Comments 

This seems ridiculous to me. Why wouldn't we support something that is going to bring dollars and people in and the city is going to get paid back. I love this line: "Vice Mayor Trish Rose said she worried about opening the door to every group wanting to hold a festival or an event" We don't want to open the door to people bringing people to town?? WOW!!!

Michael, I agree that we should bring into downtown Hutch as many festivals, people and money as possible. But, I also believe the city council DID offer its support of the hot rod festival by offering to provide police and fire support at no cost. That's the most appropriate use of their power and resources. I believe the city council fulfilled its role just as it should have.

Then why did the event get shot down? The $20,000 investment was going to be paid back. In all honesty, it would have been paid back at least 20 times with sales tax revenue generated from increased business traffic. By providing the fire and police at no cost does sound good, but it's nothing more than admission of ability to provide for the event. Fire fighters and police are not going to work for free. If the promoters were not going to have to pay for it, then you know who will? We will. But, the council agreed that it could be provided at no charge to the promoters, so they obviously understood that event would have been able to generate enough tax revenue to cover any overtime expense for those respective services. Today it's the hot rod run, what is it going to be next time? Events like this don't get offered to just any city. They come because of the connections people have. What happens when the connections get burnt?

I think Michael and Aubrey both have valid points... But!!! I am going with Michael, this was a big nationwide event and they said they would pay the actual cash back to the City. This is a no brainer. The city is a business and has to be run like that and any business that is offered an opportunity to invest in something, is guaranteed their original investment back and nearly guaranteed a very good return on investment and then chooses not to participate is not being run efficiently. I would rather we deal with a few illegitimate attempts to get the city to pay for things than burn bridges or become known as a city that doesn't want these types of events.

I agree with you on most things but must disagree on this. The decision by the City Council not to support this event reminds of the saying "If you always do what you always did you always get what you always got". What we got right now is a downtown that is in need of something that will bring people down there. With the exception of a few events their isn't much reason to go downtown. It seems this City Council is OK with that.

Hi guys, I never heard any of the promoters mention paying the money back - boy did I miss something big. What if the event happens to be a bust - how do they pay it back? I'm with Aubrey on this one. Fire and police for an event of this size is a substantial donation from the City. I always support community events and believe they are one of many things that contribute to a vibrant community but this one makes me nervous. Yes there will be sales tax revenue and hopefully the hotels will be full but why support an out of state promoter? How about the City of Hutch and or Reno County hosting their own festival in Carey Park - think Smoky Hill River Festival. We could have cars, music, art, culturally diverse food and our community could reap the economic benefit. Just my two cents - Dorothy

I don't know for sure about the offer to pay back the money. I do know that when you say "Why support an out of state promoter?" My answer is... Because they are there to promote!Why local promoters or events are we snubbing by supporting this one?

I'm sorry I don't have an internet link I can give that shows where the promoters said they would pay back the money, but I do have the article that I clipped out of the paper. They said they would pay the money back with profits, so if it were a bust, then the city would be out. In my opinion, nothing will ever be accomplished if we worry about not succeeding. Two things really got me upset with this. First, city manager, John Deardoff, said there was an excess balance of $17,300 in the city's 2008 non departmental budget fund. Second, the city agreed to provide police and fire at no cost to the promoters. So they identified a budget source, and they also realized they could provide police and fire services with no cost. Police and Fire will not work for free, so they must have realized the tax income potential to provide for these services. To answer you question about supporting an out of state promoter, this isn’t a community event. This is a national event, with national sponsors. Bringing this event to Hutchinson would put a national look at our community. Hutchinson does host our own festival. Hutch Fest. If you have ever been, then you probably forgot about it as quickly as it took to walk through it, or maybe not even realized it was a community event. I’ve seen back yard fireworks that put to shame the city’s attempt at a 4th of July celebration. It basically comes down to this. What does this city want to accomplish? We are upgrading the downtown, but how are we going to use it? The Hutch Mall is a ghost town! Taxes keep increasing for homeowners, but what benefit do we get from it? While the cities to the North and South of us grow, Hutch seems to be spinning in circles. Then when the city gets the opportunity to take advantage of our downtown revitalization, they put it off.

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