Panel Divided 2-2 On Whether To Continue The Event

The fate of the Hollister Airshow in Hollister, CA may rest in the hands of one incoming member to the city council.

At the October meeting of the Airport Advisory Commission, that panel recommended that the event be continued with a $20,000 subsidy from the Airport Enterprise Fund, according to a report from sanbenitocountytoday.com. However, at the November 21 meeting of the city council, the city staff recommended that the event be cancelled.

The average budget for the show is $50,000, according to Airport Director Mike Chambless, while the cost for each individual performer is about $6,000. Chambless told the council that the Airshow Committee is not committed to raising funds for the event. The airshow has operated in the red for the past several years.

The council deadlocked 2-2, with one member abstaining from the vote due to a potential conflict of interest. While the council was advised by its attorney that they could require the abstaining member to vote, Mayor Ignacio Velazquez had a different idea.

He said that the council should wait for a final vote until newly-elected councilman Roy Sims is seated on the council this weekend. “I think we should give that person an opportunity to state his voice,” Velazquez said.

(Image from Hollister Airshow Facebook page)

FMI: http://hollister.ca.gov/government/city-council/