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Wednesday, May 9, 2012

WASHINGTON - Bikers head back to Snohomish

Bikers head back to Snohomish

OFF THE WIRE
 snohomishtimes.com
Motorcycles rumble back into Snohomish onSunday May 20
 for the 16th Annual Sky Valley Antique & Classic Motorcycle Show
after a four-year absence.

The event organizers say their mission is to educate the public about motorcycle safety.
On Sunday May 20 you will be able to enjoy a bike show competition, motorcycle related vendors, live rock music and the precision riding skills of the Seattle Cossacks Motorcycle Stunt Drill Team.
The biker show has always drawn tens of thousands of people from near and far. From young children to the not so young motorcycle enthusiasts will return to the streets of downtown Snohomish for the first time since 2008.
Food and liquor are the two biggest sellers for the numerous bars, taverns and restaurants that serve the 20,000-30,000 attendees during the motorcycle event. The City of Snohomish has been actively seeking additional wine and liquor tasting businesses in the resent years that just might benefit from a show like this. Scott Sobota will certainly have his large new venue open for wine sales and tasting.
The event left Snohomish in 2009 with former Police Chief sighting security issues that eventually resulted in increased man hour estimates forcing the fees to rise to an unreasonable amount. There were some hard feelings among local tavern and restaurant bar business owners in Snohomish over losing the show.
The Bike show moved to Sultan, a city very similar to Snohomish as Mayor Guzak likes to compare to. Unhappy there, the show then moved to Everett in 2010 and canceled in 2011 due to lack of funds.
The opportunity to return to Snohomish presented itself when Mayor Guzak and three of her councilman voted to disband the police department and let someone else govern the city streets.
There’s a new Sheriff in town and his name is Flood, Sheriff’s Lt Flood is the new deputy police chief sheriff. With his 22 years of experience he won’t be taking any crap from outlaw biker gangs like the Banditos or Gypsy Jokers who have frequented this biker show in the past without incident.
The Sheriff may only use the 18 deputies assigned to Snohomish in order to keep the costs down helping bring the event back to cash strapped Snohomish for a fresh infusion of outside revenue.
The City who basically throughout the old chief’s recommendations after his departure was very pleased to hear that the Sheriff’s assessment was completely different. Basically the Sheriff can handle bikers easier than the old police dept could. This opened the door to getting the event to return to Snohomish for a substantially reduced cost. The City is welcoming ABATE back with open arms and hopes that all may be forgiven now that Chief Turner has been kicked to the curb.
The City would also welcome the return of visitor spending that comes with an event like this.
Snohomish must not be exactly like Sultan like the Mayor indicates otherwise the bikers may still be there. Let’s hope that this kicks off a new partnership that benefits both the City and ABATE. Question is; do we start over at 1 or do we continue where we left of at 12 years?
SEE YOU MAY 20 IN SNOHOMISH