Our caller, a Hollister resident, said that a loose manhole
cover in front of her home is making it difficult for her to enjoy
her peace and quiet.
Our caller, a Hollister resident, said that a loose manhole cover in front of her home is making it difficult for her to enjoy her peace and quiet.
Every car that drives over it, she said, “makes it bang.”
The Crusader spoke with Julian Gatan of Hollister’s Community Services Department and told him about our caller’s problem. He said there are two options for taking the rattle out of a manhole cover: either putting a kind of tar or foam under the cover to stabilize it, or replacing the lid altogether.
However workers choose to repair the problem, the resolution should come quick, Gatan said on Friday.
“We’ll see if we can get that done today,” he said.
A Suggestion to Make the Rally Profitable
After months of hearing Hollister leaders say that the annual Fourth of July motorcycle rally is a budget buster for the city, our caller posed a suggestion for making the event profitable for the city.
“There are many ways to draw in a lot of money,” he said. “They can charge bikers $5 to come in (to downtown) and charge the public $5 to come in. I don’t know why they don’t start doing that.”
While our caller’s idea may seem simple on its face, it is fraught with myriad logistical problems, according to Hollister Police Chief Jeff Miller.
“It’s not practical,” the chief said. “There are so many entrances into the downtown area. You would have to put a fence all the way down San Benito Street.”
In addition, he said, some people may have non-rally related business in downtown, such as using their bank’s ATM.
Also, the chief noted, the nonprofit group that previously organized and ran the Hollister Independence Rally tried to solicit donations from people entering downtown during the event two years ago. Miller said stopping people and asking for donations created such a horrible traffic backup that the group had to abandon the practice.
