Lea este artículo en española aquí.
With less than a month before bikers ride into San Benito County for the iconic Hollister Independence Rally, the Hollister City Council on June 6 approved a contract for security services that will cost as much as $270,000 for the event.
Officials also created an ad hoc committee to oversee the rally made up of Mayor Roxanne Stephens and Councilmember Rolan Resendiz.
The two-day event begins July 4, returning to downtown for the first time since 2017.
Both items were approved with virtually no discussion among the council members despite two community members saying they had concerns over transparency.
Hollister Police Chief Carlos Reynoso has also expressed concern about reliance on security guards for the rally and noted that there aren’t nearly enough sworn law enforcement officers to cover security for the event.
City officials have estimated the rally cost at $500,000. They said they expect the city to cover $150,000 of that total cost while the rest is expected to be covered by sponsorships. City officials have not disclosed whether the costs include staff time or other city services.
Under the security services agreement, Hollister will contract with American Global Security for armed and unarmed security guards. It was not disclosed how many security guards are called for in the contract.
According to city code, Hollister requires at least one security guard per 33 attendees for events that have more than 400 guests. For example, if the rally were to attract 5,000 attendees, city code would require at least 151 security officers, which includes private security and patrol officers.
Hollister-area resident Elia Salinas questioned why the agreement was not included in the agenda packet, something that is customary for proposed contracts. Such copies provide additional details to the public than the summaries provided by staff.
“Where’s the transparency?” she asked. “Where is the contract? How many people? What’s the logistics of it?”
Salinas and Tyler Jordan with San Juan Bautista-based Level 1 Security questioned the process to select American Global Security.
Salinas said the city received “less than three” bids for the work and rejected one for $300,000 and accepted one that was going to be covered within the city’s $150,000 budget. She said that company later pulled out.
Her comments followed Councilmember Rudy Picha saying he was confused as to why an agreement with another company “fell through” so close to the rally. City Attorney Mary Lerner said she would not discuss that topic in open session.
Jordan said Level 1 submitted a quote in January that includes security officers, metal detectors, ID scanners and camera trailers. The company, he said, submitted a bid in February for $173,000.
“However, a new RFP [request for proposals] was unexpectedly issued on March 20 with no explanation of changes in scope of expectation,” he said. “At that point we were not given adequate time to respond or mobilize the necessary personnel.”
He questioned why Hollister did not reissue an RFP after the originally selected firm backed out and what the scope of services are under the new contract with American Global Security.
Those questions went unanswered at the meeting. BenitoLink has reached out to the city multiple times in an attempt to seek information about the rally but they have not responded.
The return of the rally has been controversial.
Those expressing support for the event, including some local business owners and residents, argue that it is an economic boost for the city, bringing in sales tax revenue and potentially attracting tourism year-round.
In an 2022 advisory measure, 63% of Hollister voters said they supported the rally.
Residents and law enforcement officials opposed to the rally have aired concerns over safety and the city’s liability risk, citing the insufficient number of police officers available to patrol the event.
Most recently, employees have criticized the city for moving forward with the rally while considering cuts to employee salaries and other spending to address a $4 million budget deficit.
The city has already moved to eliminate vacancies to cut about $6 million from the budget.
When asked previously about the use of security guards for the rally, Reynoso noted that security guards are limited to observing and reporting to law enforcement.
More recently, Reynoso told BenitoLink he has been unable to add law enforcement officers from other jurisdictions for the event, including deputies from the San Benito County Sheriff’s office, to help cover security for the rally, so the event will rely mostly on security guards. He said that for safety reasons he could not disclose how many security personnel will be at the event.
Other than the date of the rally, little information has been released about it, but the city’s website suggests it will include live music, vendors and festival foods.
Reynoso said he has not seen the final map outlining routes and event activities, but that evacuation plans have been finalized.
“The plan is to do it similarly to other years,” Reynoso said.
He said that includes allowing only motorcycles on San Benito Street and vendors on “side streets,” those connecting to the main artery in downtown Hollister.
Hollister Downtown Association CEO Omar Rosa said his group will be operating a beer garden in the parking lot behind Wells Fargo, at the corner of Sixth and East streets.
The beer garden is scheduled to have live music, food trucks and a VIP area.
He said he is organizing at least one meeting with downtown businesses for mid-June to discuss logistics.
The rally dates back to the 1940s. While the city website claims “motorcycle enthusiasts return to Hollister every 4th of July weekend to celebrate this cultural icon,” the last sanctioned event was held eight years ago. Corbin Motorcycle Saddles held an unofficial rally in 2019.
“At the height of the rally, more than 100,000 bikes took over downtown Hollister!” the city’s website states. “Help us revive and keep this important and awesome tradition alive.”
We need your help. Support local, nonprofit news! BenitoLink is a nonprofit news website that reports on San Benito County. Our team is committed to this community and providing essential, accurate information to our fellow residents. Producing local news is expensive, and community support keeps the news flowing. Please consider supporting BenitoLink, San Benito County’s public service nonprofit news.