In the wake of the City Council vote Monday to terminate the
Hollister Independence Rally Committee’s contract to organize
Hollister’s annual biker rally, there is still hope that the city’s
signature event will continue next year.
Hollister – In the wake of the City Council vote Monday to terminate the Hollister Independence Rally Committee’s contract to organize Hollister’s annual biker rally, there is still hope that the city’s signature event will continue next year.
“I think we’ll need to take a look at any number of options about how the event can proceed,” City Manager Clint Quilter said Tuesday. But, he cautioned, with only about seven months to organize an event for 2006, “I don’t know how big of a possibility that is.”
On Monday, after weeks of discussion and study, the council voted 3-1 to terminate HIRC’s contract with the city, saying that they couldn’t condone spending at least $300,000 from the city’s general fund each year for a single event. This year the city was stuck with a $360,000 bill for public safety costs, which HIRC won’t be able to reimburse.
While many locals were shocked and disappointed by the council’s decision, some are hoping that it will lead to the end of the rally altogether.
“It’s crazy,” Hollister resident and biker John Ament said when he heard the news. “I don’t even know what to say about it.”
Ament is sure about one thing: Whether the rally is organized or not, bikers will roll into downtown next Fourth of July.
“Everybody will come to Hollister anyway,” he said. “We all ride. We have to support our lifestyle, without breaking any laws.”
County resident Robert Bernosky said he has attended the rally each year since it started nine years ago. He said that he hopes the city will find some way to keep it going for next year.
“It’s something I sort of look forward to every year,” he said. “I’m disappointed with the decision.”
Bernosky did, however, say that he understood the council’s concerns about the rally’s financial drain on the city’s budget.
“The rally should pay for itself,” he said.
Others in the community are hoping that the council’s decision to terminate HIRC’s contract will be the death knell of the rally, which they see as an expensive, noisy and dirty nuisance.
“The bars are happy. But generally people don’t get anything out of it but a mess,” Hollister resident Gary Goularte said. “And it’s costing us as taxpayers.”
Though they canceled HIRC’s contract, council members did say they were open to looking at alternatives, such as a venue change and a new organizer, for an event next year.
“I’m going to keep an open mind to continue it,” Councilman Brad Pike said. He also had several conditions that must be met for him to support the rally moving forward, including that it be held in a new venue and that it benefit local nonprofits.
One possibility is having a for-profit group organize the rally.
Recently, former HIRC president Dave Ventura began forming a for-profit group with hopes of taking over the rally. He said he will submit a formal plan to the city next week.
Ventura said the only way to make the rally work is to move it out of downtown, possibly to the Hollister Municipal Airport, and offer more to do at the rally, such as an air show and motorcycle races.
HIRC President John Loyd is skeptical that a new group will have enough time to organize the event.
“I’m not sure from a logistical standpoint how they can organize, fund and promote an event at a new location with so little time,” he said.
Quilter said the city might discuss the possibility of a new contract with HIRC, which has organized the event for nearly a decade. Loyd said HIRC is considering that.
“As a board, we’ll need to decide if we want to put another proposal together,” he said, adding that HIRC had already begun organizing next year’s rally before the council terminated the contract.
“This is a major event,” he said. “We started taking vendor deposits and assigning spaces during last year’s rally. We had some sponsorships lined up and had opened discussions with others. Now that the contract has been canceled those issues are in limbo, as is how they will be settled if we can’t reach agreement on a new contract with the city very soon.”
Luke Roney covers local government and the environment for the Free Lance. Reach him at 831-637-5566 ext. 335 or at [email protected]
