Horry County gives a thumbs up to a summer Harley rally: What it could mean in long run
Motorcyclists wanting to hold a special summer bike rally will not face opposition from Horry County Council.
Council voted 11-1 on Tuesday to make the week of July 13 the sanctioned date for a special Harley Davidson rally.
Horry County never had the authority to deny bikers’ access to the county, but Tuesday’s vote means Horry County government will issue event and vendor permits to businesses that week for the rally.
“I have had lengthy conversations with Myrtle Beach Harley-Davidson,” Horry County Council Member Tyler Servant said. “Our businesses are hurting, gentlemen. We need every potato in the pot to help our businesses.”
Typically, Horry County has three bike rallies within one budget year that begins July 2020 and ends in June 2021: A fall Harley Davidson rally, a spring Harley rally and then the spring Atlantic Beach Bikefest.
But this year the coronavirus pandemic caused the postponement of the two spring bike rallies, and the rescheduling plans could lead to Horry County having five rallies in one fiscal year.
Bikefest was rescheduled for Labor Day weekend. Plans for rescheduling the spring Harley rally were up in the air due to some bikers wanting to still have two separate rallies while Horry County public safety officials wanted to combine the fall and spring rallies to save money in an already tough budget year.
The July rally will not become an annual event. After 2020, the schedule is expected to return to normal.
Horry County’s public safety leader Randy Webster said at a previous council meeting that having the two separate rallies would be a financial strain on the public safety budget.
In May 2019, Horry County spent about $170,000 on public safety needs for the spring Harley Davidson rally, according to Assistant County Administrator Barry Spivey. A lot of that money came from accommodations tax, a charge on staying in lodging.
Accommodations tax money is significantly down due to lost business from the coronavirus, and there is also a chance attendance will be down for a summer rally.
A major issue for Webster is that if Horry County finances don’t improve, there could be a budgetary problem paying for increased public safety staffing for the spring rallies in 2021 at the end of the fiscal year.
“We will properly police it no matter the case, but I just feel compelled to make sure you understand the situation we might find ourselves in,” Webster said. “The more folks we get here, the more calls we get in both law enforcement but also fire and EMS.”
But on Tuesday it was clear a majority of council members believed having a July bike rally has more benefits than negatives. A key reason the two rallies will be allowed is with hope that they will make up for the lost revenue many business owners face from shutting down for over a month.
In addition, Council Member Harold Worley said he doesn’t think the July bike rally will be as large as a normal spring or fall rally. He said his hotel’s future bookings are down 50 percent.
“We’ve got to get business back before we get taxes back,” Worley said. “We won’t get it flowing again until we get folks back into Myrtle Beach.”
Council Member Gary Loftus, the only opposition vote, said tourism projections he’s seen for July are looking good despite the rough start to the season. He is worried that other guests making plans for a July trip to Myrtle Beach might not be happy about sharing their vacation with a bike rally.
“I just think it’s overkill,” he said.
This story was originally published May 5, 2020 at 6:51 PM.
