Sunset Beach council explains electronic-portal comments and says more RFPs for sanitation, grounds are coming

Erin Casenza, a Sunset Beach resident, asked council members whether emailed or portal comments submitted for agenda items are read aloud during the public forum and how the town responds to those submissions. "Do you get those and read those in this forum and then respond to them, or how does that work?" Casenza asked.

The interim administrator said submissions to the electronic portal do generate an automated receipt and are distributed to council but are not read aloud at the public forum. "Anything that's sent through the portal is given to the town council for them to review," the interim administrator said, adding that portal items are summarized weekly and added to the official minutes so anyone can access them later.

The administrator also clarified how the town handles comments that require a departmental response: some portal messages are routed to the appropriate department head, who may reply directly to the resident. "Sometimes comments are directed to an individual department," the administrator said, and those are forwarded so the department can respond.

Casenza also raised questions about two requests for proposals on the agenda — sanitation and grounds maintenance — and whether a contracted vendor would be expected to retrieve items left on the beach after sunset. The interim administrator said the town issued the RFPs to assess whether contracting could save taxpayer dollars compared with the cost of town employees (hourly wages plus benefits). "If we can find a way to contract it out and save money, then I believe this council would vote for that," the administrator said.

On the specific question of items left on the beach after sunset, the administrator said that responsibility remains with the police. Police officers will continue to pick up items that meet the town's definition of "abandoned" after sunset; contracted vendors would collect those abandoned items the next morning. "That's the way it's been done since I've been here," the administrator said, noting that any ordinance change would come before the council for a vote.

The exchange concluded with the town restating that more RFPs are expected on future agendas as the council looks for cost-saving options.

The meeting also recorded a motion to adjourn that passed by voice vote.