As the City Council’s Feb. 6 deadline for making a decision on
whether there will be a Hollister Independence Rally this year
draws nearer, the fate of the rally hinges on one of two groups
stepping forward with a proposal to organize the event.
Hollister – As the City Council’s Feb. 6 deadline for making a decision on whether there will be a Hollister Independence Rally this year draws nearer, the fate of the rally hinges on one of two groups stepping forward with a proposal to organize the event.
About a month ago, two groups contacted the city separately with interest in taking over the rally, according to City Manager Clint Quilter, who declined to identify the groups because he said they have not submitted proposals. But If neither group submits a rally proposal in the next week-and-a-half, Quilter said he would recommend that the City Council recognize that there will not be a 2006 rally and direct the Hollister Police to come up with a plan to deal with the thousands of bikers who many say will rip into town over Fourth of July weekend regardless of whether their is a scheduled event.
Though there is still a chance that one of the groups will jump in and put together an event for 2006, time is growing short, Quilter said.
“When we met with them they were very interested,” he said.
But neither group, which separately contacted the city about a month ago, has been in contact with the city recently, he said. Quilter, said he would not speculate on the chances of one of the groups will step in and save the rally for 2006.
“But it’s getting awful late,” he added.
Mayor and steadfast rally proponent Robert Scattini said that if one of the two groups comes through with a rally proposal, he is confident that it will be able to put together an event for this year.
“It may not be a full rally like we’re used to, it may be scaled back, but there will be a rally,” he said.
If one of the groups doesn’t step forward in the next week-and-a-half, however, a 2006 rally is a long shot, Scattini said.
Councilwoman Monica Johnson agreed.
“If no one is willing and able to take the lead on it, obviously it’s not going to happen,” she said.
In November, the City Council voted 3-1 to terminate the Hollister Independence Rally Committee’s contract with the city to organize the rally. The majority of council members cited financial reasons – the 2005 rally stuck the city with a $360,000 bill to pay – when they voted to terminate HIRC’s contract, after that group had organized the rally for nearly a decade.
Since that time, the council has been hoping that a group would come forward with enough money and experience to organize a 2006 event that won’t be a financial strain on the city, which is struggling with an annual $3 million budget deficit.
Just weeks after the council terminated HIRC’s contract, former HIRC members Dave Ventura, Helen Nelson and Bruce Beetz formed Ghostrider Promotions and submitted a plan to organize a rally for this summer. Ghostrider proposed moving the rally out of downtown, charging a $10 gate fee and making it an age restricted event, with air shows, motorcycle races and wet T-shirt contests.
Though it projected more than a half-million dollars in profits for Hollister if the event was a success, council members were not thrilled by the Ghostrider proposal, which placed the burden of financing the rally on the city. Council members never had to make a decision on the proposal, however. Earlier this month, Ghostrider announced that it would not seek a contract for a 2006 rally. Ventura said that the group would not have enough time to put the event together, but he said that Ghostrider is interested in organizing a 2007 rally.
In December, a second group called the Hollister Rally Commission declared its interest in taking over the event for 2006. Hollister resident Marlon Moss, the group’s representative, presented the city with a HIRC-like proposal to keep the rally downtown. Quilter said the Hollister Rally Commission proposal was not taken too seriously because it was so similar to the HIRC model that the council voted to terminate.
Hollister Police Chief Jeff Miller said that his department has been concurrently planning on how it will deal with a rally, should one occur, and how to deal with people who show up if an event is not organized. 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, Miller said. However, he added those costs would be far less than the $360,000 the city has to pay for public safety at the 2005 rally.
“The expense is significantly less, that’s without a doubt,” Miller said.
Luke Roney covers local government and the environment for the Free Lance. Reach him at 831-637-5566 ext. 335 or at [email protected].
