February 9, 2026 — Regular Council Meeting

Reports & announcements

• Mayor's report — snowstorm. Mayor Suggs thanked the Public Works, Fire, and Police Departments for keeping services running and keeping everyone safe during last week's snowstorm. The city survived the bitter cold without any major issues.
• Myrtle Beach Regional Economic Development Corporation. Mayor Suggs represented the city at the annual meeting of the Myrtle Beach Regional Economic Development Corporation on January 8. The meeting was held in North Myrtle Beach with Chuck Sexton, CEO of Strategic Location Services, giving the keynote address on factors industries and businesses look for when choosing locations. Sandy Davis, CEO and President of Myrtle Beach Regional Economic Development Corporation, also gave a year-end review of 2025. The corporation's Industry Awareness class visited the Loris area on January 28 and toured several local industries; the class was welcomed to Loris and McLeod Loris Hospital provided lunch for them.
• Horry-Georgetown Technical College. The Horry County School District, our local schools, and McLeod Health held a meeting at the hospital on January 28 to further discuss a possible learning center or campus in the Loris area. Horry County Council members Danny Hardee and Mark Causey, along with Mayor Suggs, were in attendance. The college is still seeking community input, and Mayor Suggs encouraged citizens to complete any future surveys that may be received from Horry-Georgetown Technical College.
• Horry County League of Cities. The City of North Myrtle Beach will host the Horry County League of Cities meeting on February 19 at 6:00 pm. Any council member interested in attending was asked to contact city clerk Melinda Price or Mayor Suggs by Thursday, February 12.
• Morning with the Mayor. Administrator Neighbours and Mayor Suggs will meet with citizens at city hall on Thursday, February 19, from 9:00 am to 11:00 am. Citizens are invited to stop by with any questions or input, or just to say hello.
• Evening of Worship. Councilman Padgett will participate in a community worship and musical program, the Evening of Worship Event, presented by Reclaim Ministries. There will be two presentations: one at Tabor City Baptist Church on February 22 at 6:30 pm, and one being held on March 1, 2026 at Loris Presbyterian Church at 6:30 pm. The events will be broadcast on YouTube.
• Meredith Holmes — Influential People. Mayor Suggs congratulated the city's planning and zoning director, Meredith Holmes, on being chosen as one of B2B Grand Strand's 50 Most Influential People of 2025. Ms. Holmes was recently recognized at an awards ceremony for her contributions to the Greater Grand Strand community.
• Chamber of Commerce. Loris Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Samantha Norris apologized that she was unable to attend the last meeting. She wished everyone a Happy New Year and informed everyone that the Chamber of Commerce had to reschedule their annual board of directors planning meeting from January 31, 2025, due to inclement weather. Samantha stated she is excited about the coming year and hopes to be able to inform everyone at the next meeting of events as well as traditional events coming in 2026.
• Administrator's report — sewer & FEMA. Administrator Neighbours reported the sewer line manhole replacement project is in Phase 3 and should be completed by June 30. The auditor has been working on the 2025 audit, and upon completion the city will be current on its audits. She gave an update on the final two Hurricane Florence FEMA projects she is working to close out; one of the projects had been funded but never started, while another project had been completed but receipts were never submitted for payment. The difference between the two projects will be $12,968.00. A check will be submitted to FEMA in that amount, and all projects will then be completed and closed out. All the FEMA projects were during 2019–2021, which fell under the previous administration.
• Code Enforcement & Planning. Planning and Zoning Director Meredith Holmes presented her statistical report, which was not included in the packet. Ms. Holmes stated that the Board of Zoning Appeals meeting scheduled for February 10, 2026 had been cancelled as there were no pending agenda items.
• Fire. Fire Marshal Robert Rudelitch was not present at the meeting; however, he did have a written report included in the agenda packet for council.
• Police. Lt. Larry Williams reported that he did not have a written report due to the city's merging with the Horry County reporting system and some technical issues relating to the new system. The technical issues have now been resolved, and reports should be available next month. Lt. Williams reported that jury trials have been scheduled and the case load backlog has been reduced, with the docket going from 26 cases to 15 cases. A lot of training has taken place in the last three months, from FBI supervisor training to basic drug training and basic detective training. The police department received two new trucks at the beginning of February and are expecting three police interceptor utility vehicles by the end of March or beginning of April. Lt. Williams did request a Public Safety Committee meeting to go over some ordinances for clarification and possible updates.
• Public Works. Administrator Neighbours reported the Public Works in her administrator's report earlier in the meeting.
• Recreation. Recreation Director Woody Hinson presented his report. The last home recreation league basketball game will be held on Saturday. They will begin getting the fields ready for t-ball, baseball, and softball. Mr. Hinson reported that they did need more players interested in softball and urged everyone to ask potential players to sign up. The recreation department hosted an umpire and referee clinic and hopes to recruit new people interested in these positions.

Public & press comment