LONGS, SC (WBTW) – Horry County officials are discussing a planned development with nearly 1000 houses in the Longs area, but one Horry County councilman said public safety needs to be addressed first.
Councilman Paul Prince has been a volunteer firefighter for 53 years, and he said though there is a volunteer station in the Longs area, there needs to be a full-time station with fire and EMS services.
“A lot of the people that are going to be moving and buying in these areas, a lot of them are probably going to be senior citizens,” said Prince. “It’s going to require more EMS service and ambulance services than you’d ordinarily have.”
Captain Mark Nugent with the Horry County Fire Rescue said in 2017, they received about 900 service calls in the Longs area. Of those, he said 79 percent of them were for EMS-related issues.
“One thing we can’t do is stop growth in Horry County,” said Prince. “It’s coming one way or the other, so we have to be sure we get a handle on it as best we can.”
Prince agrees the developers of the land should play a part in helping pay for the public safety facilities necessary, but he also said there will need to be upgrades to the parks and recreation areas and waste management. “If we want a better county, better facilities and services, we’re going to have to pay for it,” said Prince. “I’m not a proponent of trying to raise taxes, but when you need something, you need it, and you need to go ahead and bite the bullet and get it done.”
“We need to go ahead and take care of these things now, so that the children and grandchildren won’t have these issues,” said Prince. He said he will continue this discussion at the next county council meeting on May 15.
