Slow sales of parking passes at the Independence Rally didn’t
raise the money the committee organizers hoped for, however the
city will still get paid, and it will be the local nonprofits who
will feel the pinch.
Slow sales of parking passes at the Independence Rally didn’t raise the money the committee organizers hoped for, however the city will still get paid, and it will be the local nonprofits who will feel the pinch.
Of the $280,000 the Hollister Independence Rally Committee (HIRC) owes the city for law enforcement and other city expenses like street sweeping, $200,000 of it has already been paid, and Executive Director Bob Beals said they’ll be able to pay the remaining $80,000 soon.
“I’m sure we’ll be able to pay the city,” he said. “Our goal is to make this a positive thing for the rally, for the city and everyone involved.”
Of the original $280,000 HIRC owed, $140,000 was paid as a down payment June 15. Another $60,000 was collected through sales tax from the rally weekend, leaving a balance of $80,000. City Manager Clint Quilter said the city gave HIRC a deadline of July 12 to pay the remainder, but then realized it was unrealistic.
“The city wasn’t even ready to have a bill for them by then,” he said.
Beals, Quilter and Mayor Tony Bruscia will meet Friday to discuss financial details, and Quilter said HIRC’s deadline will be push back toward the end of the month.
Aside from the money owed to the city, HIRC still has its own bills to pay, but Beals said all of its costs aren’t tallied yet. In previous years, Beals said HIRC didn’t have to pay the city a dime, so the committee was banking on the new parking pass fees to cover the new security costs. Without the final numbers, it’s too soon to see where HIRC stands financially, but HIRC Treasurer John Loyd said it’s going to be close.
“At this point it’s tough to know where we sit,” he said. “I think we’ll be close to where we want to be, but we may be a little under.”
HIRC was hoping to raise $500,000 from the parking passes, which would offset its $280,000 bill from the city and its own bills from the rally. The crowd during the three day weekend was estimated at 100,000, but the swarms of people didn’t make the parking pass plan possible.
Saturday of the rally, HIRC had to stop selling passes because Executive Director Bob Beals said at one point during the afternoon, there was a line of bikers backed up from Greenwood Chevrolet to Bolsa Road. HIRC was concerned for the bikers’ safety, Beals said.
“No one’s life is worth a few bucks,” he said.
Also adding to the problem was a statement made by Police Chief Jeff Miller the Thursday before the rally, Loyd said. Miller stated that Hollister Police Department would not be enforcing the parking passes, Loyd said.
“I think this gave a lot of people the idea that it wasn’t a big deal to not have one,” he said.
In the past five years, HIRC has donated more than $150,000 to local non-profits, but Loyd said he’s not sure how much it will be able to give out this year.
“It’s clearly a challenge,” he said. “A lot of the money usually goes to non-profits and because of our big costs this year, we won’t be able to give as much. The tide has shifted.”
