Myrtle Beach motorcycle rally funds up for debate

OFF THE WIRE
Money may aid new festival, enforcement
As spring draws closer, the picture of how the city of Myrtle Beach is spending its anti-motorcycle-rally money is coming into focus.

Last fall, the City Council approved a 3-mill property tax increase to raise about $1 million a year that is supposed to help curtail the Harley-Davidson and Bikefest rallies that bring up to half-a-million people to the Grand Strand for about three weeks each May.

The millage increase came as the City Council took decisive steps in response to outraged residents who, year after year, have complained about the traffic, trash, indecent behavior and noise that typifies the rallies.

Last week, Mayor John Rhodes proposed spending some of the money on the city’s new Military Appreciation Days festival, which will take place the last weekend in May and, organizers hope, encourage military members from all over the country to come to the Grand Strand for a family weekend.

That’s a use City Manager Tom Leath said is “entirely in keeping” with the millage increase’s purpose.

“The committee is trying to bring Memorial Day back to its underlying focus - to honor the military - and to help fill the void as the rallies go away,” he said.

City staff members proposed to use the money to help law enforcement, marketing the city and to help replace the visitors that will be lost as the word spreads that Myrtle Beach is no longer willing to be the rallies’ epicenter.

Other uses, some say, are not aimed at getting rid of the rallies.

“I can understand them spending money on advertising and signs,” said Mike Shank, owner of Festival Promotions, which promotes the May Harley-Davidson rally. He and Harley-Davidson of Myrtle Beach and other businesses have filed one of the two federal lawsuits pending against the city because of anti-rally efforts.

“But some of these are not new expenditures,” he said after hearing the spending list. “Some of this is paying for stuff they are already doing.” He cited the pay for out-of-area law enforcement officers as one example.

Leath said it doesn’t matter which fund that money comes from, “We still have expenses that arise from trying to control the rallies.”

Tom Rice, a Myrtle Beach tax attorney who became the spokesman for anti-rally residents and helped form the Take Back May group, said he thinks the spending plan is a good one, especially the items that help enforce laws and reduce accidents, injuries and deaths.

But Shank said he wondered how writing more traffic tickets would deter rally-goers from coming to Myrtle Beach.

It might not.

Some motorcyclists, like Tony Spinnatto of Myrtle Beach, have said they look forward to getting tickets - especially for violating the helmet ordinance - because it will cost the city money to defend itself when they challenge the tickets.

Marketing is going to be especially important as the city tries to explain to people who have avoided the beach during May that the city is no longer tolerating the motorcycle rallies.

Some merchants, like Heidi Vukov, who owns Croissants Bakery and makes custom wedding cakes, have said their business suffers in May because when people hear about the rallies, they don’t book weddings or family vacations.

“I disagree with people who say the rallies bring so much money here,” Rice said.

“I think they hurt Myrtle Beach because they drive other visitors away.”

It remains to be seen how much the city’s efforts will push back the influx of rally visitors, but Leath said the goal is to reduce all these expenses year by year.

And if they go, will the millage decrease?

“If the rallies go away,” he said, “I think that absolutely would happen.”

Following the money

The city has spent some of the $1 million raised through a 3-mill property tax increase, designed to help curb the effects of the May motorcycle rallies and has plans for much of the rest. Here’s where it has gone and is likely to go:

The city spent $70,000 for 200 pocket-sized digital video cameras and supporting software for each of the police department’s more than 175 officers, plus extras in case some break. The cameras will allow officers to videotape the now-illegal parties in parking lots or other potential noise-ordinance violations and play the tapes back in court if tickets are contested.

The city plans to spend $450,000 this year to create a new five-member traffic-enforcement squad complete with cars and other equipment. The squad has not been selected yet, and Leath said the expense will drop to about $250,000 in subsequent years because equipment purchases won’t be necessary. This year, $75,000 will come from federal grants, and next year, about $50,000 will come from the U.S. government.

The city spent about $1,500 to send city spokesman Mark Kruea and the Rev. Tim McCray to New Orleans in December to a convention of bike rally public information officers to make sure they are informed about Myrtle Beach’s 15 new ordinances and amendments aimed at curbing the rallies and the city’s reasons for passing them.

The city anticipates spending about $30,000 for per-diem allowances and extra food and water for out-of-area officers during May - as it does each year when the rally traffic hits town.

The city knows it will buy signs to let people know as they enter the city that there is now a helmet ordinance here, to replace traffic-modification barriers and to replace stolen signs that warn motorcyclists not to ride through city neighborhoods, though there is no estimate of the cost yet.

Leath estimates making a $25,000 contribution to the Military Appreciation Days festival this year.

He also said money will be spent on marketing to reach a more diverse tourist audience, but no details have been nailed down yet.

The city has talked about - but has made no decision on - spending some of the tax money on defending the city against lawsuits arising from the anti-rally efforts. Three have already been filed - two in federal court and one in state court - and in two cases, judges have rejected requests for injunctions to stop the city from enforcing some of its new ordinances. The suits are proceeding, though no hearings have been scheduled.

Contact LORENA ANDERSON at 444-1722.