Even though the fate of the this year’s Hollister Independence
Rally is uncertain at best, 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.
Hollister – Even though the fate of the this year’s Hollister Independence Rally is uncertain at best, 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 already filling up with reservations for the June 30 to July 2 weekend and innkeepers haven’t heard of many bikers canceling even though the city council hasn’t decided if it will hold a rally this year. Local business owners and law enforcement officials are also planning for a motorcycle invasion this year.
The Casa de Fruta RV Park has 300 spaces for recreational vehicles – and most of them have already been reserved for the rally weekend, said Andrea Farrell, a reservations clerk at the park.
“We’re getting pretty full for that weekend, everyone is still coming,” she said. “People call us almost everyday asking for news about the rally and most of them say they’re going to come no matter what.”
The City Council has delayed making a decision on whether to have a rally this year for several months and hasn’t yet found a group with enough money in the bank to organize the event. The council will be forced to either find an organizer or cancel the rally at its meeting on Feb. 6. City Manager Clint Quilter told the Free Lance last week that hope still remained for the event, but that time is short.
But not everyone seems to be paying attention to the council’s dithering. The dates for the 2006 Hollister Independence Rally are posted on dozens of motorcycle enthusiast Web sites with no mention that the event could be canceled.
As a result of the continued interest in the event, Eric Gebhardt, general manager of the 137 room Hilton Garden Inn in Gilroy, is planning for a packed house. Gebhardt is cautiously estimating that he’ll have between 200 and 250 guests over the rally weekend.
“We’ll sell out. We haven’t yet, but we will,” he said. “And 90 percent of the people that stay here that weekend come for the biker rally.”
The story is the same even at smaller local hotels, said Lety Radamen, manager of the Cinderella Motel on San Benito Street.
“Rally or no rally, the people are still coming here for the big party,” she said. “It’s the 60th Anniversary of the Boozefighters.”
The Boozefighters, a motorcycle club with chapters throughout the country, was established in 1946 and its members have made annual trips to Hollister almost ever since.
The nation’s most infamous outlaw biker gang, the Hells Angels, has also been attending the rally for many years, but legendary founder Sonny Barger hasn’t decided if he’ll make the long-trip this year to Hollister from his Arizona home.
“We are carefully monitoring what the city does and will later evaluate whether the rally will be sufficiently hospitable to visitors and vendors that we would attend,” said Fritz Clapp, a spokesman Sonny Barger Productions, via e-mail.
City officials also think there will be an influx of bikers, but just not in the usual 100,000 range. City Councilman Doug Emerson has been counting on bikers flocking to Hollister this year, but he’s guessing no more than 10,000 will show up if the rally is canceled.
“I expect people to come regardless, but I don’t think it will be the huge influx we’ve seen in past years,” Emerson said. “And if we’re not going to have an official rally, we need to have a plan in place for things like traffic and safety.”
The council’s decision will depend, in large part, on whether a group with enough capital and expertise comes forward with a responsible proposal to organize the rally before the next council meeting, Emerson said.
“If we don’t have a good proposal, I think we’ll have to cancel it,” he said.
Not everyone is waiting for the City Council’s decision. Hollister Police officials have already starting planning for both scenarios, said Capt. Bob Brooks.
Over the past few months, residents have warned the council that if it doesn’t plan for the event bikers will come anyway, have nothing to do and create problems for local police.
Brooks doesn’t know exactly what will happen this July, but he will be prepared.
“People are saying bikers are nice people if you throw them a party, but turn into criminals if you don’t,” he said. “However, until we get word that (the rally) is canceled, we’re planning for it.”
Brooks said the department has already started talking with its counterparts in nearby cities about additional police support, but declined to release numbers on how many cops he is expecting to have downtown this year.
“Either we’ll have enough to make a sure it’s a safe event or we’ll have enough to make sure it’s a safe non-event,” 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 has to pay for public safety at the 2005 rally.
Brett Rowland covers public safety for the Free Lance. He can be reached at 831-637-5566 ext. 330 or [email protected].
