End of annual downtown rally leaves locals wondering about
holiday visitors
Local officials and businesses are in wait-and-see mode as the
normally busy Fourth of July weekend kicks off without an organized
motorcycle rally in downtown Hollister.
End of annual downtown rally leaves locals wondering about holiday visitors
Local officials and businesses are in wait-and-see mode as the normally busy Fourth of July weekend kicks off without an organized motorcycle rally in downtown Hollister.
“We’re preparing for an influx of people,” said City Manager Clint Quilter. “The police department is handling it differently than a standard weekend, but I can’t go into the details of that.”
The fire department will be doing its standard code enforcement duties during the weekend, watching for illegal fireworks. The Hollister Police Department will set up a DUI checkpoint on Friday night.
“Other than that, we have our normal on-call folks ready if needed,” Quilter said. “I think we have at least a reasonable idea of what goes on based on 2006,” the last time there was not a city-sanctioned rally downtown. “There’s not as much unknown as there was that particular year. I feel confident with the police chief’s and the staff’s preparation.”
Since February, the city has run a notice on its Web site noting that the City Council voted to cancel the Hollister Motorcycle Rally due to concerns over “spiraling expenses,” particularly related to law enforcement.
The notice also cited costs to the city associated with preparing for the rally, which has been an annual event since 1997.
“These expenses exceeded reimbursement by over $100,000,” according to the city Web site. “This left the city with a general fund expense at a time the city is facing severe cutbacks and spending down its general fund reserve. Facing the possibility of even greater expenses and further reduction of its general fund, the City Council voted to cancel the 2009 Hollister Motorcycle Rally.”
Roy Iler, operations lieutenant for the San Benito County Sheriff’s Office, said the department “is just going status quo.”
“We’ll be doing patrol checks at Bolado Park more often” for the Gypsy Tour Motorcycle Classic that starts Friday, Iler said, adding that organizers of the event have hired their own security. “We’ll be coordinating with them on and off throughout the weekend.”
The advance notice of the cancellation of the downtown event may discourage some bikers from visiting town, Iler said.
“We anticipate it’ll be less due to the fact that the city got word out that the event was cancelled,” he said. “Pretty much all the magazines and Internet sites related to motorcycles said that the event is cancelled. That should deter some people, but I still anticipate some people will drive into town to see what’s going on.”
The Bolado Park event, for which there is no admission charge – though parking costs $5 and camping is $20 per person, per night – will run Friday through Sunday from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. It will feature music, food and a car and bike show.
Brenda Weatherly, executive director of the Hollister Downtown Association, said she, too, will “just wait and see what happens” in the normally busy historic business district.
In recent years, tens of thousands of bikers and locals have gathered along San Benito Street and its side streets, gazing at motorcycles, buying commemorative T-shirts and listening to live music and enjoying food and drinks.
This year, “there are still the destinations where the bikers want to go,” Weatherly said. “The bars and restaurants that are open should do well.”
At last year’s rally, the total cost for law enforcement was estimated at more than $350,000, with $200,000 of that paid by the promoter, Horse Power Promotions. The city picked up the rest of the tab, not counting revenue from business licensing revenue.
Officials estimated that security costs for the non-sanctioned 2006 biker gathering exceeded $100,000, but that year’s rally was not cancelled as early as this year’s.
Much of the security cost at previous rallies is attributed to the overtime rate that the more than 100 officers from various local and state agencies were paid to patrol downtown.
For more on the Gypsy Tour revival, go online to www.freelancenews.com.
