Hollister
– Mayor Robert Scattini has organized a committee of local
business leaders, city officials and motorcycle enthusiasts
attempting to kick-start plans to bring back Hollister’s signature
Independence Day rally next year.
Hollister – Mayor Robert Scattini has organized a committee of local business leaders, city officials and motorcycle enthusiasts attempting to kick-start plans to bring back Hollister’s signature Independence Day rally next year.
The rally committee, which met for the first time earlier this month, is trying to organize an event that can bring back the motorcyclists, ease the financial burden on the city and be a boon to local business, Scattini said.
The committee’s last gathering brought together about 40 locals, including veteran organizers involved with Gilroy’s Garlic Festival, to begin tossing around ideas for making the event work in the wake of July’s “disaster,” Scattini said. Scattini plans to hold weekly meetings at 6pm every Tuesday at the City Council Chambers or the Veteran’s Memorial Building until he has a solid plan that he can bring to his peers on the City Council.
“Right now we’re just laying the foundation. We’ve got a lot of good people involved and a 2007 rally is looking like a possibility,” Scattini said Tuesday. “We want to have a plan for the rally down before we get the City Council and the police involved.”
The 2006 unofficial motorcycle invasion, which took place despite the city council’s decision to cancel the event, took a toll on city coffers and didn’t bring in nearly enough tourists to satisfy local business owners. The City Council cited financial concerns as the reason for canceling the event after the former event organizer, Hollister Independence Rally Committee, left the city with a $250,000 unpaid law enforcement bill from the 2005 rally.
The committee plans to relieve the city of any financial risk involved in hosting the rally by bringing in outside help from experienced event planners.
“The idea is to have a professional put on the show,” Scattini said. “We have to watch costs and we need a company that can do this successfully without draining city resources.”
Scattini, one of two City Council members to vote against canceling the 2006 rally, said that once the group has a plan in place, it will work closely with the City Council and the Hollister Police Department to make it happen. Committee members expect to have a reputable rally promoter in place by October.
Local business owner and promoter David Scott wasn’t able to attend Tuesday’s meeting, but said he has hopes for the group and the future of the Hollister Independence Rally.
“I think there’s an opportunity to make it happen,” he said. “Ideally you’d like more than a year to plan, but there is still time.”
Scott said he plans to share several ideas for making next year’s rally successful with the group in the coming months. One idea, which could bring added corporate sponsorship to the event, is to work with promoters of motorcycle races in San Jose.
“The people that go to the rally are the same people who go to San Jose for the races,” he said. “The events are only two weeks apart, so we could bring big name brands in here and have them giving test rides at the high school.”
But Scott knows good ideas and corporate sponsorship won’t be enough to make the rally a success.
“The city has to give its blessing and they have to find the proper promoter,” he said. “It needs to be more of a family event and the whole community needs to embrace it.”
Time is a crucial factor. Sponsors, vendors, city officials and bikers all have to be able to prepare for the rally long in advance. Waiting too long, Scott said, would be a mistake.
“I think it can happen and I think it needs to happen,” he said. “The key to this whole process is pulling the trigger as fast as you can.”
Brett Rowland covers public safety for the Free Lance. He can be reached at 831-637-5566 ext. 330 or br******@fr***********.com.
