$1.7 million in a-tax requests; $750,000 budgeted (update: City approval)

Flickr user Steve Lyon
There should be a "Battle Royale" wrestling match for the a-tax funds. Or maybe Thunderdome? We'll need money to promote the event though.

Update February 16, 2012: More than two months after the Accomodations Tax Advisory Committee submitted their recommendations, the City of Myrtle Beach has finally approved the allocations.

You can see the recommendations in our prior reporting below. The Sun News report on the City vote is heavy on text but light on new details. It's here if you'd like to peruse it. We ran a story about a major country music concert that had requested a large portion of the available funds and wound up getting absolutely nothing. Read our write-up here.


Update December 8, 2011: The Accommodations Tax Advisory Committee has completed their review of the accommodations tax requests and made their recommendations.

The committee made their decisions based on what request will get the most "heads in beds" for the money being spent with extra consideration given to non-profit organizations. Scroll down into the First Report to see what amounts were recommended for each group. The Claire Chapin Epps Family YMCA, First Presbyterian Concert Series, South by Southeast and Myrtle Beach Golf Holiday got the full amounts recommended. 

The Sun News took a closer look into the "Country Thunder" music festival that was asking for $200,000. Read more about that here.


First Report: The City of Myrtle Beach Accommodations Tax Committee will hold a public meeting for allocation requests on Wednesday, December 7 at 9 a.m. at the City Services building. The list of projects vying for a chunk of the budget is lengthy.

This buried story on The Sun News website says there's about 25 "regulars" on the list and last year the A-Tax Committee only handed out about $756,000. According to the current Accommodations Tax Advisory Committee chairperson, Mary B. Henry, they are planning to dole out about the same amount this year. It's a far cry from the nearly $1.7 million in requests on the agenda. This does not include the $3.9 million requested from the City of Myrtle Beach for public safety, water quality testing, and marketing.

This is a great way to see what people in Myrtle Beach are trying to do and what may be coming up next year. See the list of requests below (with links where possible) The full meeting agenda is on the City of Myrtle Beach website.

Atlantic Stage – $24,000 Recommended: $7,000
Promote Myrtle Beach through out-of-state advertising and marketing to increase visitors currently attending Atlantic Stage theatre productions and encourage them to see and recognize Myrtle Beach as a cultural destination.

Baseball at the Beach Tournament – $60,000 Recommended: $40,000
Promote Myrtle Beach through hosting exceptional baseball events that enhance the baseball programs for youth in our area.

Beach Ball Classic Tournament – $60,000 Recommended: $50,000
Provide a national tournament for Myrtle Beach that will bring national exposure through media such as; television, newspapers, magazines and the Internet.

Beach Run Invitational – $14,950 Recommended: $4,000
Promote Myrtle Beach through hosting a premier high school track and field event held in early April.

Carolina Master Chorale – $30,000 Recommended: $20,000
Professional quality performances of choral masterworks in concert, nurturing, and elevating the culture and climate of Myrtle Beach.

Children’s Museum of South Carolina – $90,000 Recommended: $40,000
Promote and increase attendance through the implementation of effective marketing strategies which will target tourists, as well as local community members and their visiting families. Funding will establish the Children’s Museum as an evolving attraction encouraging families to return to Myrtle Beach and view Myrtle Beach as a year-round family vacation destination.

City of Myrtle Beach – $3,960,268
$3,348,268 for additional public safety cost associated with providing for tourist population. $50,000 for specific public safety initiative – International Student Outreach $62,000 to assist with the cost of beach water quality testing and beach advisory postings. $500,000 for convention marketing and promotion.

City of Myrtle Beach – $140,937
Fifth year local match funding for the Reach Two Beach Renourishment project.

Claire Chapin Epps Family YMCA – $50,000 Recommended: $50,000
To assist in advertising, promoting and marketing of two major youth soccer tournaments that will bring thousands of youths and adults to the City to use hotels, restaurants, entertainment and services to benefit the economy.

Coast Futbol Alliance – $170,635 Recommended: $30,000
To promote Myrtle Beach as one of the premier destinations for youth soccer tournament events in the country, producing economic impact for the city during non peak-season months.

Coastal Uncorked – $80,000 Recommended: $60,000
Promote Myrtle Beach through hosting an annual food event celebrating the variety of culinary offerings. The event is designed to bring tourists to the area to experience cuisine as well as the many other amenities the City has to offer.

Coastal Youth Ballet Theatre – $24,000 Recommended: $10,000
Cultural enrichment of the Grand Strand area through dance education and training. Conduct community outreach programs in area schools to acquaint children about performing arts, dance in particular.

Country Thunder – $200,000 Recommended: $0
To promote, produce, and manage a country music festival in Myrtle Beach, SC for the first weekend in May, 2012.

First Presbyterian Concert Series – $12,000 Recommended: $12,000
To provide concerts by world-class performers at reasonable ticket prices for our community and tourists in order to increase awareness of the value of the cultural arts in uniting all people.

Franklin G. Burroughs-Simeon B. Chapin Art Museum – $120,000 Recommended: $70,000
Support of the Museum’s vital exhibition schedule thereby continuing to build our value as a recognizable tourist destination that broadens the overall image and draw of Myrtle Beach.

Gold Key Jazz Society – $150,000 Recommended: $5,000
To educate, entertain, and promote the cultural arts experience of jazz to a very diverse people from many walks of life.

Impact Ministries – $24,000 Recommended: $0
Recruitment of up to 1,000 mission team volunteers from across the Southeast for calendar year 2012 and coordinate local accommodations and project tasks, reaching more than 2,700 visitors and 300 residents through Myrtle Beach resort day camps, multi-housing day camps, beach visitor outreach, and owner-occupied housing rehab.

Long Bay Symphony – $70,000 Recommended: $50,000
By providing entertainment, education, and cultural diversity, the Symphony seeks to establish an attractive environment for regional, out-of-state visitors, as well as potential residents. The Long Bay Symphonic Society supports an extensive music education program for young people.

Mingo Bay Classic Baseball Tournament (Formerly Hawaiian Tropic Baseball Classic) – $20,000 Recommended: $10,000
The objective of this baseball tournament is to bring the very best high school teams from the northeast, mid-Atlantic, and Southern states to Myrtle Beach for the purpose of promoting and advertising the Grand Strand.

Myrtle Beach Golf Holiday – $40,000 Recommended: $40,000
The World Am has three objectives 1) Bring visitors to our area during a historically slow week, 2) Introduce new golfers and their guests to the Myrtle Beach area, 3) Provide an event that creates a “story line” for a broad range of media.

MB Film Festival – $20,000 Recommended: $5,000
The objective is to become one of the larger film festivals in the United States, to include industry networking, a film market, forums, screenings, and social venues, which will bring press.

North South Game Committee – $22,500 Recommended: $20,000
Increase attendance at events involved in the North-South all-star football game week at Myrtle Beach.

Ocean Front Merchants Association – $140,000 Recommended: $110,000
Advertising and promotion of Downtown Myrtle Beach and the weekly entertainment that will be scheduled throughout the tourist season.

Omar Shriners – $60,000 Recommended: $40,000
Advertising and promoting the Grand Strand, Myrtle Beach, as the location for two (2) Omar Shrine’s professionally judged BBQ Competition (Smoke on the Beach & Beach Boogie & BBQ Festival), in 2011.

Palmetto Havoc – $15,000 Recommended: $3,000
To promote and bring a national market of professional football to Myrtle Beach and the Horry County area.

Palmetto Studios Arts Alliance – $60,000 Recommended: $30,000
Promote Myrtle Beach through hosting a Comic book, fantasy, Sci-Fi and Horror Convention.

South Atlantic Shrine Associaton – $70,000 Recommended: $40,000
To promote the Myrtle Beach area as a destination retreat to members as well as holding SASA’s annual meeting, convention, parade, and competitions in Myrtle Beach

South by Southeast – $15,000 Recommended: $15,000
To expand and extend advertising and promotion efforts to near-by drive in markets of Wilmington NC, Florence SC and Charleston SC building membership and attendance.

The First Tee of Myrtle Beach – $28,000 Recommended: $15,000
To assist in the advertising/promotional and operational costs of the First Tee of Myrtle Beach Charity Golf Tournament. The First Tee of Myrtle Beach is a youth development program whose mission is to “Impact the lives of young people by providing learning facilities and educational programs that promote character development and life-enhancing values through the game of golf."

Waccamaw Arts & Crafts Guild – $36,000 Recommended: $15,000
Plan activities such as, but not limited to, scheduled free-of-charge educational programs, opportunities for artist to display their works, expanding service on the internet, community outreach programs, and providing faculty and forum where residents and visitors alike can interact, share ideas and gain information.