There are fewer than 90 days until the spring Harley-Davidson motorcycle rally on the Grand Strand and two votes from Horry County council will mean big changes for the event.
Council made those changes Tuesday, to amend ordinances dealing with vendors and outdoor events.
But those votes did not come without a lot of confusion, questions, and even finger-pointing.
Horry County Council Chairman Liz Gilland said the changes mean the numbers of vendors are cut in half, prices will go up, and they’ve basically cut the time of the rally in half, and spread the vendors across the county.
Mike Shank said he is one of the largest promoters of the Harley-Davidson bike rallies.
Shank said Tuesday’s meeting was confusing and he's not really sure what happened or what it all means, but does plan to follow the county's new laws.
"Regardless of what happened last night, the rally would still go on, it's gone on for 69 years and we hope despite the bump in the road this year that there's 69 more years of it." Shank said.
There were a lot of bumps in the road during Tuesday night's council meeting.
Gilland said the meetings are usually orderly, but Tuesday’s was not so pretty.
"The gloves were off, there was bickering, there was arguing, voices were raised, but we were hammering into place something that a majority of us could agree upon," Gilland said.
The majority was not on Gilland's side for much of the night as she had to cast the tie breaking vote more than once. One of those times, she told the audience she pushed the yes and no buttons simultaneously and one day later she said she still doesn't know which one she meant.
"I knew I didn't have time to ponder it, the way I usually do and I had to vote, so call it lack of leadership, but quite honestly at the time it was the best I could do," Gilland said.
Gilland believes council did the best they could in passing laws that let bikers know they'll have to police themselves. And also sent a signal to residents, your neighborhoods won't be as congested or as loud.
Gilland also said council followed the rules of procedure closely enough that what's done is done and the issue likely won't be revisited until after the May rallies.
Vendor permits for the rally go on sale 30 days before the event starts.
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