far as, you know, direct council, it's it's rare that that that happens

[49:52] simply because the I worry about the approval process and the time needed. I

[49:57] get that. Um, so typically we, you know, we do our best to make sure that they

[50:03] are reasonable and appropriate. Um, and so it's not just kind of coming to Jerry

[50:08] without any eyes on it. >> Yeah, I I guess what I'm after and maybe

[50:12] it's Jerry that keeping us apprised of of the requests that come in because it

[50:17] again it doesn't take long to eat up that contingency, right? you know, so

[50:21] next, you know, we could find out six months from now that we've approved this

[50:26] contingency, this conting, and all of a sudden we need more money, you know, for

[50:30] something that's really So, I just want to make sure we have a a diligent review

[50:35] process to ensure these things are absolutely necessary

[50:39] » and that's something that'll be covered in the month of reports.

[50:42] » Okay. From from Okay. Yeah. I said, so we we will get those.

[50:46] » We will [clears throat] get those. Yes, sir.

[50:49] » Thank you.

[50:52] Uh, I'm going to go on a on a second one. Um, you said maybe as as often as

[50:57] every two weeks you'd be doing reports, but certainly monthly. Um, I believe in

[51:02] our contract with Creech going back year or so. We had a few uh review, you

[51:11] know, large reviews and that would be you coming here. When you're talking

[51:14] these two weeks to a month, that's just the two of you talking. Is that correct?

[51:17] And the contractor. >> And the contractor. Uh okay. Okay.

[51:20] » It's a o owner architect contractor meeting. So we come down meet with them

[51:24] discuss any relevant items review schedule any potential change orders uh

[51:31] any issues in the field. The contractor will be responsible to provide kind of a

[51:37] an agenda that outlines all of the items that's going on. Typically it's you know

[51:42] what's been done the past two weeks, what's going on the next two weeks,

[51:45] safety, all of those things. Uh we would ask they do that. We prefer a two week

[51:50] cadence. It seems to work well. Um, anything longer than that, things can

[51:54] happen and you don't have your eyes on it. Anything less than that, you really,

[51:58] you know, you spend a lot of money to send someone down, but probably not a

[52:02] whole bunch of work has changed. >> So, two weeks is us here in person, uh,

[52:07] having that meeting and then walking the site and issuing.

[52:10] » So, so then getting back to Mr. Longhorn's concerned,

[52:15] I I mean I I don't envision a whole lot of showstoppers that you you meet and

[52:22] today we just discovered something that we have to stop work unless you approve

[52:28] this change order. I mean, that's not going to be a likely scenario. Correct.

[52:33] » Yes. I don't think that is a likely scenario. Hard to hard to peer into the

[52:37] crystal ball and let you know that for sure. But uh I'll feel much better when

[52:41] we have a groundwork foundation starting.

[52:44] » But but from past experience, >> a regular twoe cadence should allow you,

[52:49] you know, you're looking ahead. You're you know, you should be able to envision

[52:53] you, the contractor, the administrator should be able to envision what's coming

[52:57] over the, you know, again, you're not looking six months ahead. You're looking

[53:00] two weeks >> at that and and like, oh, this could be

[53:03] an issue. plenty of time for him to alert us if we get nervous or something

[53:09] like that. >> Yes,

[53:10] » we can assert ourselves for better or worse. Okay. Um All right.

[53:17] And and also in the contract, we do have a few reviews with them uh before

[53:22] council, do we not? Like a couple of reviews, project reviews or not, or was

[53:29] that all in the planning phase? Remind me with preach.

[53:34] Do we have do we have preach coming to council with updates at all once the

[53:39] construction starts or not? >> I don't believe so. I think most of our

[53:43] meetings and council presentations were relative to the design

[53:47] » this part. Yeah. Okay. All right. >> Yeah. I think once we get into the uh

[53:52] project administration then all the presentations are not just be asking you

[53:56] all the questions. Yes sir. >> Okay.

[53:59] » All right. That's all I have. >> Mr. Mayor,

[54:01] » Mr. Sty, go ahead. uh if it passes this $4 million

[54:06] threshold, if something comes up and you say that we've done you $193,000

[54:13] before you could go any farther than that, it will have to come back to

[54:16] council, would it not? >> Yes, sir.

[54:18] » I mean, if it's another $100,000 going to be added on to this $4 million

[54:24] before you could ever do anything, that would have to come back to council, get

[54:28] approval. So as far as is as this council can see this is the number that

[54:34] we've got to stay within budget of >> well I'm coming with a budget amendment

[54:39] that yes that's going to be project the budget amendment is not compared to our

[54:44] building the budget amendment will be for other things

[54:47] » it's going to be construction soft cost yes sir

[54:50] » but right now what we're trying to approve is this $4 million that we're

[54:55] setting for this bud for his construction

[54:59] » for the bid for the bid to send. That's what we're If anything, if we start this

[55:04] project, >> if it goes another $100,000 more, it's

[55:09] got to come to council. It It can't be approved by you or him or nobody else,

[55:14] this council has to come back and say, "Listen, guys, we need another $100,000

[55:19] to do this job before you could ever make a decision on that."

[55:23] » That's correct. >> Okay. I just I want that perfectly clear

[55:26] to everybody that we're not right now worried about nothing except this $4

[55:32] million that we're trying to say that's under contract with this

[55:37] contract right now.

[55:43] » Is that it? M. Go ahead, Mr. >> Um, a lot of times you can tell a lot

[55:49] about a company from their safety record. Did you guys check BEC's safety

[55:52] record? I have not checked this.

[55:57] » And second, um, is there any I mean there's only a 40,000 or $48,000

[56:02] difference between this bid and the next company's bid, but you don't know

[56:07] anything about this next company to tell us what kind of quality outfit they are

[56:10] versus BEC. >> Um, I know that they've done a lot of

[56:15] work in this area. Um, I know the the buildings have been completed in a

[56:20] reasonable amount of time. Um, I haven't seen anything in the news with

[56:25] any sort of negative uh impacts for any of the projects that I've seen. Um,

[56:30] that's that's about the extent of the next closest.

[56:45] » That's all. >> Oh, okay. I'm sorry. I wasn't sure.

[56:49] All right. Anybody else? >> I just Mr. Mayor, if I could, I'd just

[56:54] like to make a statement where it it seems to be that we're

[56:58] positioning BEC because they're the lowest. There's something wrong with

[57:03] them. >> You know, it's not necessarily the case.

[57:06] Um, >> you've done the due diligence because

[57:09] you haven't worked with them before. So just because they came in with a little

[57:15] bit less of a bid doesn't mean that they're not qualified to do the same

[57:20] quality work as the other five or six are there.

[57:23] » That's right. >> Right. That is correct. And

[57:25] » I mean let's someone mentioned before how how close some of the the first

[57:30] three were in the price point. I think if if they were significantly less than

[57:34] some of the others, >> you would probably want to scrutinize

[57:38] that number a little bit more and just then we we could do basically a big

[57:43] qualification kind of exercise with them and make sure. But with all of these

[57:47] numbers, you know, coming in pretty close, even from the highest to lowest,

[57:50] not a huge spread, uh, relatively speaking. Um, so it's there's a certain

[57:57] comfort level when your numbers come in that close. um that that the drawings

[58:00] are well put together and that you know assumptions are kind of uh the same

[58:05] across the board. Um I think if you had a big variance from your high a little

[58:08] bit of you you'd probably have a little more to worry about. Yeah.

[58:13] » And then uh just one minor question that I would have for Jerry on this.

[58:17] [clears throat] Jerry, if you could please just make a

[58:20] maybe a note that you would add this >> to your weekly updates that you send out

[58:25] to council members so that we can in turn keep our residents uh up to speed

[58:30] on everything that's going on as the information comes to you through and all

[58:37] is well. We're on schedule kind of stuff we can share with our residents.

[58:42] Thank you. That's all I have.

[58:46] » Any others? All right. The motion on the table then

[58:50] is to accept uh the recommendation to accept the apparent low bid from BEC

[58:59] construction at 4,60,350.

[59:04] Miss Medina, will you call the role? >> Mr. Steamy,

[59:07] » yes. >> Mr. Coleman,

[59:09] » yes. >> Mr. Walls,

[59:11] » yes. >> Mr. Lawhorn,

[59:13] » uh, yes. >> Mr. Hyatt,

[59:15] » yes. Malon. [clears throat] >> Yes. Mayor Krauss.

[59:18] » Yes. Motion carries unanimously. The bid is accepted and we'll start uh open the

[59:23] contract. >> Thank you.

[59:30] » All right. With that, we are now going to the uh Chief Mickel Show. And uh

[59:35] right, we're going to go through several memorandums of agreement. And while I'm

[59:40] talking, I'll make the motion to accept the first one to uh accept the

[59:43] memorandum of agreement with the Children's Advocacy Center.

[59:48] » All right. You got that, Mr. Medina? >> All right. Thank you. And the reason

[59:51] there's so many of them, it's uh some some of these are a year or every two

[59:56] years and so after the fiscal year ends and these start coming up coming up. So

[1:00:00] probably have a few more in the next month or two as well. And then uh and

[1:00:05] then we also have some of them we use that just carry over for long periods of

[1:00:09] time. You won't see those in my stuff as a change. So this one here is the child

[1:00:14] recovery center. We use child recovery center. Um it's basically a

[1:00:18] multi-disiplinary investigative uh team protocol. So whenever we're are doing

[1:00:24] investigations involving children um we use this center. they have experts that

[1:00:28] um for interviewing and resources and stuff for our detective or investigators

[1:00:34] when they're investigating child crime such. So it's best practice and practice

[1:00:40] every everywhere I've ever worked across the country. Uh child advocacy center,

[1:00:44] child recovery center, whatever they call them. Um

[1:00:48] you really have to use these to do child investigations

[1:00:53] to be successful. Um, again, there's there's no cost. So,

[1:00:57] um, other than pretty much all these we're going to talk about today, there's

[1:01:01] no cost to the town.

[1:01:05] » All right. Any, uh, questions for Chief? >> I have one,

[1:01:08] » Mr. Hi. >> Is this like a children's shelter? Is

[1:01:11] this where we take kids that are found? >> No, it's not a shelter. So, it's an

[1:01:15] investigative tool. So the child is a victim of a crime,

[1:01:19] » instead of interviewing the child >> at the scene and with an investigator,

[1:01:24] » the child can sneak into the advocacy center where there's

[1:01:26] » Yes. >> child experts. Um

[1:01:29] » I know exactly what you're talking about.

[1:01:30] » Yeah. They do the forensic interview, provide the evidence stuff.

[1:01:36] » If there's no cost, who does pay for their services? Um, I think they're

[1:01:41] probably um grants and governments and um,

[1:01:48] » yeah, I mean, private funding probably. There's they probably have so many

[1:01:51] different avenues of funding, but but it doesn't there's no cost.

[1:01:55] » Okay. Okay. Um, and and kind of like our discussion uh, with the juvenile center,

[1:02:02] I I mean, it just we can't deal with these effectively on our own. So, you

[1:02:07] just it's just help for your staff. >> Correct. Yeah.

[1:02:10] » We couldn't do we couldn't do the child a legitimate child victim investigation

[1:02:15] lab. >> All right. Thank you.

[1:02:18] » Any others? All right. Then the motion on the table

[1:02:22] is to accept the memorandum of agreement on the uh children's advocacy center.

[1:02:29] Mr. Medina, will you call the role? >> Miss Fallon?

[1:02:31] » Yes. >> Mr. Hyatt?

[1:02:33] » Yes. >> Mr. Lawhorn?

[1:02:34] » Yes. >> Mr. Walls? Yes,

[1:02:36] » Mr. Coleman. >> Yes,

[1:02:37] » Mr. Stman. >> Yes,

[1:02:39] » Mayor Kramp. >> Yes. Motion carries unanimously. Um,

[1:02:42] I'll request a motion for the next one. >> Mr. Mayor,

[1:02:46] » Mr. Motion to approve memory

[1:02:52] of agreement with the United States administration

[1:02:57] and the source. >> Second.

[1:03:00] » Okay. Yeah, this this one um again the only thing that would cost money on this

[1:03:05] one is just what we're paying an officer to be involved in the task force as a

[1:03:08] regular salary. So there's no extra cost um to this one. And really this one

[1:03:13] again is is a little different just because it's it's marked law enforcement

[1:03:16] sensitive. I think I provided a briefing paper for everybody, but that one's not

[1:03:20] included in the public document. Um so doesn't mean it's not foyable. It

[1:03:26] just means that um if somebody want to look at it has to go through the foyer

[1:03:29] process. we'd have to work with DEA to redact anything that's exact for um so

[1:03:35] basically this really just puts us allows us to be on the DEA task force to

[1:03:40] utilize DEA um programs um I'm sorry DEA um resources and to work closely with

[1:03:47] them um as well um I'll kind of go through it real quick just where it

[1:03:52] really is an assign it to be assign police officer parttime the DEA task

[1:03:56] force um it allows that to participate title drug investigations task force

[1:04:00] operations. It allows us access to federal investigator resources and

[1:04:04] support. Um it's a coord it's coordination

[1:04:07] between the town and the DEA. Um it also tell spells out the responsibilities

[1:04:12] [clears throat] of the and obligations of the town and the DEA in in this

[1:04:16] contract in thisou and it uh allows us to participate in federal asset forfeite

[1:04:22] and equitable sharing activities uh when assets are seized by the DEA and our uh

[1:04:27] joint investigations. Um

[1:04:32] this is a standard uhou between any every municipal agency

[1:04:38] that DEA works with. Um uh all the other jurisdictions that are

[1:04:44] on the VA task force in order county and the state have the same exact uhou and

[1:04:50] it's pres and most you often they are approved through the same process where

[1:04:55] just explain to the council what theou entails and

[1:05:01] so this is the reason that because DEA marks it law enforcement sensitive it's

[1:05:05] their document and that's why a little different than the

[1:05:11] Go ahead. Any questions, comments? >> Yes, Mr. Mayor.

[1:05:14] » Go ahead, Mr. Stamy. >> We've always

[1:05:18] participated in this. >> I wouldn't say always. I think it's been

[1:05:21] on and off, on and off. Um, and then this last we did it last year and then

[1:05:26] this year. Uh, this is an annual one where DD wants it every year and so it

[1:05:30] came back across my desk and I think it's very important that we do

[1:05:33] participate. I think um it's very proactive of us to be able to deal with

[1:05:39] large investigations where the drugs are coming into town for us to be

[1:05:43] shortsighted and just work our two square miles drug cases I think isn't

[1:05:46] really going to help us out and a lot of the sources flyer outside of our

[1:05:50] jurisdiction. So we would be it's it just behooves us to have an off one of

[1:05:55] our officers involved in that to be able to take those investigations further.

[1:06:01] » Mr. Mayor, >> Mr. Coleman. So you mentioned part time

[1:06:06] because in the past we had a detective that it's all you did. That's not going

[1:06:12] to be that. >> No. No. And I should follow that is

[1:06:15] every every and I guess you're going to talk be two others we're going to talk

[1:06:19] about too and this is applicable to them is um we only participate in this stuff

[1:06:24] when Surfside Beach is is secondary. Surfside Beach is our primary our

[1:06:30] primary responsibility. So if we are participate in any of this, it's because

[1:06:34] um we have we have sufficient staffing for everything else. Everything else is

[1:06:40] is a priority. There's patrol staff. Everything's staffed and these are

[1:06:45] supplemental. They just help us to do better. Not Surfside Beach is always a

[1:06:50] priority. We never go participate in any other task force or help other agencies

[1:06:56] unless we know that we are fully staffed, ready to go. Always a priority.

[1:07:02] So, so yeah, you participate part-time as available. There's often times, you

[1:07:07] know, DA will call and say, "Hey, can you come and and and the officer

[1:07:11] assignment will have to say, "No, I can't do that. I have this going on

[1:07:15] cover shift and I have to do that." So, >> the benefit is that they'll share

[1:07:18] intelligence with us. >> They share a lot of intelligence with

[1:07:21] us. They share. So, let's say we have a case. Instead of having to pull guys off

[1:07:24] the roads and investigate a case, our guy in the task force calls the team

[1:07:28] that he's assigned to and they send all their people. And so it's a free

[1:07:31] resource. We get the better end of this deal. I can guarantee you that.

[1:07:34] » That's what I'm trying to get out of it. >> Yeah.

[1:07:36] » This is a win for us. >> Yeah. We put in a part-time guy that

[1:07:38] works a few hours here and there and we get hundreds of hours of resources and

[1:07:43] we come out on top on this one. >> And we have 23. As of right now, we have

[1:07:48] 24 asset forfeite cases pending. Um, so you know, I don't know how that'll end

[1:07:53] up, but um, you know, this officer worked a significant case with a lot of

[1:07:57] resources that were seized and um, so we we we foresee a significant

[1:08:04] portion of that fund of those passports or funds coming to our department.

[1:08:10] » Are they are they uh designated

[1:08:15] federal agent at all? >> Yeah. So part of that is they do get

[1:08:18] crossworn with DEA and they get Title 21 is the federal statute that covers

[1:08:24] controlled substances. So they uh did the officer had to go to training kind

[1:08:28] of cross-certified by DEA sworn in uh I think the attorney's office and um have

[1:08:36] federal authority the DEA agent. Now it's limited to that title 21 cases.

[1:08:40] they have to work specific cases that fall within that title that US code and

[1:08:46] again even deated every case that this officer works has

[1:08:50] some sort of a nexus to our town. So we've decided that drugs coming in here

[1:08:55] we able to connect it to this organization that's wherever um so we

[1:08:58] are not just out there running around playing uh drug cop that has nothing to

[1:09:03] do with our town >> Mr. Mayor.

[1:09:05] » Okay I wanted to Mr. Coleman. >> Um, yes, that was the question I was

[1:09:11] going to go for. He's not going to get our our part-time officer is not going

[1:09:16] to get a call because something's going on in Ory County, for instance, unless

[1:09:20] it has something to do with us. >> Well, most of the cases that he's

[1:09:24] working are going to have a nexus. Now, if another someone on his team has

[1:09:27] another case and they say, "Hey, I need him next for surveillance." And he's

[1:09:31] available, maybe they'll go help just like they would for us. So, it's really

[1:09:35] it's just a sharing of resources. And like I said before, we're getting the

[1:09:38] better end of this. >> Okay. And and but that could also happen

[1:09:42] on one of our cases. >> He's the or I guess what I'm saying when

[1:09:46] he's the case agent on any case where he's the main agent doing he's the lead

[1:09:49] investigator. Those cases have a nexus to our town. Now he may help out other

[1:09:54] jurisdictions or agencies with their cases as well, but he won't be the lead

[1:09:57] investigator. >> And and likewise, we could get somebody

[1:09:59] from Ory County, somebody from whatever. Okay. All right. I I just

[1:10:05] wanted to clarify that. All right, Mr. Walls, I think you want to

[1:10:08] » I just I did want to also bring up for the good of the order uh how our

[1:10:14] relationship here had to do with during my short term on council. We've had two

[1:10:20] major buss in this town which you never would have thought

[1:10:27] the size of our town such uh was de was our relationship with DEA

[1:10:34] involved in us helping helping us to find and make this bust.

[1:10:41] » Yeah. And some of the reason some of this is a is is a control document is we

[1:10:45] can't get into a lot of those techniques and how that occurs. But the EA has

[1:10:49] helped us with some of our cases in the past and

[1:10:53] » we try to identify these organizations and that are bringing that this stuff

[1:10:59] bringing narcotics to our our communities and we try to investigate,

[1:11:03] dismantle, disrupt those organizations long before they

[1:11:06] » and that as a resource helps us, right? >> We couldn't do it without

[1:11:10] » right. Okay. Thank you, >> Mr. Mayor.

[1:11:14] » Mr. Hi, >> Chief. Whenever I hear asset forfeite, I

[1:11:18] get a little bit concerned. If if uh we have an asset forfeite in our town from

[1:11:24] a citizen, is there a viable um appeals process that they can utilize if they

[1:11:31] feel they've been unfairly treated? >> So, there's two there's two uh avenues

[1:11:35] for asset force, which would be through the state or through the federal

[1:11:37] government. These are DEA. These are all federal so they have to go through the

[1:11:40] federal federal process and they have a quite an extensive due process uh goes

[1:11:46] through the course. Okay. And then also for the state level if we did a state

[1:11:50] level asset forfeature it also goes through the courts. It's actually the

[1:11:55] county solicitor's office contracts out a third party to represent us and and

[1:12:02] the uh defendant also has counsel. >> So it's not an extrajudicial. No, it's

[1:12:08] not an administrative process process at all.

[1:12:10] » Thank you.

[1:12:14] » All right. With that, uh the uh motion on the table is to accept this

[1:12:19] memorandum of agreement with DEA uh as presented. Madina, will you call the

[1:12:25] role? >> Mr. Sty,

[1:12:27] » yes. >> Mr. Coleman,

[1:12:28] » yes. >> Mr. Wall,

[1:12:29] » yes. >> Mr. Lawhorn,

[1:12:31] » yes. >> Mr. Hyatt,

[1:12:32] » yes. >> Miss Fallon,

[1:12:33] » yes. >> Mayor Craft,

[1:12:34] » yes. Motion carries unanimously. Gary Owen.

[1:12:37] » All right, the next one I believe is Carolina and it's really gonna be I'm

[1:12:43] sorry. I want a motion. >> I'll make a motion.

[1:12:48] » Go ahead, Mr. >> Uh move to approve the memorandum

[1:12:52] agreement with Coastal Carolina.

[1:12:57] » You got a second there, Mr. Medina. >> Mr. Hyer then either one either one

[1:13:04] proceed. So, these next two are very similar uh in nature. Uh this one,

[1:13:09] Coastal Carolina. Again, I just want to reiterate that when we enter into

[1:13:13] theseUS to give uh mutual aid or to help other agencies, other things, it's only

[1:13:17] when we're fully staffed and we're not we're not skimping on our protection and

[1:13:23] our our duties here in town. Um so, this one's for Coastal Carolina and uh they

[1:13:29] have it's coming up football season and they need help um at their events. So

[1:13:33] they reach out to all local law enforcement agencies and enter into

[1:13:36] anou. Um so and it's really specific for the event. So you know it's not like our

[1:13:41] officer going to be running up at Coastal Carolina running traffic ticket

[1:13:44] to Coastal Carolina. No, they're really only going there for the specific event

[1:13:47] to help supplement their law enforcement needs there. And so and again they pay

[1:13:52] our officers. So if they call and say, "Hey, we need help at a football game."

[1:13:55] We put up a roster say anyone who's off if you want an overtime opportunity. Um

[1:14:00] great. We're not going to pull people off the road. We're not going to, you

[1:14:04] know, take away resources from the town. It's just an overtime opportunity for an

[1:14:07] officer who's off to go up there, sign up, and go up and work the football game

[1:14:12] and supplement them. And they pay that overtime rate to the town. We pay the

[1:14:17] officer. >> Questions, comments?

[1:14:21] » I got a question. Mr. [clears throat] H. >> Uh, travel time that's not paid. I

[1:14:25] understand by reading this. Do they take the town own car? They take their own

[1:14:30] car. How? >> They'll take from their house or

[1:14:33] wherever they're coming from. If they're coming from work or they get off,

[1:14:35] whatever they're coming from here or their house, they would drive there.

[1:14:38] » Okay. But there's no compensation for the time that they're in transit.

[1:14:42] » No. >> Okay. No. Thank you.

[1:14:46] » Um by signing this or or you know approving this um it goes both ways,

[1:14:52] right? >> Yeah. So that's that's a great point.

[1:14:55] So, let's say that we get to the I mean, we might have an event or two here in

[1:14:59] town once in a while and uh [clears throat]

[1:15:02] and [laughter] let's say we get to a point we're like,

[1:15:06] hey, you know, we're going to need some extra coverage here, you know, the way

[1:15:09] we, you know, way we're going, we're getting extra, you know, our bets are

[1:15:12] getting pretty big. We're getting a lot of attendance. So, um or if we have a

[1:15:15] staffing crisis or, you know, whatever, we'd say, "Hey, we're going to need some

[1:15:18] help." Then I would send anou to them and say, "Hey, remember when I helped

[1:15:21] you with the football game? I need two or three officers for you parade or

[1:15:26] whatever. So, and they would be more than happy to jump in. So, yeah, it's it

[1:15:29] does go both ways. If we decide that we need extra help and we'll just we'll do

[1:15:33] the same thing with an and the reason we do these is that's how the it's

[1:15:38] structured in South Carolina. jurisdictions are in our jurisdictions

[1:15:41] and for us to do to work outside of our jurisdictions, we state law requires

[1:15:45] that we have an e. >> Okay. But this one here is not we would

[1:15:50] have to issue our own back to Coastal Carolina or is this one automatically

[1:15:55] getting us both ways? >> No, this one is specific to the event of

[1:15:59] Coastal Carolina. So, and the next one you'll be specific to that event as

[1:16:02] well. So, so the scenario you said we would actually you'd bring one forward

[1:16:07] two where we are reaching out to them >> and state law does allow us to have

[1:16:11] mutually aid for emergency response. So if there was an active shooter and they

[1:16:15] requested assistance we that's separate from this.

[1:16:19] » Okay. All right. Thank you. Anybody else?

[1:16:25] All right. Then the motion on the table is to approve the uh memorandum of

[1:16:29] agreement with Coastal Carolina University. Miss uh Medina, will you

[1:16:33] call the role? >> Mr. Fon,

[1:16:35] » yes. >> Mr. Hyatt,

[1:16:36] » yes. >> Mr. Lawhorn,

[1:16:37] » yes. >> Mr. Walls,

[1:16:38] » yes. >> Mr. Coleman,

[1:16:40] » yes. >> Mr. Stam,

[1:16:41] » yes. Mayor Press, >> yes. Motion carries unanimously. Let's

[1:16:44] bring it home. >> All right. Then the next one is uh for

[1:16:48] City of Conway. >> Yeah. Yeah.

[1:16:53] » I'll do it. >> Okay.

[1:16:54] » Uh make a motion to approve the memorandum of agreement with the city of

[1:16:57] Conway as written. >> Oh, sorry.

[1:17:01] [clears throat] >> All right. So the same thing as before,

[1:17:02] this is event specific. Uh their hall their events are growing as well and

[1:17:06] they they've decided their Halloween event is uh requested some extra

[1:17:10] staffing. So um they have asked if we would be willing to provide some

[1:17:16] additional resources to them during our Halloween event. And so this is again

[1:17:20] specific to that event. And again, I just want to, you know, if nobody signs

[1:17:25] up, we don't sign anybody. I'm not going to make anybody go. This is just an only

[1:17:29] time opportunity for for officers and cost us nothing.

[1:17:34] » Questions, comments. >> Mr. Mayor,

[1:17:37] » Mr. H. >> Chief, I would assume that other

[1:17:40] agencies they make these own like Myrtle Beach and other places make

[1:17:47] memorandums of understanding with Conway as well.

[1:17:51] » So, I attend the chief chiefs and sheriff's meeting. That's when these are

[1:17:54] brought up. And at that meeting they say, "Hey, we're gonna send this out to

[1:17:58] all of you guys so every agency in Orange County can receive that."

[1:18:01] » Very good. Thank you, >> Mr. Mayor.

[1:18:03] » Mr. Coleman. >> Um, does this mean also that they'll

[1:18:07] help us out too if we have an event? We needed people.

[1:18:09] » Yeah, I would have to send anou. >> Yeah, I have to send Yeah, it's not

[1:18:14] this. If you read this, this is them asking us for assistance and to give us

[1:18:19] jurisdiction for that event only. >> Okay.

[1:18:22] um bike week and stuff like that. We have any

[1:18:27] » so during bike week we bring in state agencies that we already have existing

[1:18:30] with or don't need us with and they come and supplement us during bike week. Um

[1:18:35] you know these agencies are have their own bike week issues. So they're not

[1:18:39] going to other jurisdictions but >> do we we pay other agencies?

[1:18:44] » We do not pay the state agencies. They they absorb the cost. We pay for their

[1:18:47] um I think we pay for their lodging and we don't pay for their

[1:18:52] » Thank you. >> Any others?

[1:18:56] » All right. The me uh motion on the table uh is the uh approving the memorandum of

[1:19:02] agreement with the city of Conway. Miss Padina, would you call the role?

[1:19:05] » Mr. Sty, >> yes.

[1:19:07] » Mr. Coleman, >> yes.

[1:19:08] » Mr. Walls, >> yes.

[1:19:09] » Mr. >> Yes.

[1:19:11] » Mr. >> Yes.

[1:19:12] » Miss >> Yes.

[1:19:14] » Yes. Motion carries unanimously. Thank you, chief.

[1:19:17] » Thank you very much. Appreciate you guys. Thank you.

[1:19:19] » All right. We are now at public comments.

[1:19:23] » Public comments on town services or business conducted. Are there any

[1:19:27] comments?

[1:19:31] » I want to make a comment. >> Wow.

[1:19:33] » Because I forgot to put this on the agenda and I was reminded today by one

[1:19:37] of the councilman. So, uh, this is for the public. So, I think it's

[1:19:41] appropriate. I just want to announce our citizens police academy has been

[1:19:44] scheduled starting November September 24th through November um on there.

[1:19:50] » I don't know I don't know what it is but I had it on my list.

[1:19:52] » Yeah. Okay. Great. So I just want to announce every way that we are looking

[1:19:55] for we have 12 openings. I think we've received four or five applications so

[1:19:59] far but we really want to fill up our system police academy this year. So, if

[1:20:03] you're interested in coming hanging out with us for two hours every week on a

[1:20:07] Thursday evening to not only learn about what we do, but also experience it, um

[1:20:12] we'd love to have you and we just like to showcase what we do and show show you

[1:20:16] what your police department's all about. So, uh if you are interested, you can go

[1:20:20] on our uh Facebook page or you can go look on the uh town's Facebook and our

[1:20:25] Facebook and it has a flyer detailing how to apply for the CIS.

[1:20:30] You didn't introduce yourself. Uh, Bill Ml.

[1:20:34] [laughter] >> Thank you,

[1:20:36] » Steve. >> Yeah. After four times, I guess we

[1:20:40] should have got that down. Are there any other public comments?

[1:20:45] » All right. Then we're going to move into council comments. Comments. Uh, I'm

[1:20:49] going to start with Mr. Lawhorn. >> Okay.

[1:20:53] » For me? >> Yeah. Well, um, I try to keep everybody

[1:20:56] on. So, at the risk of of being a dead horse, I just back to this issue of the

[1:21:01] the change requests, um I I I fully understand that if it goes above budget,

[1:21:06] the it has to come back to council for approval. No question. Understood that.

[1:21:10] My concern is generally there are mustave change requests and there are

[1:21:16] nice to have general change requests. I'm concerned about the scrutiny on the

[1:21:22] nice to have. I'm not as cons I mean if it's must have we have to do it and my

[1:21:26] concern is if we eat up that contingency of things that are nice to have and then

[1:21:31] a mustave thing happens few months later then we spent the money and and

[1:21:37] hopefully we did the requirements well enough to where there won't be this

[1:21:40] won't be a big issue. That's my hope but my experience is that never tends to

[1:21:45] work out that way. So that's kind of what I'm after. I'm I'm concerned about

[1:21:49] the things that might come up say oh yeah maybe we should do this um to

[1:21:54] ensure that we're actually scrutinizing those things cost and and the impact

[1:21:58] etc. So that's that's all with that. So uh second thing is there's a workshop

[1:22:03] next Tuesday I believe at 5:00 with the planning commission and the business

[1:22:08] committ commission or committee um to discuss further uh followup to a

[1:22:13] workshop we had earlier this year in which we were talking about ideas for u

[1:22:20] improving Surfside Beach for the future development etc the overlay so I would

[1:22:26] encourage folks to come if you're interested to to come to that it should

[1:22:29] be a informative this meeting. Um it'll give kind of a progress report and kind

[1:22:33] of where we're at and where we're going from here. So that's it. Thank you.

[1:22:38] » Thank you, sir. Uh Mr. Coleman, >> uh thanks for that one. Um I agree with

[1:22:44] Mr. Long. Nice to have maybe is the best thing to have. Must haves. Uh I think we

[1:22:51] should also look at that. uh especially with I don't even know what a dollar

[1:22:56] amount but there should be some kind of dollar amount that starts ringing bells

[1:23:00] off and stuff like that and before we get through the contingency

[1:23:06] we should know about it. I mean, sometimes you can do it a little bit

[1:23:09] cheaper if we're looking at it a little closer.

[1:23:14] And uh I'm just afraid we're just going to go and spend all our money before

[1:23:20] before it's time.

[1:23:24] So, I think it has to be looked at very closely. I don't want to see the same

[1:23:28] thing happen that happened with the Peter and that's we're talking about

[1:23:31] millions and millions of dollars. That's it. Thank you. Hey, thank you,

[1:23:37] sir. Mr. Walls, uh, thanks everybody for coming out. Um, I'll plug it again. Um,

[1:23:45] I I spoke of it a lot while I was going through the police academy and I'll tell

[1:23:50] you guys, for me as a council member, uh, very enlightening, great to know,

[1:23:57] uh, helped me with when it rolled around to budget time to understand better why

[1:24:02] they need what they need and how they use what they use. Um, but I would

[1:24:07] recommend it to anybody that just wants to know.

[1:24:11] You wouldn't believe how much goes into running running the police department

[1:24:16] for our little town. So, uh, highly recommend it. And, uh, having said that,

[1:24:21] I'll see you guys in a couple weeks. Thank you.

[1:24:24] » All right. Thank you, sir. Um, Michelle, >> well, I want to say thank you to our

[1:24:31] fire department, police department, what they did to that one year old child.

[1:24:36] That's close to my heart. Um, another thing that's very close to my heart is

[1:24:42] the 911 Surfside Beach stairc.

[1:24:49] Um, we always need to remember,

[1:24:53] but we also need to share and educate with the younger generations. It's

[1:24:59] getting more and more that people weren't even born

[1:25:04] and it's our job to make sure we never ever forget.

[1:25:11] So, um, every year I get with my four grandchildren and my youngest is five

[1:25:18] and I I talk to him at his level and I do with the two teenagers and I make

[1:25:25] sure they understand how important the response

[1:25:31] America came together that day and we need to stay together and I think we can

[1:25:36] only do that through education. So, with that said, I'm loving this time,

[1:25:43] uh, 7:25, so I'm going to say good night.

[1:25:47] » All right. Thank you, uh, Mr. Hyatt. >> Yeah, I'd like to echo Sean's

[1:25:53] appreciation for the police and firemen and saving a life. That's pretty unique.

[1:25:58] And, um, you know, that's what most firemen and police officers hope to do

[1:26:03] in their career. Um, not all of them get the chance, and I'm glad these gentlemen

[1:26:07] did. Um, I'd [clears throat] like to kind of

[1:26:10] say something maybe more to the town, Jerry, but I would much prefer to

[1:26:15] approve a contract then per approve a presentation. When I get a packet, the

[1:26:23] presentation doesn't tell me much, but I would rather have a contract to look at

[1:26:27] and approve. Um, the details are in contracts. It's not in a sales

[1:26:32] presentation. So, I would have had appreciated tonight having had a

[1:26:36] contract to review in my back. Um, on the bid for Crein Associates, I realize

[1:26:44] [clears throat] that they're pretty good outfit and and we're going to have to

[1:26:47] trust them, but I'm a little chagr that, you know, safety records are pretty

[1:26:51] common. They hadn't done a safety record check. And I would have liked a contrast

[1:26:57] between the three lowest biders. As uh the mayor pointed out, there's about a

[1:27:01] 1% difference between the three lowest. It would have been nice to see what the

[1:27:05] other two had to offer, too. Um not just pick the lowest bidder. We've been

[1:27:11] burned picking the lowest bidder. I don't want to get burned again. Um but

[1:27:16] we will have a chance to review that contract, so that's a plus. So anyway,

[1:27:20] thank you all for coming and good night. >> All right. Thank you, sir. Uh Mr.

[1:27:24] saving. >> Well, I'm going to echo the same thing

[1:27:27] that the rest of the council members have said. Thanks to the police

[1:27:31] department, thanks to the fire department. A child's life is worth a

[1:27:36] whole lot of money, y'all. And if they if they're just one, they can save that

[1:27:41] was that's a great job. We [clears throat] well spent our money for

[1:27:45] what we've got if they save one life, one child's life. But with saying that,

[1:27:50] I would like to get to them a little bit pleasantly

[1:27:54] note that our in the season festival went off pretty

[1:28:01] well. We had a little hiccup at one time, a little lightning in the area. We

[1:28:06] had to halt everything, but overall it went well. Beautiful fireworks.

[1:28:11] Something the town is is getting known for. People's talking about it, and I am

[1:28:17] glad to see it. I'm glad to see that it's it's a positive instead of negative

[1:28:21] talk and uh I hope we can do better next

[1:28:26] year. There's some things that needs to be looked at and changed or maybe worked

[1:28:31] on. Not just change them, just need to be worked on and I think we'll take that

[1:28:37] up in the future. But with saying that, thanks everybody for coming and see you

[1:28:43] in a couple weeks again. >> All right. Thank you, sir. Uh it's early

[1:28:48] and I got a little list so sorry but I'm going to go through it. Um end the

[1:28:53] summer fireworks festival. I I wanted to start there. Um great show. Um for being

[1:28:59] only the second annual um I'm really pleased with how well it's going. So um

[1:29:04] you know I think it's delivering you know it's it's full promise. Um there's

[1:29:09] always room for improvement. I get it. But uh I'm I'm really pleased. 911

[1:29:13] memorial stair climb. I mean this is 25 years. So, um, even even more so, we

[1:29:19] should be there. Uh, Captain Kelly told me today, uh, that we surpassed the

[1:29:24] number of registrants from last year. Registration is still open till Thursday

[1:29:28] afternoon. You can do it online. Please do it. Um, I'm going to be there and

[1:29:33] climb it as long as I can. Um, for the whole time. We'll see how how far I go.

[1:29:38] Um, also this weekend, I mean I I we we need to spread some of these

[1:29:44] people out, I guess, but the Carolina Cup ProAm Surf Tournament is uh

[1:29:48] September 11th, 12th, and 13th. That is right uh in front of the Surfside Beach

[1:29:54] Oceanfront Hotel by Scotty's Bar. Um so there's that those surfers are good. I

[1:30:00] mean, you think, okay, we don't get a ton of surf, but they are good. Come out

[1:30:03] and see that. uh adaptive surf wheel to surf project is at 13th Avenue South on

[1:30:09] Saturday, September 12th. So that's mobility challenged surfers and again

[1:30:15] it's it's something to see. Um if you get a chance go down there if you don't

[1:30:20] have a chance it might be because you're at Celebrate Surf Side which is also on

[1:30:23] Saturday September 12th. And uh I get to lead off the dump tank. I don't know if

[1:30:29] anybody else is doing it, but uh if you want to throw me uh under the water, be

[1:30:34] there at 10 o'clock right when it opens. I I want the first spot. Um but all of

[1:30:38] those are are worthwhile events and uh worthy of attendance. Tomorrow

[1:30:44] uh I will be down in Garden City for the uh Army Corps of Engineers uh beach

[1:30:50] reourishment ribbon cutting and uh we'll have press conference and all that kind

[1:30:54] of stuff for interviews. Hopefully they don't ask me anything, but if they do,

[1:30:58] I'll be there. Uh, but the project was a great success. Um, you know, yeah, it

[1:31:05] came right in the middle of our season. We we didn't dial that in. Nothing we

[1:31:08] could do, but but uh very much needed and uh it should make a big difference

[1:31:13] and especially since it's going to stay here because it doesn't look like the

[1:31:16] storm season is going to be that uh busy this year.

[1:31:20] Uh [laughter]

[1:31:23] » I am saying what? >> Well, we'll see if I'm wrong. Um the

[1:31:29] economic development workshop definitely we we've been kicking around ideas for

[1:31:34] business 17 and even in the downtown um several uh people uh from the business

[1:31:41] committee planning commission the liaison and I and some staff went to

[1:31:46] Conway looked at everything Conway has done over the last five six years. Um,

[1:31:50] we're going to have the Conway city manager in here to speak to us and uh,

[1:31:54] we're going to kick around some ideas and we want uh, resident involvement.

[1:31:59] So, Tuesday 5 to 7, it will be worth your while to come down and and and uh,

[1:32:04] help us set the vision. Huckabe Park, they have over 200 registrates for the

[1:32:12] fall league. That's more than for the spring league. Um, as they like to call

[1:32:16] it, the new era at Huckabe is really taking form. Um the fields have been

[1:32:20] improved. Uh I think this is one of the best things we have done in the last

[1:32:24] year or so. Uh it's it's we're restoring a viable wreck league there. And uh you

[1:32:32] know, again, we should check it out during the fall. Police Academy. That's

[1:32:36] already been covered. Uh courthouse changes.

[1:32:40] I think Mr. Vincent is sensitive to what council thinks. I think he's going to be

[1:32:45] keeping us well informed. I don't think he's going to be running renegade on

[1:32:49] this and just uh approving things. So, I'm I'm pretty confident we're going to

[1:32:53] have our say. That's it. So, at least I went through it pretty quickly. Um with

[1:32:59] that, I need only one thing. >> Mr. Mayor, Mr. Walls,

[1:33:02] » like to make a motion that we adjourn this regular meeting of the general

[1:33:04] council. >> I'll second that.

[1:33:06] » Is there any discussion? >> All in favor?

[1:33:09] » I opposed. None. Motion carries. Meeting is

[1:33:14] » Wow, look at this y'all.

vid

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