Did political connections spur Santee Cooper gifting land for pet shelter? What we found

The Grand Strand Humane Society may soon get a free lease on state-owned land to build its new animal shelter, a sweetheart deal that may have been aided by a state senator’s longtime friendship.

Santee Cooper agreed in December to offer the 40-year gratis lease to the humane society for about 10 acres near Myrtle Beach adjacent to one its turbine stations near the Intracoastal Waterway. The proposal is subject to final approval by the state’s Joint Bond Review Committee, which is scheduled to consider the request at its meeting Wednesday.

Potential future neighbors of the shelter along Piedmont Avenue and Waterside Drive have voiced concerns about the project, including increased traffic and noise and decreased property values.

As part of their effort to oppose the lease, some of those neighbors filed open records requests with Santee Cooper, Horry County and Myrtle Beach seeking internal communications about the proposed shelter.

Those records, shared with The Sun News, show that Santee Cooper Vice Chairman David Singleton initiated the search last June for a suitable property at the request of Lindsey Rankin, the humane society’s president.

Singleton is longtime friends with Lindsey Rankin’s husband, state Sen. Luke Rankin — they grew up down the street from each other, according to Lindsey. Luke Rankin and Singleton are also partners in Columbus Farms Realty Holdings LLC, which Luke Rankin told The Sun News is a holding company for a tract of land purchased in 2005 in Columbus County, North Carolina.

Luke Rankin serves on the State Regulation of Public Utilities Review Committee, which oversees South Carolina’s public utilities. That includes Santee Cooper, a state-owned utility company that provides electricity to about 2 million people across South Carolina.

Singleton texted Lindsey Rankin in June that he had spoken with Santee Cooper President and CEO Jimmy Staton and the agency’s head of real estate services.

“IF we have a site that works for both parties think we can make something happen,” Singleton wrote, ending the message with a winky face emoji.

RankinSingleton text 1 by David Weissman on Scribd

Santee Cooper had an independent law firm conduct an investigation into neighbors’ allegations about a potential conflict of interest and found no violations, an agency spokeswoman wrote in a statement to The Sun News.

Lindsey Rankin noted in an interview with the newspaper that the humane society has been searching for a suitable property for more than three years, and she pursued the Santee Cooper property the same she would any other piece of land. She admitted contacting Singleton to initiate the process because she knew him well through her husband.

Conflict of interest?

Singleton wrote in an email to The Sun News that as a Santee Cooper board member representing Horry County, he looks for ways the agency can serve the public interest beyond providing electricity, and that sometimes involves asking management to consider requests that come to him from members of the community.

“I believe my involvement in the request from the (Grand Strand Humane Society) fully complies with my ethical obligations as a board member,” he wrote.

Singleton added that general counsel had advised against further comment because homeowners near the the proposed shelter site had threatened litigation. He didn’t respond to follow-up questions about his relationship with the Rankin family or if he ever initiated any other gratis leases Santee Cooper has granted.

Luke Rankin told The Sun News he purposely refrained from any communication with Santee Cooper regarding the animal shelter. Records from Horry County show he is the one who communicated in November with the county zoning administrator to obtain a letter stating the animal shelter was an approved use in the Limited Industrial zone, which is the zoning for Santee Cooper’s land.

A resolution passed by county council in December supporting Santee Cooper’s search for property suitable to the humane society was also sent to Luke Rankin, records show. County council rescinded that resolution in January after finding out the shelter was going to be built near a residential area.

Luke Rankin told The Sun News he frequently communicates with local government agencies on behalf of his constituents, and since the humane society is in his district, he assisted in getting the information from Horry County.

Rose Marie Johnson, who lives on Waterside Drive, said the records she and other neighbors obtained confirmed their suspicions that political connections were involved in this transaction. She added that these documents only represent the written record, and there’s no telling how many phone calls involved the parties.

John DeBerry, whose 90-year-old mother has lived in the house backing up to the Santee Cooper property for nearly 50 years, said he believes the records show a clear conflict of interest.

Neither Luke Rankin, nor Singleton should have been involved in any capacity, DeBerry argued.

Singleton did seek an opinion from Santee Cooper’s general counsel, Pamela Williams, in November about whether his personal relationship with Lindsey Rankin represented a conflict of interest, records show. Williams told him she did not believe one existed because he had no financial interest in the humane society and would not benefit financially from the gratis lease.

That opinion came months after Singleton had already asked Santee Cooper staff to seek suitable property for the humane society.

Surplus property or not?

Internal emails show Santee Cooper executives initially described two potential properties in Myrtle Beach, including the one eventually offered, as being used and unavailable.

“I do not believe either of these sites are worth offering up as they are not currently surplus,” Marty Watson, Santee Cooper chief commercial officer, wrote on June 22.

Lindsey Rankin then texted Singleton Aug. 18 a screenshot showing Santee Cooper’s parcel near the Intracoastal Waterway, records show.

“Forwarded for review,” Singleton responded, again adding a winky face emoji.

RankinSingletonText2 by David Weissman on Scribd

After discussions with Watson, Singleton then emailed Lindsey Rankin Aug. 28 that he does believe Santee Cooper could part with about eight acres at the property and advised her on how to move forward to get approval.

“Santee Cooper has a longstanding practice of providing gratis leases to appropriate community organizations for purposes of public good,” spokeswoman Tracy Vreeland wrote in a statement to The Sun News. “The Humane Society needs land to expand its care of animals in Horry County, and the intended use is consistent with Santee Cooper’s gratis lease practice and with the property’s zoning by Horry County.”

Vreeland added that the property is part of a larger tract that holds two small generating units and is not necessary for current utility operations.

Santee Cooper has granted 38 other gratis leases to entities including Clemson University, the Coastal Carolina Boy Scouts of America and the City of Hanahan.

Proposed animal shelter

The Grand Strand Humane Society has operated in its city-owned facility on Mr. Joe White Avenue in Myrtle Beach for more than 50 years, but employees were forced to move out in 2021 due to a rat infestation, according to previous reporting.

Lindsey Rankin said community support to help the nonprofit find a new location has been great, and they’ve raised nearly $3 million to build its facility.

She noted her staff and board members have met three times with the neighbors concerned about the shelter to try to address their concerns, and she shared with The Sun News an appraisal report that suggests surrounding property values won’t be impacted.

If the lease is finalized by the bond review committee, the humane society’s timeline includes beginning construction in Feb. 2025 and commencing operation Jan. 2026, records show. The facility would include a pet clinic, pet food bank and cat cafe.