Hollister
– City and law enforcement officials detailed plans Monday
evening for keeping the peace and dealing with the influx of
thousands of bikers expected to parade their choppers up and down
Hollister’s main drag this July despite the city council’s decision
to cancel this year’s Independence Rally.
Hollister – City and law enforcement officials detailed plans Monday evening for keeping the peace and dealing with the influx of thousands of bikers expected to parade their choppers up and down Hollister’s main drag this July despite the city council’s decision to cancel this year’s Independence Rally.
Hollister Police Chief Jeff Miller said his department has already started conversations with the local Sheriff’s department, the Hollister-Gilroy California Highway Patrol, the Department of Justice, the Alcohol Beverage Control board and state parole agents to help out with policing this year’s canceled rally. However, police plans did little to quell the concerns of local residents. Dozens of locals have predicted that thousands of bikers, fueled by booze and boredom, could spell disaster for the city.
Miller declined to give specific numbers on how many cops would be on hand for the June 30 to July 4 weekend, but said his philosophy regarding the legendary event wouldn’t change.
“Welcome to Hollister,” he said. “Follow the rules and obey the laws.”
Miller said all city streets would remain open, unlike in previous years when bikers took over San Benito Street and several side streets were closed to traffic and set aside for vendors and entertainers. Local cops will patrol downtown streets on foot with help from CHP motorcycle officers, Miller said.
Miller also said all parking, traffic and safety laws would be strictly enforced, but that officers would not be overzealous.
“We will expect them to use discretion,” he said.
Police are also planning to have a special law enforcement unit on hand to deal with any civil disobedience, Miller said.
He said police are not expecting this year’s rally to bring the 1947 legend to life, when exaggerated news reports told a tale of hundreds of bikers marauding the city and terrorizing residents.
“In 1947 they only had a couple of cops on duty,” Miller said. “We will have more than that.”
City Manger Clint Quilter said private vendors working downtown would be expected to provide their own public bathrooms. City officials will also put out extra garbage cans and dumpsites downtown to prevent trash from piling up, Quilter said. Although plans for safety and sanitation are in progress, Quilter said the city would continually revise them as the un-official rally approaches. Quilter said law enforcement and sanitation facilities are expected to cost the city between $70,000 and $130,000 this year. Last year, when 120,000 bikers roared into town for the 2005 Hollister Independence Rally, the city had to shell out more than $360,000 in law enforcement bills, Quilter said.
Mayor Robert Scattini, one of two council members who supported the rally, was stymied by the price tag of the canceled event. Scattini said the police department did not budget for extra officers and law enforcement costs would be borne by the city.
Scattini said the city should have hosted an official, organized event to at least prevent a blow to the city’s general fund. Scattini said the city should hang a banner welcoming the bikers.
“It depends on who you talk to, everyone has different numbers, but personally I’m expecting a huge crowd this year,” he said. “They’ve been coming here for years without any formal event and there hasn’t been any problems.”
Several local residents criticized Miller’s rally plans during public comments at Monday’s meeting.
Resident Mark Maxwell called Miller’s rally plan an “obvious attempt on the part of law enforcement to do irreparable harm to future rallies.”
“(Police) know that if they write a bunch of tickets they will send a message that bikers aren’t welcome,” he said.
Bernie Rivers, owner of Whiskey Creek Saloon in downtown Hollister, said an unpleasant experience this year could badly damage the reputation of Hollister’s signature event.
“People will come this year to see what a nothing event is all about,” he said. “But after this year, they are never going to come back.”
Charisse Tyson, owner of motorcycle mecca Johnny’s Bar and Grill, said the city is ignoring its duties.
“I don’t want people to pee all over my walls,” she told the council. “I think we’re in for a big mess. Sticking your head in the sand and saying ‘we canceled the rally’ won’t help.”
Former Hollister Independence Rally Committee President Dave Ventura warned the 2006 biker invasion could “get ugly.”
San Benito County Sheriff Curtis Hill said his department would follow Miller’s lead during what he predicts will be a “dirty, rotten, stinking non-event.”
Hill said that even during the busy Fourth of July weekend, neighboring law enforcement agencies from Gilroy, Monterey, Salinas and Los Banos would be able to respond to any public safety emergency posthaste.
Gilroy Police department officials plan to have extra officers on duty during the busy rally weekend, said Public Information Officer Kurt Vardal.
“If Hollister is having a major riot downtown, we will help,” he said.
