Hollister
– City Council members are anxious to begin discussions about a
possible city-sanctioned 2007 motorcycle rally using lessons
learned from last weekend’s unofficial Fourth of July biker event,
which drew thousands of bikers into downtown.
Hollister – City Council members are anxious to begin discussions about a possible city-sanctioned 2007 motorcycle rally using lessons learned from last weekend’s unofficial Fourth of July biker event, which drew thousands of bikers into downtown.
Mayor Robert Scattini, a staunch rally supporter, said he plans to form a rally subcommittee that would include City Council members, San Benito County Supervisors and local business owners by the end of July. The group would meet regularly throughout the year to figure out a way to make the annual biker invasion benefit the city, he said.
“Next year, we will have a plan in place,” he said. “It needs to be planned out so we can avoid what happened this year. I’m embarrassed, as the mayor, to have had this happen.”
The City Council voted 3-2 in February to cancel Hollister’s signature motorcycle event, citing financial concerns after being stuck with a $250,000 public safety bill from the official 2005 Hollister Independence Rally. While the total cost for this year’s canceled rally hasn’t been tabulated, it had been estimated that it would drain city coffers of between $70,000 and $150,000, according to City Manager Clint Quilter.
The Mayor said he would appoint himself and Vice Mayor Brad Pike to the rally subcommittee to represent the City Council. Scattini and Pike both supported holding a city-sanctioned rally this year.
Councilwoman Monica Johnson said she is open to planning a 2007 rally, as long as the city doesn’t have to pay for it.
“I want to sit down and look at all the options that will make this work for our city,” she said. “If (the rally) doesn’t get sanctioned again next year will more people come or less? We don’t know. But from a city perspective it would be way more beneficial to make this pay for itself.”
Johnson, one of three council members who voted to cancel the event for 2006, said she hopes something can be worked out for next year that will ease the financial burden of the annual rally on the city.
“If the community really wants a rally next year, I’ll be there to support it,” Johnson said. “But it needs to pay for itself.”
Johnson said she has heard a host of ideas from neighbors on both sides of the rally debate, such as holding the event once every five years or finding a conglomeration of sponsors that will organize and pay for the rally.
County Supervisor Jaime De La Cruz said he was also interested in a subcommittee that could plan a rally that would benefit Hollister and the rest of San Benito County.
“The city spent a lot of money and local business lost money. The city dropped the ball,” he said. “We need to make the rally better for next year.”
De La Cruz said the objective the rally subcommittee shouldn’t be just “to throw a party” to should be to make sure the city didn’t lose money while at the same time helping area nonprofit organizations and local businesses cash in on the influx of tourists.
Brett Rowland covers public safety for the Free Lance. He can be reached at 831-637-5566 ext. 330 or [email protected].
