SNOHOMISH – Because of the lack of police, the city may deny a permit for the annual downtown motorcycle show, which has brought about 15,000 visitors to this town of about 8,500 people each spring.
Herald file
“We don’t think we can properly staff the event without the county’s support,” city manager Larry Bauman said.
The Snohomish County’s Sheriff’s Office faces a $63,000 budget cut in overtime pay next year and will not have any officers available for the Old Snohomish Antique and Classic Motorcycle Show, a one-day event that began eight years ago, said Rich Niebusch, a county spokesman.
“We’re trying to make ends meet on our own,” Niebusch said.
In May, 48 officers from different agencies – including the sheriff’s office and local police departments – provided security at the show, Bauman said. Thirteen of those were from the sheriff’s office.
Without that help, Bauman doesn’t think the Snohomish Police Department can provide enough security to safely run the event.
But Beryl Doane, the show’s promotion director, said security hasn’t been an issue in the past.
This spring, for example, the event featured about 6,000 motorcycles and drew about 15,000 people, Doane said. Police issued some tickets, mainly for traffic violations, but no fights or other trouble were reported, she said.
“Given the size of the crowd, the impact to the residents is minimal,” she said.
There have been no major incidents at the show since its inception, said Chuck Macklin, the city’s interim police chief.
However, the show attracts some gang members, such as Hells Angels, Bauman said. If the city has less security, he said he would recommend that the City Council reject a permit for the show.
The show faces other hurdles as well.
The City Council recently established an area downtown where special events will be allowed, but the motorcycle show would go beyond that area.
“The footprint wasn’t targeted at one single event,” City Councilman Doug Thorndike said.
Councilman Chris Lundvall said he hasn’t had any problems with the show, and it should be allowed to expand beyond the footprint if organizers pay the cost of law enforcement.
The footprint “seemed to me unnecessarily complicated and too restrictive,” Lundvall said.
Some downtown business owners have expressed concern that growing special events – including the summer Kla Ha Ya Days and motorcycle show – negatively affect their businesses because of road closures and lack of parking. Some close their doors during those events.
“There are a few business owners who are under the impression motorcyclists don’t buy antiques,” Doane said, adding that some of the town’s businesses support the show.
Don Everest, who owns the Java Inn, a coffee roasting company downtown, is one of them. He said the motorcycle show has benefited his business, bringing in many visitors.
“Good people, people that buy,” he said.
Reporter Yoshiaki Nohara: 425-339-3029 or ynohara@ heraldnet.com.
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