Clock ticking for Council decision on Motorcycle Week

LACONIA — With Motorcycle Week just three months away, questions abound about whether the event should take place this year, and if so, when and under what conditions.

Those questions were on the minds of the City Council when Mayor Andrew Hosmer brought up the matter at Monday’s City Council meeting.

Motorcycle Week Association Executive Director Charlie St. Clair told the council the organization is moving ahead with plans to stage the annual event from June 12 to 20. But with the status of the COVID pandemic in a state of flux, he acknowledged that there may need to be some constraints.

“It may be like last year’s rally in August,” he told the virtual, teleconference meeting.

Last year the event was postponed two months because of COVID, and it was scaled down greatly compared to prior years in an attempt to prevent spread of the disease. Vendor tents and center line parking were eliminated on Lakeside Avenue to prevent crowding and potentially spreading the disease.

St. Clair asked the council to hold off making any decision until the end of April.

But City Manager Scott Myers urged the council to act sooner. He said that because of all the uncertainty surrounding COVID the city has so far not done any substantial planning for Motorcycle Week. He said making a decision in late April would mean all the planning and preparations would have to be accomplished in six weeks. Normally planning would get underway in January or February, he said.

“There are a lot of logistics,” he said.

“I’m afraid time is not our friend,” Hosmer said Tuesday. “I wish it was 150 days instead of 90.”

In his remarks to the council, Hosmer noted that the ongoing vaccination program is raising the public’s confidence that the county is turning the corner on the pandemic. He said it has been estimated that by mid-June, 30% of New Hampshire residents will have had two inoculations of either the Pfizer or Moderna vaccines. On Feb. 28 the federal Food and Drug Administration approved distribution of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine which requires only one shot.

While he said the data shows “we are trending in the right direction,” Hosmer said there is still the question of whether Bike Week should be “full-blown or scaled back.”

Jose DeMatos, owner of ‎Channel Waterfront Cottages and Weirs Beach Convenience & Gifts; and Meghan Doptis, manager of the Tower Hill Tavern, both urged the council to hold off making a decision.

DeMatos said his cottages are already sold out for the June dates and hoped that the council will approve Motorcycle Week to be held at that time.

“Businesses and guests should not have to make other plans,” he said.

Councilors Bruce Cheney and Tony Felch agreed with Hosmer that it would be premature to make a decision about Motorcycle Week now. The mayor said the council will take up the matter again at its next meeting on March 23, but indicated there would be no decision made at that time.

He said while he is very aware of the economic impact Motorcycle Week has on the city, and especially on businesses in Weirs Beach, he said the top priority for him is ensuring public health and public safety.

“I think we’re in a wait-and-see approach,” he said.