Learning center on SC’s coast to close

BEAUFORT, S.C. (AP) — A learning center focusing on South Carolina’s beaches and coastal marshes will close this weekend after failing to receive accommodations tax money from Beaufort County Council.

The Beaufort Gazette reported the council on Monday failed to provide $3,000 in tax money to keep the Lowcountry Estuarium in Port Royal operating. The request for the money failed on a 5-5 vote.

Curator Bob Bender says there’s not enough money to pay next month’s rent and utilities so the center will close Saturday. Bender had initially requested $24,000 to give the center time to restructure – a request that was later reduced to $3,000.

He says the center will continue as an online operation, but will no longer be a brick-and-mortar location visited by tourists.

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Online: —http://www.lowcountryestuarium.org/

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Information from: The Beaufort Gazette, http://www.beaufortgazette.com