黑料社入口

The resurrected pier committee in Surfside Beach found a much more receptive audience with the town council Tuesday night, July 9, than the previous committee received about a year ago.

Committee Chairman Dusty McCracken presented a litany of suggestions his committee came up with to bring more visitors to the new Surfside Beach Fishing Pier. All of the recommendations were passed by the council.

With the previous council, the committee, headed by now mayor Robert Krouse met such resistance that the council suspended the entire committee.

But Tuesday night, the council agreed with the committee on such things as establishing a loading zone for pier tenant vendors and putting swings under the pier.

The first suggestion was to place an ATM machine on the pier. McCracken said the town could share revenue from its use.

There will be a contest to come up with a logo for the new pier. The contest will last six weeks and the pier committee will narrow the entries down to the top three with the council eventually picking the winner. McCracken said the pier is the main landmark of the town and having its own logo will help with its marketing.

The council agreed to spend $2,500 on two swings that will hang under the pier giving visitors a place to relax in the shade.

For a long time, there was a volleyball net located on the beach near the pier. The council agreed to bring it back, opting to pay for having two poles and a net located in front of the hotel next to the beach.

One of the ideas bandied about since well before the pier was completed was whether or not to allow vending kiosks on the pier.

The council approved soliciting vendors for up to six kiosks to operate on the pier. The kiosks must be on wheels and no more than three feet by five feet. Public works director John Adair said FEMA classifies the kiosks as storage units which means they must be removed from the pier every night.

Each kiosk will pay $500 a month for rent, 1% of total sales and obtain a town business license. They must operate at least 40 hours a week.

A point of contention in previous meetings was how would fishing permits be handled after Perry鈥檚 bait and tackle shop closes each night. Perry鈥檚 sells the permits for the town, but closes before the pier does.

The council sided with the pier committee to allow fishing anytime the pier is open. If someone comes onto the pier after Perry鈥檚 closes, the town is relying on an 鈥渉onor system鈥� that the angler will return the next day to pay for the permit.

The idea of having a town store/visitor center on the pier drew the most discussion. Currently there is a small area used by public works employees that the committee suggested converting to a store/visitor center.

McCracken said the store wouldn鈥檛 recoup all of the expenses of building and operating the pier but it would help defray some of the costs.

Council member Shawn Fallon said having a welcome center would be good gesture from the town to its visitors.

The council voted 6-1 to have town administrator Gerald Vincent and his staff begin planning for the store and see if it is a feasible idea.