Atlantic Beach has first meeting after mayor’s suspension

Monday night, Atlantic Beach town council held its first council meeting since Governor Mark Sanford suspended Mayor Retha Pierce.

The meeting was held at the Atlantic Beach community center and was attended by more than two dozen people.

Pierce was also at the meeting.  She walked into the community center during the public comment portion, about ten minutes into the meeting.  Several people stood up when Pierce walked in and many of them clapped as she waived and took a seat in the front row.  Also during the public comment portion, one woman told Pierce she still has many supporters in the town.

Councilman Jake Evans presided over the meeting and guided acting mayor Charlene Taylor and council woman Josephine Isom through the short agenda that did not contain any ordinances or actions that required a vote from council.

The meeting lasted about 30 minutes.

Taylor said she hopes the tone, pace, and business-like atmosphere of the meeting will set the tone for future meetings.  “So there’s no blowout or not a whole lot of disagreements and not a whole lot of stuff like that and talking just to hear yourself talk, we just got through the agenda.  We hope it will be calm enough that we can take care of business and go on and let people go home and not sit here and argue.“

Council member Donnell Thompson was not at Monday night’s meeting.