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Atlantic Beach council appoints interim town manager and police chief, approves contracts and schedules budget follow-up
Summary
At its April 21 special session, the Atlantic Beach Town Council appointed Titus Leask interim town manager and Joseph Cooper interim police chief, approved an accountant-services authority and awarded Bikefest cleanup and entertainment contracts (Gore recused on entertainment); council set a follow-up budget workshop for May 5.
The Atlantic Beach Town Council on April 21 appointed Titus Leask as interim town manager and approved the appointment of Joseph Cooper as interim police chief, carried several contract authorizations related to Bikefest 2026 and continued detailed budget work to a May 5 follow-up workshop.
The council unanimously approved the interim-town-manager appointment and the interim-police-chief appointment after motions by Mayor Pro Tem John David and seconding councilmembers. Council also authorized the town manager to approve an accountant services contract and voted to award a contract for town cleanup during Bikefest (May 22–25). The council approved an entertainment contract for Bikefest with Councilwoman Jacqueline Gore recusing herself from that vote.
On another item, Councilwoman Jacqueline Gore moved to reduce property-owner and vendor fees for Bikefest 2026 to 2025 levels; the roll-call record in the transcript contains inconsistent entries but the record states "The motion failed." The council also considered an intergovernmental Bikefest contract with Horry County but tabled that item for further discussion.
Town Accountant Kimberly Vinson led a budget workshop discussion at the meeting. She flagged an unexplained $140,000 labeled "other income" in the current budget and said auditors will begin work April 27; the council scheduled a dedicated budget workshop for May 5 at 5:00 p.m. to continue those discussions. Vinson also raised personnel-line questions and suggested some items may require executive-session or staff follow-up.
Votes at a glance: - Appointment of Titus Leask, Interim Town Manager — unanimous approval (Campbell: yes; Taylor: yes; Gore: yes; Mayor Pro Tem David: yes). Outcome: approved. - Appointment of Joseph Cooper, Interim Police Chief — unanimous approval. Outcome: approved. - Authority to approve accountant services contract — unanimous approval. Outcome: approved. - Bikefest fee reduction motion (Councilwoman Gore) — roll-call recorded mixed votes in transcript; record states, "The motion failed." Outcome: failed (record indicates inconsistency in roll-call entries). - Ordinance No. 3-2026 (first reading) — approved on first reading by unanimous vote. Outcome: first reading passed. - Award contract for Bikefest cleanup (May 22–25) — unanimous approval. Outcome: approved. - Award contract for Bikefest entertainment — approved; Councilwoman Gore recused. Outcome: approved.
The council adjourned the special session at 7:35 p.m. and set a dedicated budget workshop on May 5 to resolve outstanding revenue and personnel questions.
