Paso city council member's response

Wow... I'm pretty sure that what he said there was a P.C. way to hide some serious racist issues he's got.

 

I very much applaud the thought and heart of the the response letter. However, I do have to agree that it could have, and probably should have been worded more carefully. It does go on the attack from the first word. Not always the best way to get other folks to see your point. I believe that before the next response letter goes out, it should be looked over by legal counsel, spell-checked and bounced off a few other level-headed folks - then send it out. Your point can be made without leveling personal attacks on anyone.

Imagine getting this as a response letter to a carefully worded one you sent out earlier. After reading this would you take it as a personal attack, or a different view of a perceived problem?

For the next letter, one may consider this as an approach.
1. Thank him for taking the time to respond. You know his time is valuable and you appreciate the fact he took the time to respond.
2. Compliment the city and its citizens for its long and healthy relationship with the event and the fact it will be missed.
3. Acknowledge (not agree)his points and stance. This lets him know you took the time to read HIS letter and to think about what was said.
4. State your differences. These are not opinions or attacks, just the facts. You may even approach them as other factors that may have been overlooked at the time of his response. Make sure you can back these up with facts and more importantly, figures. Remember, city council can justify anything if there's enough dollars to make it make sense. Instead of asking him what he's going to do about the problem (which by the way is already done), offer solutions to his concerns. Such as, if the trouble is with the bikers being on the same weekend, offer to change the date. If the calls go up, check with other communities, or online as to what an acceptable number calls are for an event of that size - compare to the number of calls to those of a rock concert in the park, or New Years Eve celebrations. This shows you are not flying on just emotion and he will be more likely to listen.
5. Thank him again for taking the time to listen to your view and offer an open line of communication in the future as a way to hopefully mend these fences and once again have the Paso show.

These are merely suggestions and just my opinion. I do again applaud the fact that you all even bothered to write them in the first place.

Keep Rockin!
Bruce

PS - pour, not poor and shiny, not shinny

 

So we get screwed because 3 people want to use the damn library

 

<TABLE id=HB_Mail_Container height="100%" cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="100%" border=0 UNSELECTABLE="on"><TBODY><TR height="100%" UNSELECTABLE="on" width="100%"><TD id=HB_Focus_Element vAlign=top width="100%" background="" height=250 UNSELECTABLE="off">Well, Well, I think Paso needs to do what works for them and the event move on. It seems there is no going back, so what the hell, move forward. A change of venue will freshen up the scene anyway, and unless people get real greedy it should cost less to attend, What do I know, just my 2-cents. Clashing with them just seems to lower our standard and makes for bad feelings nobody needs. Blah-Blah-Blah-Sololobo/Roadburners of Omaha
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In the end, its their town and they can do what they want.

 

In the movie Amadeus, Emperor Joseph tells Mozart he has "too many notes."

When I read these letters, I was thinking: "too many words."

I was watching a football coach on HBO give one of his players the boot. The player says "Why are you letting me go?" The coach says: "I don't like you, and all the trouble you bring just isn't worth it."

That's called: just the right amount of words.

Rule #1 in letter writing is to not antagonize the man holding the strings. Calling an elected official "narrow minded and short sighted" is antagonizing.

MoparBruce has a wonderful response! Respect is very important in letter writing. Nobody even made the town clerk an Honorary, and he seems to enjoy that title.

 

Are you kidding me? Maybe I'm blind or something, but I've never seen any motorcycle gangs/clubs of a notorious brand at Paso. That is so prejudice to just assume that where there is cars/bikes, there are outlaws causing problems. Unbelievable. Shame on Paso city council.

 

I live in paso and it pisses me off that the city can just shut it down like that. I enjoyed being able to talk about cars to people that knew what they where talking about without leaving town. I never seen one member of a biker gang. The closest things i saw to gangs there where the verious car clubs and they wernt tryin to stab another car club member. And i was able to get to the library (i took a piss in there restroom). I know for a fact that some of the buisness owners in paso are just as upset as i am that the car show will be moving. well i guess the new location is santa maria right? it aint the end of the world but it wont be the same.

 

As a total outsider I'll try and put my spin on it.
The councilmans reply was a well reasoned letter laying out the council's and residents concerns wheras cleatus's reply probably without intending to displayed the "Rebel Without A Cause" leave me alone because I'm a car guy attitude often displayed on here.
As car guys we are in a minority and if we can't co exist with our neighbours and the general public without drama we are going to be welcome in less and less places.
Most people in our hobby are responcible people just out to enjoy themselves BUT a minority always stuff it up.....the guys who think its cool to stagger around drunk smashing bottles mouthing off and generally being a pain, the guys who think its real cool to pull a really smoky wheely and so on.
Its all about perception.......the average citizen finds these things threatening and it doesn't take many complaints to the council and yet again we are on the slippery slope to nowhere.
Hot Rodding has always had a image problem and in the last few years it seems to be sliding again. The real shame is that you get the generalisations such as seen in this situation "all primered cars bring trouble with them."
I got really flamed in another thread last week that was about a guy running a panel shop in a residential area complaining about the neighbour not being happy because I pointed out that I felt he was way out of line and that behaviour and attitudes like his get us all a crap name and more and more regulations to make our life difficult. This the end result of some people with similar attitudes behaviour.
I wish I could see a easy answer but I can't. I guess we all have to make more effort to improve our image and some need to drop the tough guy look at me attitude.

 

The vendors need to pay sales tax, period. My wife organizes a sale each year for her fiber guild (spinning, quilting, knitting, weaving, etc.) She has a building in the county fairgrounds now because the church they'd been in for years backed out 3 years ago because there were some marks on a wall left. No one had the opportunity to repair them, just done. Period. No coming back. 1 strike, you are out.

One thing that is required as a vendor is to show your tax i.d. license. The state will even let you get a 1 day license if need be and it isn't that expensive (this is in Ohio, we live 8 miles from the border). If the tax collector shows up, (s)he has the right to collect the taxes ON THE SPOT for the day's sales. If you don't have the license, you are CLOSED and here's your fine. Simple as that.

I'd do some checking into this stuff if necessary and be ready for it in SM. I live in BFE Michigan and I know Paso from years of magazine coverage and the posts on the HAMB. I have always wanted to go to this event just to say I was there.

Additionally, I am not a big drinker so it's easy for me to say, but why does there have to be beer/booze at these events? It always strikes me as funny that car shows and beer go together yet drinking and driving is such a no-no. A simple rule that glass bottles are not allowed and/or cannot be visible (MI rules make them sell beer in paper bags to walk out of the store) could go a long way.

I applaud the fact that you are taking the time to write the letters, but like others have stated, going on the attack right out the gates doesn't help. Best way to win an argument is by using their flawed reasoning against them.

1. Tax collection is not the requirement of the organizer, it is that of the tax collector.
2. Police REPORTS are because more individuals are trying to help so they actually CALL rather than ignore it and allow it to escalate out of control.
3. Rope off required sections and make them unavailable to show participants/spectators. "Library business parking only" 30 minute maximum by Temporary Police Order (we have those types of signs in our town of 3500).
4. Move out of down town and back to the fairgrounds. Sounds like the city fathers' wanted that to start with to draw business to down town. Now that it has out grown it, move it back but the draw will still be "Paso." It is called BRAND RECOGNITION in the marketing world and you don't FUCK IT UP by making it any place but 'PASO.'
5. Get them involved to make them part of the solution rather than part of the opposition. Honorary titles go a long way and a free T shirt strokes their egos!
6. If all of the above fail, have a great time down the road and work with that town to keep it there. The folks setting it up have every right to make it their family income because resolving all of the issues IS a full time job!

 

The folks setting it up have every right to make it their family income because resolving all of the issues IS a full time job![/quote]

I agree but I think the councils point is if it is a privately run for profit event the city has no place subsidising it withtaxpayers money.

I also agree with you that alcohol really seems out of place at a car focussed event. However maybe a solution would be like they do a sports events here in NZ and not allow alcohol be brought in to the event and have security staff to enforce it and then have licenced booths that will only sell in paper cups and as a condition of having the booth is that they do not sell to intoxicated people and have a financial penalty clause in their agreement if they breach it. It has worked really well here.

 

I want to become a politician now thanks to you..

 

This is not the movies where the pretty widow stands up and changes the council's mind, with wild applause.
This is a done deal and what ever we say here, or whatever we write, will not change it.
The promoter and the council had their moment to negotiate and couldn't come to terms.
Done deal.
As for the excuse, again, it's all about the drunks, stupid.
At any event run out of town, it's about the drunks.

 

What I love is how the city council ignores the interviews that residents and business owners of Paso Robles give to news reporters...





Paso Robles Car show won&#8217;t cruise through Paso next year




By Leah Etling

The West Coast Kustoms Cruisin&#8217; Nationals car show, which has been an annual event in Paso Robles for nearly three decades, will not come back to the city in 2008, organizers said this week.

The decision to move the show to Santa Maria on Memorial Day weekend came after the city requested that the organizers pay $35, 000 for policing of the show and cut the number of vehicles involved from 800 to 500.

Police Chief Lisa Solomon said the city asked for the funds to help control crowds, gang problems and violent crimes&#8212;all of which were issues during last year&#8217;s event.

&#8220;It was just a ridiculous weekend, &#8221; Solomon said. An estimated 27, 000 people came to town for the three-day event.

Solomon said her department responded to 153 calls related to the show. Officers responded to five assaults with deadly weapons, including a gang-related shooting. Police also responded to fights, domestic violence, and numerous alcohol consumption violations. In 2006, there were 119 police calls.

Some local business owners, upset about the show&#8217;s departure, plan to attend Tuesday night&#8217;s City Council meeting to complain.

A replacement event to fill the void is a possibility, but no decision has been made. Paso Robles Chamber of Commerce president Mike Gibson said talk of a new magnet event for Memorial Day weekend is just rumor.

Security concerns

Paso Robles police had a tougher time dealing with calls during the three-day car show than during the 12-day California Mid-State Fair, Solomon said. With more than 360, 000 people attending the fair this year, there were more people in town on any day of the fair than during the car show.

In response to last year&#8217;s car show problems, the city developed ways to better control event-related incidents, such as the $35, 000 fee. They invited Kustoms Cruisin&#8217; organizers to come up with ideas to reduce crime so the event could stay.

In a letter to her supporters, show founder Penny Pichette called the city&#8217;s concerns &#8220;realistic and valid&#8221; but said she could not afford to pay for additional policing.

&#8220;I don&#8217;t make $35, 000, and then they want me to cut down to 500 cars, &#8221; she said.

Next year&#8217;s event will be held at the Santa Maria Fair-park, which can accommodate more cars. Space restraints in Paso Robles limited the show to 800 entrants.

Councilman Gary Nemeth said that the city spent about $47, 000 to host the show. The fee paid by the car club was $1, 500.

&#8220;It was their choice, &#8221; Nemeth said of the club&#8217;s decision to go elsewhere. &#8220;The city was willing to dialogue with them.&#8221;

Pichette said Santa Maria made no demands on her.

&#8220;I just feel so sad, but there&#8217;s no turning back, &#8221; she said.

Long history

The show was first held at Nacimiento Lake in 1982. Pichette and her late husband, Rich, were inspired by a drive along the route traveled by James Dean the day he died, during which they visited Paso Robles.

&#8220;When there was nothing in Paso, we were there. It was our town too. Even though we didn&#8217;t live there, we did business there, and had many friends there, &#8221; Pichette said. She is concerned about what impact the show&#8217;s move will have on local merchants.

During 26 annual events, the event grew from fewer than 100 cars to 800, with participants traveling from all over California and beyond.

&#8220;It has never been a huge show by today&#8217;s standards &#8230; but it has always drawn great cars and the hobby&#8217;s most significant personalities, &#8221; wrote Damon Lee in a Custom Rod-der magazine article about the show&#8217;s 25th anniversary.

The weekend-long event included activities such as a dance, bowling, church services and meals as well as street cruising and awards.

Within 24 hours of the news of the show&#8217;s move to Santa Maria being posted on the Web site www.jalopyjournal.com, hundreds of past participants weighed in on the move. Some were supportive, others indignant. A few speculated that the burgeoning wine industry in Paso Robles is motivating the city to focus on a different sort of clientele.

&#8220;I&#8217;m not surprised. Paso wants to be the next Napa Valley with all its wineries. I&#8217;m sure there (is) plenty of wine tourist money coming into the city, &#8221; wrote Bobby Green.

About 6, 000 people bought tickets for the Paso Robles Wine Festival in May.

Chamber president Gibson wrote in an e-mail to the city that his organization supported keeping the show in town with changes, including fewer cars and payment for policing.

&#8220;Most of the businesses I talked with during the two days expressed better-than-average sales days with very few problems, &#8221; Gibson wrote.

Business owners upset

Local business owners who say the car show was one of their busiest weekends of the year are outraged that the event has been moved south.

Michael Garrotto, owner of Great American Antiques, said the change could cost him up to $12, 000 in business that he typically does during the car show weekend.

Tim Thomason, who owns Timmy T&#8217;s Pizza, threatened to bill the city $14, 000 for the revenue he estimates he&#8217;ll lose without hundreds of car enthusiasts and spectators in town that weekend.

&#8220;I think that a good portion of the businesses downtown don&#8217;t really have too many opportunities to sell their products to a large number of people. For me, that&#8217;s our largest weekend, &#8221; Thomason said.

Thomason said he never had any problem with unruly car show attendees.

The possibility that another organized event might come to the city that weekend was small solace to Thomason, who has owned the pizza shop for three years. He has personal relationships with many of the exhibitors, he said, who are loyal to the local businesses.

At some hotels, guests exceeded room capacity and damaged property during the event, but overall, Gibson said, most hoteliers are disappointed to see the event go.

Kate Davis, co-owner of Alliance Boardshop, said the event was popular with tourists as well as locals, including her own family.

Davis teared up while recounting memories shared with her father and her two sons at the car show. She added that the weekend is one of the year&#8217;s busiest for her business as well as a major fundraising opportunity for clubs and youth groups that sell food to the crowds.

&#8220;That&#8217;s our favorite family weekend. I don&#8217;t want to go to Santa Maria, &#8221; she said.

 

These guys look like they tap shoes under the bathroom stall.

 

The guy in the middle looks like he could star in the sequal to 40 Year Old Virgin...And the guy on the end just looks like a dick,the one next to him looks to slow to know what the fuck is going on...EVER...The first one looks to indulge in a bit of gay porn,and the one next to the first guy looks like he spends a bit too much time in the wineries to do anyone any good....

 

Dumb thing to say

 

So, now it's time to bash them. Really good move.

 

It's my opinion,not any of yours...They're not going to let Paso go on the way it should,so might as well have a little fun at some greedy council's expense...They don't give a shit about thier business owners that profit form this,they don't give a shit about what people have to say,and they don't give a shit about input..Stop and think,hmm,those were police calls,not arrests.Comlaining because the cops are doing what they get paid for??Keeping the peace and responding to calls are thier job...They fail to mention how many suicide calls they get and dui incidenses they respond to every day besides Paso...But whatever,let's be all okay with greed running a fun thing out..Funny how all those clubs mentioned as far as Vagos,Hell's Angels,and Mongols have been in the local bar at the same time as well as other motorcycle clubs,and thier hasn't been an incident...Oh yeah,because there's an understanding that it's a neutral zone..Alcohol should be outlawed at car shows in my opinion anyways...I don't condone drinking and driving..If you get caught drinking at a car show,your ass should get booted and your info recorded and banned for the next few years..There's always an alternative to raising the price,but no one ever wants to look at that,they just want the easy way out..

 

Bottom Line:
No Paso Robles in '08.
Santa Maria in '08.
Waaaay too much hand-wringing over this issue.

 

"Stop and think,hmm,those were police calls,not arrests.Comlaining because the cops are doing what they get paid for??"

Hmmm... The number of calls going up is an indication that there was MORE trouble than past year. Also, a cop can't stop a robbery or break in, if he's at a car show baby sitting a drunk hot rodder or spectator.

And while yer bitchin'.... how many of you saw some of this shit going on and didn't do a damn thing? But now you want to get all concerned and upset? How many thought it was fun when that guy set that fuckin' bush on fire or went behind a house to take a piss? Yea, you saw it and maybe didn't like it, but you didn't do a damn thing.

The sad part is, this is going to happen at the next location too. Everyone loves to spectate assholes, but no one does a thing about it. Look in the mirror. That is probably who killed Paso. Live with it.

 

its a lose lose situation...
you go in to break it up and get in a fight with the guy you are going to jail too.

you call the cops on the guy and the crime rate goes up and they decide to up the price for the cops.

you do nothing and the people destroying the show win.

there is not an easy answer.

but if the cops were not there baby sitting the event they would not be out stopping a bank robbery or break in...they would be out giving speeding tickets collecting the easy money. I have a lot of friends that are cops and my dad is a retired cop. most joined the force to fight crime but in the end they are ticket givers to fund the city.

 

You're right, Lotus. It's a lose/lose situation. The bottomline is that as long as people gather for events like this, there will be the assholes. Unfortunately, they are the ones that get remembered and end up ruining everything for the others.

The possible answer would be to have it in a enclosed area or arena where the cars can be parked and setup and the people entering can be scaned or observed as possible law breakers. You can't hold an outdoor "come as you wanna be" event and not expect trouble. It's a venue that is too open to control. Have you ever seen a group of drunks out of control at an indoor show and not get tossed out or arrested?

The tough guy leather jacket and attitude doesn't help either. Nice people in small towns get threatened by stuff like that. Yea, it sounds hokey, but it is a fact.

 

The bottom line..They don't want to get sued ...the council is paranoid.....other than that a great crowd and the more the merrier!!!..pack em in baby and lets party!!It was a great show if not one of the best ever ...Glad I got to do the cruise this year,even if it was from the back seat!!!


http://www.rothmetalflake.com

 

No kidding.... I totally agree. What makes the show special is the participants. And they are going to be in Santa Maria next year!

 

Paso is(was) a great event and was a lot of fun...

But they don't want it there anymore... So the show's moved to Santa Maria...

Why are we still trying to shove a square peg in a round hole?

If they don't want it there, they don't want it there... It don't matter if the only reason is that someone's Grandma couldn't go to the Library or if it was all-out biker war... It's their choice.

Move on.

Even if you "Succeed" in convincing the City Counsel to "allow" the show to return... How much fun do you think it will be?

 

Paso council= royalty
Hot rodders= dirty peasants, it will always and forever be that way. People with money and power will always look down on the little people.

 

Man... all you guys can do is go to the end of your chain and bark...

Ain't gonna be no more "Paso"...

Sam.

 

thats just it you cant even take a kid to a car show anymore without paying 10 bucks to get in. if i was rich i would buy 100 acres and call it kustom kulture ranch. all the vendors you want hell id even throw in a boxing ring just so all the hardasses could see whats really up. no weapons just old school fists and gloves. when your done beening retarded you can go over and buy each other a beer. there are to many politics, in this hole paso thing. i live 30 minutes south and its retarded. 10 minutes to santa maria 10 to 15 degrees cooler im all game but where we gonna cruize- guadalupe? lets do it. teach paso that we dont need there park and there crap. this is a way of life and if they dont resect it then they get no respect. no primered cars.....
lameist thing iv heard since billet aluminum. santa maria fair grounds could hold hell probly 1500 cars, it will be the new biggest kustom show anywhere. its like paso is that old lady you been married too for ever its time for a new younger one. lol paso has been very good in the past but like they say all good things must come to an end. but they way we think we will just cruze it else where. we dont need to be invited. where ever we go thats where its at and thats whats up.

 

i just wish i could have made it last year.

im not to big on politics but could someone explain to me why i pay taxes.
i was under the impretion that part of it payed salaries of city workers including police if that is true then why would they require an event to pay for police.