Without formal proposals by deadline, council’s hands are
tied
There will be no organized Independence Day Rally this year, but
there will be bikers, possibly as many as 10,000.
Despite the fact that the Hollister City Council doesn’t
officially make its decision until Monday night’s council meeting,
City Manager Clint Quilter explained that without any officially
submitted proposals there is no way that an organized rally can be
supported this year.
Without formal proposals by deadline, council’s hands are tied
There will be no organized Independence Day Rally this year, but there will be bikers, possibly as many as 10,000.
Despite the fact that the Hollister City Council doesn’t officially make its decision until Monday night’s council meeting, City Manager Clint Quilter explained that without any officially submitted proposals there is no way that an organized rally can be supported this year.
Still, bikers from across the country have made reservations at area hotels and are planning on driving their hogs up and down city streets this July. Hotels in Hollister, Gilroy and Morgan Hill are filling up with reservations for the June 30 to July 2 weekend and most hotels claim they haven’t taken many cancellations.
Law enforcement officials and local businesses are all planning for a motorcycle invasion this year and don’t seemed worried. In fact, some of the businesses anticipate they’ll be busier than ever.
Charisse Tyson of Johnny’s Bar and Grill expects that the San Benito Street bar, which is the unofficial “ground zero” at the annual rally, will be busier than ever. “I think we’ll definitely be busy, probably busier than usual, with the food for sure. And I think that without organized street closures, there may be some horrible traffic accidents between motorcycles and cars. In the end, I think it will end up costing the city.”
Bob Yant, owner of Enterprise Electric, said he doesn’t expect his business will have any problems, since they’re usually closed the weekend of Independence Day anyhow, but suspects that any fears that are circulating are unwarranted.
“Back in 1947, when they had the ‘riot’ here. People claimed there were 10,000 people here, but I think the majority of them were locals and the few bikers that were here kept mainly to themselves.”
Yant didn’t have feelings for or against the rally and said he didn’t anticipate there would be any major problems.
The Casa de Fruta RV Park has 300 spaces for recreational vehicles – and most of them have already been reserved for the rally weekend, according to a reservations clerk at the park.
The City Council delayed making a decision on whether to have a rally this year for several months and has yet to find a group with enough money in the bank to organize the event. Despite the fact that at least one member of the council – Mayor Robbie Scattini – is adamantly in favor of an organized rally, there is little choice in the matter. The council will not make a formal decision until their meeting on Feb. 6, but since the time to present formal proposals came and went without anything, Quilter told The Pinnacle that he doesn’t believe a rally will happen.
Apparently, the city needs to get the word out there, since the dates for the 2006 Hollister Independence Day Rally are posted on dozens of motorcycle enthusiast Web sites and in national chopper magazines with no mention of the fact that the event could be canceled.
Law enforcement officials will be prepared regardless, according to Capt. Bob Brooks of the Hollister Police Department. While Brooks would not cite specifics regarding how many officers they plan on having in town that weekend, he would say that the department is planning for both scenarios. He also said that Chief of Police Jeff Miller had previously gone on record as saying that he cannot guarantee the public’s safety at a rally this year since there have previously been problems between rival motorcycle gangs.
From a law enforcement standpoint, Capt. Brooks said that the city has been putting on the rally for nine years and all along, they’ve been hearing people tell them that 99 percent of the bikers who attend the rally are not lawbreakers, but lawyers and doctors and family-types.
“Then the same group turns around and says that if the city doesn’t have a rally they will have problems. The people that lambaste us for having too many cops are now telling us to watch out,” Brooks said.
However, as of today, since the police department has not officially heard that the city is canceling the rally, they are still proceeding as if the event was going to happen. “We’re planning for either contingency,” Brooks said.
If there is no rally, the city will still have to pay overtime for Hollister police officers who will be on duty over the Fourth of July weekend and possibly for room and board for officers from other jurisdictions if they are called in. However, those costs would be far less than the $360,000 the city had to front for public safety at the 2005 rally.
