Dolores hears from rally organizers

Dolores hears from rally organizers

Mar. 29, 2001

"If I had a nickel for every time a business owner in this town has told me we needed a festival, I’d be rich."

— Tazewell Vass
Dolores Town Board

By Janelle Holden
Journal Staff Writer

Organizers of the Four Corners Iron Horse Motorcycle Rally asked the Dolores Town Board on Monday to either host the rally in 2002 or support moving it to the Montezuma County Fairgrounds.

"If you guys are interested, then we’re interested in talking to you," rally President Warren "Easy" Bernard told the board in his opening statement. "We’d just like to open the door and visit with you."

But after answering questions from board members and concerned citizens for nearly two hours, Bernard suggested the town back the rally’s first choice — the Montezuma County Fairgrounds.

"The Montezuma County Fairgrounds has everything the rally needs to happen," said Bernard. "Maybe Dolores is not the place, but Montezuma County has great potential for this rally."

"It wouldn’t matter if it was 30,000 bankers. Thirty thousand anybodies is a ridiculous amount of people."

— Joe Kantor

The Montezuma County commissioners have twice refused organizers access to the fairgrounds, but Bernard urged the town board to ask the commissioners to reconsider.

"Maybe you could hold a pig roast or other event here," he suggested.

The door to host the rally was initially opened by board member Tazewell Vass, who sent a letter of interest to Bernard on town stationery. Although Vass said he consulted with board members before sending the letter, at least two members of the board said they were unaware the letter had been sent.

"The letter should not have gone out," admonished board member Richard Teel, and Mayor James Moore said Vass’ first words to him about the letter were, "I think I’ve done something wrong."

"If I had a nickel for every time a business owner in this town has told me we needed a festival, I’d be rich," countered Vass, who said he would rather host the largest festival in the area than mimic Telluride’s string of smaller summer festivals.

Vass also told the organizers not to expect a better deal from Dolores than they are getting in Ignacio. "I don’t want there to be the expectation that we’ll be cheaper than Ignacio," said Vass. "I think we’ll be more expensive."

Currently the rally gives the Southern Ute tribe one-third of the event’s profits for the use of their facilities.

When asked whether Dolores’s facilities were adequate to meet the rally’s needs, Bernard said that although Joe Rowell Park might be a "tight squeeze," moving rally camping off-site would help.

The Sky Ute Downs in Ignacio, the rally’s current home, is 44 acres. The site houses vendors, food, beer gardens, main events, and camping.

Joe Rowell Park in Dolores offers 25 acres of green space, but no large buildings for rally-goers.

Bernard promised the board the rally would return the town’s facilities in the same condition "they found it in," and would re-seed the park if necessary.

Dolores resident Larry LeRoy asked if a contract between the town and the rally could be broken in the future without an expense to the town and its taxpayers.

Bernard replied that "if it turned out to be a total mess we wouldn’t want it either."

Some residents voiced concern that Dolores’s "antiquated" sewage system might not be able to handle the waste from the 250 portable toilets the rally uses.

Bernard suggested moving some of the waste to Cortez if it was a problem.

Teel also wanted assurances that ambulances could get into and out of town during the rally.

Many of the town’s elderly residents frequently need urgent medical care, he said.

Rally organizers assured Teel there has never been a problem with emergency vehicles leaving the rally, and the rally provides a medical tent on site with five Emergency Medical Technicians.

In addition, Bernard said concerns brought up by law-enforcement officials at a prior meeting with the Dolores Town Board were unfounded and sensationalized by the media.

Several residents were concerned that the town has no additional law enforcement to offer, and depends on the county for service.

Bernard said he would consider paying the city of Cortez’s police overtime pay if their services were necessary.

Organizers challenged critics to attend the rally before making any judgments, and cited the $460,000 the rally gives to "charity" — which Bernard defined as motorcycle-rights organizations and other non-profits.

"It’s a known fact all over the country that motorcyclists have big hearts. The amount of money that we donate is just a way of showing people that we do care."

But two long-time bikers who have attended other rallies spoke against Dolores hosting the Iron Horse.

A Cortez resident, Rick McIntyre, who has "owned motorcycles all of my life," said that he used to attend the Daytona biker rally and has a "lot of reasons not to see it (the rally) here."

"Dolores and Cortez are a lot nicer than Ignacio," explained McIntyre, who argued the rally would ultimately hurt tourism on "the Great Circle," otherwise known as the San Juan Skyway.

Joe Kantor, a self-described "doctor-biker" from Dolores, said that even though he has been a motorcycle enthusiast for nearly 40 years, he believes the sheer number of people would overwhelm the town.

"It wouldn’t matter if it was 30,000 bankers. Thirty thousand anybodies is a ridiculous amount of people," Kantor said.

Bernard said the rally hosts, at any one time, 14,000 people, and sold more than 29,000 arm bands last year — including sales to vendors, volunteers, and others who bought more than one armband.

Susan Localio, who lives "up-river" from Dolores, said she is worried about the damage the event’s camping and proximity to the San Juan National Forest would cause to the environment and the risk it would pose for children and teenagers.

Organizers answered that they see children at the rally each year and frequently bring their own children.

Although most of the resident’s comments were negative, the town received support from some members of the community.

"With all the reasons, in recent years, for tourist (sic) not to come to the Four Corners — Hanta Virus, Mesa Verde Fire, Cop Killers on the loose — local businesses need relief in the form of increased tourist travel. The Iron Horse Rally presents just such an economic opportunity," wrote Dr. Allan Burnside, who offered to keep the Dolores Medical Center open on Saturday, Sunday and Monday of Labor Day weekend.

Two petitions, one against and one for the rally, were circulated by Nina Short of the Dolores Chamber of Commerce. The petition garnered nearly 100 signatures for the rally and 10 against.

No decision was made by the council, but surveys will be included in residents’ water bills in the next several weeks to measure community support for the event.