Rally supporters show up in force

If the scene at Revolutions nightclub Wednesday evening was any sign, next week's Horry County Council meeting could be the event of the season.

Motorcycle rally supporters, with signs and petitions in hand, packed the nightclub at Broadway at the Beach to learn what they could do to protect the rallies.

At least 500 people attended the event, which was hastily organized last week after Myrtle Beach City Council took action to get rid of the May rallies that bring hundreds of thousands of motorcyclists, and their wallets, to the Grand Strand.

"We were hoping people would show up," organizer and rally promoter Mike Shank said. "But I never expected this many people."

Yet even if thousands come to the county meeting on Tuesday - pro- and anti-bike-rally groups have pledged to show up - there might not be much public discussion about bike rallies, County Council Chairwoman Liz Gilland warned.

"We won't be talking about bike rallies as far as I know," she said. "It is not on the agenda, and our public comment period is already full. And there is only one speaker on there that has anything to do with bike rallies."

At Wednesday's event, owners of bars, bike businesses and non-bike-related businesses spoke to the crowd about how the rallies boost the local economy and stressed that they needed to make their concerns loud and clear to Horry County Council.

“This impacts a great deal of businesses in Horry County and Myrtle Beach - not just bars not just restaurants it affects employees,” said Craig Smith, owner of Revolutions. “It affects Dunkin' Donuts, for example.”

Toward the end of the hourlong meeting, Don Emery, owner of two Myrtle Beach bars, gave out Gilland’s cell phone number and told rally supporters to call her and let her know what they think.

"Suddenly my phone went absolutely nuts with phone calls and text messages," Gilland said. "I'm the head of the council so it has to be OK for people to call me. It's not always pleasant, but it's part of the job."

Emery told the crowd that the rallies' economic impact spreads far beyond May.

“At the end of the rally, my employees go out and buy cars, they get braces for their children,” Emery said. “That is where these dollars are spent. That is what the community at large doesn’t see. When you hear noise, when you see traffic, you know what that means folks? That means your town is making money.”

Last week, the Myrtle Beach City Council raised taxes to fund a program to get rid of bikers. Myrtle Beach is the hub of two bike rallies every May -- first, the Carolina Harley-Davidson Dealership Association Myrtle Beach Rally and then the Atlantic Beach Bikefest.

One city councilman, Randal Wallace, attended the meeting. He said that even though he was impressed with the crowd, he thought his council made the right decision.

“I understand these people are upset,” he said. But “there are some real issues with crime, with noise, with people feeling like they’re locked in their house for three weeks.”

Myrtle Beach Mayor John Rhodes is expected to attend an upcoming Horry County Council meeting to ask for the county's support in driving out the bikers.

Speakers at Wednesday's meeting urged the crowd to attend Tuesday’s County Council meeting and reminded people that several council members are up for re-election in November.

Ella May Cliver, 49, of Socastee, said she moved here from Merchant Hill, N.J., after falling in love with the area while attending the Harley-Davidson rally.

“I think it’s crazy,” Cliver said of the city’s decision. “I think they’re biting off their nose to spite their face.”

Several people at the meeting said their businesses see the best weeks of the year during May.

“Our livelihoods depend on this,” said Tim Larocque, 42, of Murrells Inlet, who works part-time at a bike shop.

It's difficult to determine the financial impact of the rallies on local governments, because there are no tickets sold and much of the impact is spread throughout the region.

Horry County collected nearly $400,000 in vendor permits for the 2007 rallies, according to county figures.

Myrtle Beach spends an extra $300,000 or so each year on the bike rallies, between additional law enforcement, overtime, trash clean-up and other services, city spokesman Mark Kruea said. There is no way to know how much the city takes in because it does not issue vendor permits, but “I'm pretty sure it's not the giant windfall the pro-biker groups want it to be,” he said.

Bike rally vendors within the city are required to purchase full-year business licenses, the fees for which are determined by declarable revenue each business generates. The business licenses are not separated or marked as being bike-rally-related, and there are not hundreds of vendors at Broadway at the Beach or the Myrtle Beach Convention Center, Kruea said.

Rally supporters pointed out that the economic boost from the events are apparent even at businesses not directly tied to bikers or bars.

Gold's Gym on U.S. 17 Bypass in Myrtle Beach sees some of its busiest weeks of the year during May, said Karen Bellamy, who works the front desk.

Emery said it was unfair to pick on bikers.

“You cannot market Myrtle Beach only to white, Christian families,” he said. “Myrtle Beach is a tourist destination, people are going to come here, and people should love to come here.”

Staff writers Mike Cherney and Lorena Anderson contributed to this report.