MOUNT PLEASANT — The South Carolina State Ports Authority, embroiled in a lawsuit over its former director’s severance package, this week retroactively voted on the nearly $1 million payout to Barbara Melvin but denied it did anything to violate state laws.
The maritime agency’s board of directors on Tuesday unanimously approved the severance deal Melvin received in August 2025 after she abruptly resigned as president and CEO.
The severance package had not been previously voted on in public, prompting a lawsuit by Frank Heindel, a retired Mount Pleasant businessman and long-time public records advocate…