By JOHN KOZIOL

Staff Writer

LACONIA — Saying the final report of the municipal Motorcycle Week Advisory Committee may shed some light on the issue, the City Council on Monday decided not to pursue a separate economic study of the annual rally.

The idea of the study was raised last month by Ward 1 Councilor Judy Krahulec but it was agreed that no action would be taken on the matter until after Ward 5 Councilor Rick Judkins had an opportunity to speak with representatives of the Belknap County Economic Development Council.

Back in 2002, the BCEDC asked the city to spend $10,000 as its share of a $30,000 study that, according to BCEDC officials, would provide "an unbiased, empirical study of Bike Week" and would also come up with a list of suggestions on how to improve the event.

The BCEDC tried to get the project funded in equal part by the city, the state and the county and various organizations, but first the county commission balked at the idea and then so did the City Council, said Judkins on Monday.

Now, he added, the BCEDC is involved in conducting an economic profile of Belknap County and has neither the "capacity or resources to participate" in a Bike Week study.

Krahulec said she would like the item to remain on the council’s agenda in large part because such a study would disprove the notion that the city loses money on Bike Week.

Judkins agreed with Krahulec on that point, but said that a new study should not be pursued until after the Motorcycle Week Advisory Committee presents its conclusions to the city in the near future.

The City Council has told the Motorcycle Week Committee to look objectively at Bike Week "and its impact on the city’s public relations and infrastructure" to determine whether it is "in the city’s best interest" to assume responsibility for the rally and also whether its nine-day duration should be changed.

Additionally, the committee was told to find ways of creating a better relationship with businesses and finding alternative sources (other than the city, county and state) to pay for the costs of Bike Week.

Bike Week is definitely an asset to Laconia, said Mayor Mark Fraser, even if the city loses some money on it in terms of providing municipal services.

He noted that previously, the city would spend more than $100,000 on Bike Week and get back $10,000 in revenues, although that has changed to the point where one year the city actually made a profit, or like it did in 2003, brought in about $14,000 less in vendor and site plan fees than it spent on police, fire and public works services.

The main reason why the City Council should care about what Bike Week costs, said Fraser, is that those costs should not force the city to have to "pinch pennies" to find money to pay for other things, such as street repairs.