The Hollister City Council is poised to consider a proposal from
a private group seeking to take over the Hollister Independence
Rally, but is not prepared to make a final decision on the fate of
the annual event.
Hollister – The Hollister City Council is poised to consider a proposal from a private group seeking to take over the Hollister Independence Rally, but is not prepared to make a final decision on the fate of the annual event.
Hollister Mayor Robert Scattini said he anticipates the council will discuss a proposal Hollister resident Marlon Moss submitted in December during tonight’s council meeting. Moss, representing a group called the Hollister Rally Commission, would keep the rally downtown and move the main stage and beer garden to the vacant Fremont School yard on Fourth Street.
“I imagine we will discuss Mr. Moss’ proposal. But we won’t have enough information to vote on it,” Scattini said, saying the council would need to see a bond proving the group had the capital to finance the rally before voting.
Two months ago, the council voted 3-1 to terminate the Hollister Independence Rally Committee’s contract with the city to put on the biker rally after the group had organized it for nearly a decade. Council members said they couldn’t condone spending at least $300,000 from the city’s general fund each year for a single event – the 2005 rally stuck the city with a $360,000 law enforcement bill, which HIRC won’t be able to reimburse.
In November, former HIRC members Dave Ventura, Helen Nelson and Bruce Beetz formed Ghostrider Promotions and submitted a rally proposal to the city, which projected profits for the city of more than $550,000. While the Ghostrider proposal called for moving the rally out of downtown, charging a $10 gate fee and making it an age restricted event, the projected expenses exceeding $1.4 million had council members wary of risking the city’s general fund for profits that might not pan out. Although the council has not made a decision on the Ghostrider proposal, Scattini said the group informed him last week it was no longer interested in organizing the rally this year.
Ventura, Nelson and Beetz were all unavailable for comment Monday.
But Scattini, a longtime supporter of the rally, believes time has not run out for a group to pull off a 2006 event. And while he said several other groups have talked about running the rally, he said the city still needs a solid proposal from a high-caliber group to take the reins.
“If somebody can come up with a good proposal, then the city will consider it,” he said. “I think there is still time, but it depends on who comes up with a proposal.”
Custom Chrome, a Morgan Hill-based custom motorcycle parts manufacturer, had also considered entering a bid to take over the event, but later decided against it, Marketing Director Scott Martindale said Monday.
“We all talked about it, but we can’t run the Hollister Independence Rally,” he said. “That’s a full-time job.”
The council postponed making a decision on the rally at its last meeting in December because two members were absent, but with all seats scheduled to be filled at tonight’s meeting, they’re hoping to make some progress.
Councilman Brad Pike is ready for a rally discussion, but is not sure where talks might lead.
“I don’t think a final decision can be made yet, but it’s crunch time,” he said. “Motorcycle events are different from fruit festivals – it’s going to take somebody who has knowledge about what motorcycle events are all about and who has the capital and front money.”
Pike said that he hasn’t seen a viable plan for putting on the rally, which has lured as many as 120,000 bikers to Hollister in years past. Pike said he would like to be able to put on the rally if it would bring money into Hollister for both local business owners and city coffers. And while he would rather have a plan in place for the rally than to cancel the event altogether, he isn’t holding his breath.
“We’ve talked this thing through,” Pike said. “I’m looking for someone to step forward with the golden egg, but I don’t think it’s going to happen.”
The City Council meets tonight at 6:30pm at City Hall, located at 375 Fifth Street.
