Alderman Petty drops opposition to Bikes, Babes & Bling
Graphic: Todd GillMatthew Petty has decided to drop opposition to the Bikes, Babes & Bling motorcycle rally which is currently being planned for July 1-3 in Fayetteville.
According to an update on Petty’s blog this morning, he received incomplete information from City Attorney Kit Williams in December but has now been informed by Assistant City Attorney Jason Kelley that the council has no legal grounds for denying this event permit because it is already in process.
“Any action the Council took could only affect future permits. So I’m dropping opposition to this event,” reads Petty’s blog.
Kelley would not confirm Petty’s claims this morning, and Kit Williams could not be reached for comment.
We can’t please everyone all the time, but we definitely think there are a lot of people that will enjoy Bikes Babes & Bling.
Petty said he plans to hold a public discussion on Tuesday, Jan. 19 at the beginning of the City Council meeting so that the public will have a chance to share their concerns about the permitting procedure.
“As it is a discussion item, no legislative action will take place regarding Bikes Babes and Bling at the meeting. The public will have a chance to share their concerns about the permitting procedure,” says Petty.
Petty told us this morning that he still has concerns over the current permitting process for special events in Fayetteville that he would like to discuss.
“Right now, whenever you fill out an event permit you have to address several different things like noise, safety and security,” Petty said. “But our current noise ordinance doesn’t address constant noise that is spread out all over town that lasts for a significant duration like three or four days.”
Petty also says the process is not designed to deal with the traffic burden the city experiences with events like this.
“If traffic and noise are our concerns, we don’t have legislation in place to deny (a permit) on those grounds,” he said.
Coleson Burns, Event Director for Bikes, Babes & Bling said he was glad Petty has dropped the opposition.
“I am pleased. I am happy for sure,” Burns said. “I hate that people are trying to oppose it. We really are trying to stimulate Fayetteville to help during these tough economic times.”
With no formal opposition from Alderman Petty, the permit denial is no longer expected to be discussed at today’s council agenda session.
“We can’t please everyone all the time, but we definitely think there are a lot of people that will enjoy Bikes Babes & Bling. We think it will be a good thing for Fayetteville,” said Burns.
Comments
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Innarested Observer
January 12, 2010
Vomit. A pox on the house of this event.
Offcamber
January 12, 2010
Hey now, this could be a good thing.
Fair-weather bikers annoy me more than any of you, I guarantee it. I loathe getting stuck behind cruisers puttering along, especially when they slow to a near halt to negotiate the slightest bend. Slow-moving motorcycles steam me badly, especially on fun roads. Imagine getting your hemp dashiki caught in your bicycle chain on the way to the Farmer’s Market, then multiply that frustration tenfold. I’m on your side about the moto-biker thing, downtownies.
However, we’re talking a group in which AARP members now outnumber the outlaws. These people have money (priced a new Harley?), and will spend it to our benefit. Given the fuschia explosion in the Bx3 branding, I suspect the “pink” charities may rake it in, too. Milk these cows. It’s money in the bank for Fayetteville.
The parks, trails, brick-lined speed tables, and other perks of the Arkansas Athens come at a cost, so be willing to pay. Commerce drives tax revenue. A noisy biker rally was something originally chosen by Fayetteville to help Fayetteville, and it was successful beyond expectation. These leathery pageants of lost youth are a windfall for the town in a time when Benton County has absorbed a lot of dining and entertainment traffic.
Live with the bikers, or live with shortcomings elsewhere.
Innarested Observer
January 12, 2010
Well, hell, let’s just have one every month. Think of how great that would make everything!
David Franks
January 12, 2010
And if all those senior bikers had a nude rally, think of the money saved on leather apparel that could be poured into the local economy.
burgerboy
January 12, 2010
Bikes, Boobs and Ding-a-lings.
mpetty
January 12, 2010
Under current legislation, there would be no way to prevent a motorcycle rally from occurring every month.
stuart
January 12, 2010
How exactly is giving $20,000 of tax payer money to a event, regardless of what it is, supposed to generate revenue for the city? It seems counter intuitive, especially when the event turns the city into a hell hole.
Innarested Observer
January 12, 2010
How about one for kids? Bikes, Brats & Babysitters? Or for seniors? Bikes, (old) Buzzards & Barnacles? Let’s just turn this place into biker heaven. Screw the noise or the things that attracted us to this place to begin with: it’s all about making some merchants more money. Nothing else matters.
Iheartnerds
January 12, 2010
So, let’s get a Flyer story on the Abel Tomlinson incident. Ooooh, maybe we can have our very own mug shot gallery, aka the Smoking Gun.
milky
January 13, 2010
So, could we have a protest or a march? If Petty can’t get it done, could those of us who oppose it do something?
Donkeylips
January 13, 2010
For real, where is the Abel Tomlinson story? He looked f***** up in his mugshot! And this is who we get to run against the mighty NWA repugs, God help us poor liberals in NWA.
Irked
January 13, 2010
Well, you might protest by never spending another dime at Jamming Java, Jose’s, and Cafe Rue Orleans. The owners of those three places gave the $20,000 to fund this. (Oh, btw, the Jose’s owner also sits on the Board of Bikes, Blues and Barb-b-que. How ya like them ethics?)
milky
January 13, 2010
That will be easy, I don’t patronize any of those places to begin with.
Innarested Observer
January 13, 2010
Jose’s is awful, so no problem there. Kinda liked Rue Orleans but never again, now. Thanks for the heads up.
mpetty
January 13, 2010
I know everyone wants a place to focus their frustration. You’re free to boycott any business you want, but I don’t think that’s going to accomplish much.
Getting a solution to our concerns is going to be a process. Both the event permitting process and aspects of the A&P need to be reformed.
The first step is going to be coming to the Council meeting next Tuesday, Jan 19. At the beginning of the meeting, there will be a public discussion on the permitting and funding procedures for events. This is your chance to tell your local government everything you think is wrong with the systems. The Mayor will be there along with the entire City Council.
Please don’t pass up this opportunity to get started on the changes we need.
grump
January 13, 2010
Jose’s IS awful. I hear that.
Mullva
January 13, 2010
Taco Bell’s $.89 Burrito’s give me less gass and **** than anything at Jose’s!
pam
January 14, 2010
the question for me is what we foster in our community. the level of noise produced by these rallies is shattering to all but the altered. i do not believe that these events feed the soul of fayetteville, but are disturbing to those of us who are bombarded by the sounds and visuals. last october there were children walking down dickson street during bbbq with full blown pornographic tee shirts spouting graphic sexual comment in full view. i am not a prude but believe in some sense of decorum and that what we feed in this community grows. i am a downtown merchant who finds it impossible to do business and remain somewhat sane during this time. it is better for us to close the doors and leave town.
Michael
January 14, 2010
Visit the HS or Jr Highs & middle schools, you’ll see kids wearing much the same there as at BB&BBQ. You’ll also typically see more exposed skin at FHS than you will on the UA campus.
Offcamber
January 14, 2010
BBBBQ is obnoxious, but it only lasts a few days. The suffocating gentrification of downtown Fayetteville happens all year long.
The other 360 days of the year, the town is overrun with elitist, thin-skinned arthouse utopians and picky eaters with an exclusionary view of who needs to be there and what needs to be bought, sold, and done. The welcoming, ramshackle nonchalance of downtown in years past is pretty much dead.
If these crusty bikers knew who really lived down near Dickson, they would point their hawgs elsewhere. Based on much of the ‘Flyer commentary, this is Squaresville. Want to drive away the bikers? Be yourselves. Whine about each offense in your cloistered, self-imporant existance until every sense of small-town, working-class character, color, and heritage has completely evacuated the town.
Naysayer
January 14, 2010
This gives councilman Petty another reason to ride his trike.
disgusted
January 14, 2010
It is lunacy to invite such noise pollution into the city.
Throw a loud party, and the cops will drop by.
Shoot off fireworks, and the cops will come by.
Invite 100,000 obnoxiously loud motorbikes into the city, and the cops just watch cause they got their orders from on high.
“Money doesn’t talk, it ROARS!”
vax
January 15, 2010
I guess they will start filming sons of anarchy here next.. welcome to charming boys.
I’m alright with BBBQ once a year, sure its inconvenient for actual residents who live within the parking radius (ehm me) and is obnoxious, but **** what good party isnt? however this whole biker girl spinoff thing seems pretty lame.. lets get a new idea people, and maybe a new crowd? are we really THAT biker friendly? the only bikers I ever see in fayetteville are the kind who pedal.
GLH
January 16, 2010
First, this is all absolutely hilarious. Please, people, come down from your self-erected pedestals of self-importance and have a chuckle! The world is not coming to an end because a few hundred female motorcycle riders come to Fayetteville!
Second,
Let’s all understand something about Fayetteville’s “image”, “soul” or any other vague term anyone wants to use to describe their own personal perspective on this great town.
It is only a personal perspective.
Stop appropriating all the buzz words and catch phrases you can latch onto to try to legitimize your position. “It’s bad for business”; “The benefit to the City is questionable”; “It’s disruptive”; “It doesn’t fit Fayetteville’s image”; “It hurts Fayetteville’s soul”; “It’s demeaning”; “It’s inappropriate”
All these arguments are nothing more than personal perspective. The “It” in all the above could be a motorcycle rally, an arts festival, a film festival, a food festival, a Razorback football game, you name it. Anything that gathers more than five people in public is disruptive to someone. For crying out loud, shows at the Walton Arts Center are disruptive due to parking, traffic, pedestrians, etc.
Nothing will please everyone. So what do we do? Ban them all? Who decides? The Mayor? The City Council? Should a special election be held for every permit? Here’s a suggestion, let the forces of business and economy make the call. If a festival/rally/event is not economically viable, it will die. BBBQ only continues because the people involved are making money. Trust me, if it didn’t, it would be gone.
Stop trying to universalize your personal perspective on everyone else. Having been around Fayetteville for 30+ years, the ONE thing I have seen we’ve ALWAYS tried to maintain is a respect for others, even if we don’t agree. Are we now going to throw that away?
…and the oppressed becomes the oppressor. [ just my personal perspective ;) ]
Innarested Observer
January 16, 2010
@GLH Oh, so the opponents of this are selfishly viewing things from our own perspective… but *you* tell us we are on “self-erected pedestals of self-importance.” Then you say we are not maintaining a respect for one another.
Find a mirror… hypocrite.
GLH
January 16, 2010
@Innarested Observer:
I never said I wasn’t on one myself! I certainly have an inflated sense of my own importance. (I think if I didn’t I wouldn’t hold forth on this and other blogs)
Many times a post can be more revealing about the author than the subject being written about. In this case, I would propose that the author (me) has a personal issue with wanting others to see things from the author’s perspective and then universalizes it. That doesn’t, however, necessarily invalidate the viewpoint.
The point being, we are all approaching these subjects from our own personal viewpoints (perspective) and starting to lose sight of the idea that everyone’s viewpoint is valid…to them.
I freely admit, as much as I try not to be, I am as much a victim of this as anyone. Please enlighten me as to how that makes me a hypocrite. I may disagree with one’s opinion/perspective/viewpoint and still respect the person and the fact that IS their viewpoint and it is valid…to them. Just as you see me as a hypocrite and that is valid to you. I will interpret you calling me that a description of my behavior, and not an ad hominem attack (or just plain calling me names). Reading previous posts of yours, I do not believe you are the kind of person who attacks the person in lieu of the opinion. We can disagree without being disagreeable. And my apologies to those who took my previous post as being such.
David Franks
January 16, 2010
GLH–
Talk about Fayetteville’s image or soul is not just vague terms relevant to the user’s personal experience. Any meaningful place has a soul. I’ll even suggest that most people who live in Fayetteville, upon reflection, could come to some agreement as to what constitutes Fayetteville’s soul– regardless of their opinion regarding Bikes, Babes & Bling.
“It’s bad for business”, “The benefit to the City is questionable” and “It’s disruptive” are not buzzwords or catchphrases– they are facts to lesser or greater parts of the population.
Morgan
January 16, 2010
Ok, being new to Fayetteville I’ll bite – what IS the soul of Fayetteville? What IS the image of Fayetteville?
burgerboy
January 16, 2010
I believe the soul of Fayetteville is:
A college town with a hippie-dirt-farm, hippie-hillbilly vibe, mixed with lower-midwestern, midsouth values.
One biker rally can fit into that. Its not a “biker town” per se, although a lot of the surrounding area seems to have its fair share of bikers.
Mark_Landry
January 16, 2010
I believe it is a town that takes itself WAAAY too seriously…
disgusted
January 16, 2010
Well, Mark, why don’t you just stay WAAAAAY away from this town?
Mark_Landry
January 18, 2010
Because I likes it…
Stephen V.
January 18, 2010
Sorry, it should not need to be said but I believe the *soul* of Fayetteville is not a finished thing. Being known as a year-round monthly destination for out of area bikers will define us in ways that will result in changing this *soul*, right?
It would be nice if the folks downtown took their jobs seriously enough to want to either: institute processes which require or pay a (disinterested) consultant to produce a full & transparent accounting of these things. Having a bottom line donation to charity is NICE but does not begin to encompass the full force and fiscal effect of such events. Too many unsubstantiated assumptions for me.
burgerboy
January 19, 2010
Proposed New City Slogan:
Like Eureka Springs….on Cocaaaaaaaaine!
Urk
January 19, 2010
Burgerboy- totally awesome, but I think you’re approximately 25 years late. but still awesome.
merchants,speakup!
January 19, 2010
The merchants like “Pam Jan14th” above need to show up enforce at this meeting and speak out strongly. Unfortunately I think some of them fear alienating someone important whether its a client or business colleagues. My response to that is to wonder what kind of person would want to venge you for asserting your interests and is such a person worth catering to.
Morgan
January 19, 2010
It’s hard to tell what the soul of a town is. I think it’s probably different for everyone which makes me then think that perhaps the best part of the “soul” of Fayetteville is tolerance and an open-mindedness towards fellow citizens and how they want to live or who they want to be. The intolerance and annimosity displayed against bikers seems to fly in the face of that “soul” and image. Surely there are bikers who live here in Fayetteville year round, paying their taxes and helping support the city. I bet they don’t feel all that kindly towards some of their fellow citizens right about now and who could blame them.
Why isn’t there an opposition like this against the Razorbacks? I don’t like football. I find the traffic on game weekends to be bothersome. The drunks running around Dickson Street on game weekends annoy and irritate me so that I don’t frequent the area. They are loud and obnoxious and rude. Some of the sober fans aren’t much better. There is a lot of trash around on the grounds after those games. Parking gets to be problematic. Etc etc etc. It seems perhaps the only difference between Hog fans and BBBQ bikers is the attire and vehicle being driven. There are lots of really nice Hog fans and some jerks. Same thing for the BBBQ folks. So again, what makes one okay and one not? I don’t get it.
I can sympathize with people who dislike the whole event but in the end it’s only what, three days? That’s less than 1% of the year during which you are going to have to put up with something you hate but others really love. For the record I’ve lived through one BBBQ festival and I was not impressed except for those spiral potato chip things! I heart those!
Innarested Observer
January 19, 2010
A football game is over in one day, and actually, usually, in a handful of hours. Bikes starts on Tuesday and runs through Sunday. The say it’s only three days but those of us who live near it know it’s almost a week. Loud, and late at night. I have been awakened at 3 a.m. by over-revved bikers. And that’s a big part of it… if it was a day, two days, I could suck it up. But the handful of jerks ruin it for me and others like me. Last one, 14 bikers rented an apartment in my block. 14! Hey… maybe they really do have 722,000 people show up… or whatever the number they say now.
I don’t like having my life trashed for six days by this. Sure don’t like the idea of adding on to that. Merchants’ rights to make money don’t trump my rights to hate this event. It ain’t making me a dime. It just makes me mad.
David Franks
January 19, 2010
Morgan–
There’s a big difference between an event that has grown out of the history of Fayetteville and an event that is created out of whole cloth to generate money and imposed on the city.
The University has been an integral part of the city for well over a hundred years. The tradition of game days, annoying as they might be, evolved over a long time. Almost all of the people who attend games have a relationship with the University and with Fayetteville because they’ve attended the University and lived in town– a significant time in their lives. Like it or not, the Razorbacks are part of the soul of Fayetteville.
BB&BBQ was created out of nothing. There is nothing indigenous to the area to suggest that motorcycles belong in Fayetteville on such a scale; having just a blues and barbecue festival would be quite a stretch. Fayetteville is not a home to any of these things on a grand scale. If the blues and barbecue are part of the soul of Fayetteville (and opinions vary as to whether even Herman’s Rib House is a part), it is at a more intimate scale than any festival permits.
Considering Fayetteville’s history of, shall I say, citizen feminism of an alternative nature, a festival called Bikes, Babes and Bling is even farther removed from the soul of Fayetteville.
As long as local tax dollars are collected expressly for, among other things, sponsoring festivals, you can– and should– expect citizen input on how those dollars are spent. And as long as crowds are attracted with gimmicks and hype, expect the soul of a place to wither.
burgerboy
January 19, 2010
Word.
The primary issue with BBBBQ is noise. Its the LOUD rumble of bikes that anybody living in the area bounded by Old Missouri to the east, 540 to the west, Springdale to the North and Fifteenth Street to the south, has to put up with.
It is ridiculous, and reading so many people post about it reminds me of how craptastic it really is. Bikes blasting around and friggin helicopters taking off and landing for a week at all hours in this generally peaceful city. It sucks. It sucks even worse now that its coming out that we don’t receive some huge tax windfall from it, as we’ve been led to believe.
There is zero comparison of the noise generated by any other event and BBBBQ. None. Football games snag traffic for a few hours before and after on a Saturday afternoon. No appreciable noise, and probably just as much business for local restaurants and hotels.
Its like the traffic congestion and hassle of an Austin City Limits type festival, without any of the cool stuff.
David Franks
January 19, 2010
Although I’m not a Razorback fan, I must admit I was charmed by the aftermath of the 1981(?) Arkansas-Texas game. I was south of downtown, and could hear the roaring mob as it moved from the stadium to Dickson Street. Emotions were high. Bonfires were lit. Good times.
Morgan
January 20, 2010
@David, IA and Burger
Good points. I hadn’t thought about the whole bit about the stupid Hogs being part of F’ville history and having grown up with the town. Nor had I really thought about how long the noise lasts. We did hear the bikes quite well where I live and it does suck. I still think the festival isn’t that bad because it isn’t that long even at six days. If someone left it up to me I would pass on the 2nd BBBQ event. It seems very contrived, redundant and just a damn bit silly.
Now what the heck does this mean, David? “citizen feminism of an alternative nature” That is way too politically correct for me to decipher. Are you talking about lesbians or the vagina religion ladies or what?
David Franks
January 20, 2010
Morgan–
Yes. Don’t blame political correctness, though; rather, I have a penchant for circumlocution.
Morgan
January 20, 2010
David –
Give yourself two points for word usage! I love the word “circumlocution.” Then give yourself another two points for correct word usage. Heck, that’s four points and it isn’t even noon yet. You rock on with your bad self, Dude!
Now I am wondering though if women belonging to either of those categories are likely to dislike the BBBQ and it’s sister even, The Blingage thing. And if so, why? As a straight woman who doesn’t believe in any religion I find the Blingage event to be silly and perhaps mildly patronizing (why do I need my own event for girls?) but it doesn’t get my panties in a wad.
Vestal
January 20, 2010
We already have a Goddess Festival, which sorta covers the vagina religion and/or L-word target markets.
Urk
January 20, 2010
David, I think that Herman’s is definitely a part of the soul of Fayetteville, but certainly BBQ in general is not. One of my complaints growing up was the lack of any local BBQ that was particularly distinctive. the telephones at the booths and fried pies at the old B&B were much more interesting than the BBQ.
The music that runs deepest in the town is blues related, but calling it “blues” only works in the modern parlance as a catch-all category that covers everything from soul to southern rock to blues rock to various flavors of actual blues. It’s always seemed to me that BB&BBQ was built around a set of generic southern signifiers that had nothing much at all to do with Fayetteville.
Moondawg
January 20, 2010
How about we simply have a Blues Festival?
Wondering
January 20, 2010
Hmmm…drunken bikers and cowboys competing for the same hotel rooms and bar stools…..better hire lots of security.
Chuckling
January 20, 2010
Well, I’d be betting on the cowboys…most of these “bikers” are just pot-bellied yuppies with a weekend bandana on their bald heads.
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