HOLLISTER
– The annual motorcycle rally has returned. Maybe.
The City Council approved a three-year contract to sanction the
Hollister Independence Rally. But city officials warned that the
seven-year-old tradition would be canceled if more police officers
from outside agencies don’t sign on in the next couple months.
HOLLISTER – The annual motorcycle rally has returned. Maybe.
The City Council approved a three-year contract to sanction the Hollister Independence Rally. But city officials warned that the seven-year-old tradition would be canceled if more police officers from outside agencies don’t sign on in the next couple months.
“I think we worked it out,” said Bill Rodgers, president of the Hollister Independence Rally Committee (HIRC). “It’s been a long, long hard thing.”
The Council, as Mayor Tony Bruscia put it, took a “huge risk” in approving a contract without the needed confirmations from outside law enforcement agencies. But the contract includes a clause that allows the city to cancel the rally at any time if HIRC isn’t meeting its obligations – or if the Council doesn’t feel it’s providing adequate safety.
As of Monday, the city had received no commitments. They need 40 additional outside peace officers, said Police Chief Jeff Miller, who attributed this year’s problems attaining help from outside agencies to statewide budget issues. Many departments’ staffing levels are depleted, and others must tend to their own local events, he said.
Fifteen officers’ departments have tentatively committed – but without signed contracts, Miller said. And another 38 officers await permission from their department heads. Of nearly 100 departments throughout the state, Hollister awaits word from 41 jurisdictions and has received outright decline notices from 54 others.
Before the Council approved the contract, Bruscia sent out a warning shot from the dais – an acknowledgment he’s not comfortable with just the contract approval.
Clearly, he said, the rally boosts the local economy. But on the other hand, the Council, he said, maintains an equal obligation to keep the streets safe.
“Anybody who tries to say this rally isn’t good for this community is crazy,” Bruscia said after the meeting. “But how do you put a price on safety of the community?”
One of the event’s founders, Mark Maxwell, joined many other rally enthusiasts who believe the policing levels create security overkill. Maxwell said there have been no major problems in previous years, and called the law enforcement concerns “unfounded.”
Regardless of such rhetoric, as long as the security desires of the city are met, officials expressed confidence the rally tradition would be safe. Previously, HIRC’s ability to skyrocket its revenues to $280,000 this year – it previously generated about $200,000 a year – also threatened the rally’s future. Organizers have to come up with that money to offset Hollister’s and other jurisdictions’ demands for security compensation.
Through several revenue enhancements, including a $5 parking fee for motorcycles downtown, HIRC now estimates it could generate nearly $500,000. Formerly skeptical city officials, including City Manager Dale Shaddox, now show confidence in HIRC’s ability to pay for security. It’s just a matter of finding it.
“HIRC’s doing what they’ve got to do,” Bruscia said.
Aside from the two main issues, security and rally revenue, the Council made a few adjustments to contract provisions before the approval, including extending the closing time on the final day one hour to 9 p.m.
Council members acknowledged, though the rally seems headed toward happening in 2004, the problem with security in future years, isn’t going away.
Councilman Robert Scattini said the city would have to use “more creative ideas” next year. Councilwoman Pauline Valdivia called next year another challenge.
“It’s really a community event,” Valdivia said. “It’s not just a motorcycle event.”
