Posted on June 7, 2018
By Anita Crone, South Strand News
Georgetown County voters on May 29 rejected an attempt to create a special tax district to dredge the main canal that runs from Marlin Quay Marina in Murrells Inlet to the causeway at Atlantic Avenue in Garden City.
Only nine of the 29 ballots cast favored the establishment of the tax district. About 50 people were eligible to vote.
Horry County voters who live along the canal will have the opportunity to weigh in on the question when they go to the polls on June 12. However, that election may be moot because boaters must travel through the Georgetown County section of the creek to meet deep water.
The grassroots effort to dig the 2.2 mile canal to a depth of 5 feet was spearheaded by Dredge SW. Members of the organization said the creek has been silting in, leaving some boat docks sitting in mud at low tide and some boaters unable to reach deep water safely except at high tide, if at all.
“We’re going to meet in the next several days to determine our next step,” said Ruell Hicks, a spokesman for Dredge SW. “We can’t go anywhere without funding.”
The cost of the project in Georgetown County would have been a maximum of $8.29 million spread over a maximum of 15 years. While only full-time residents of the affected area were eligible to vote, the cost would have been spread among all properties along the creek, based on the assessed value of the homes.
Approximately 25 Horry County voters who live full-time along the creek are being asked to approve a special tax district to raise $4.47 million according to the ballot question.
“While I’m pleased with the participation, I’m not pleased with the outcome,” Hicks said.
He said he did not know what, if any, action his group would take to pursue the project, no matter the outcome of the Horry County vote.
“At some point, the county and the state will have to step forward and take responsibility for maintaining state controlled natural resources for the enjoyment of the citizens. At some point, Murrells Inlet will silt in, and it will no longer be usable,” Hicks said. “And that will have an impact, not only on the residents, but the income on the county and state in generating revenue from tourism and from property taxes. This is a golden egg the state and county need to maintain, just like roads, the beachfront and any asset the state owns.”
While Cal Dent did not vote in the election because he does not live full time in the area, he was pleased with the outcome.
“I don’t need dredging. I have plenty of water,” he said. “I could have paid a lot less money and not have any water at low tide.”
Dent, who lives in Lexington, said it would have cost him an additional $6,000 a year in property taxes.
Source: South Strand News
