By JOHN KOZIOL
Staff Writer
LACONIA — Written off for dead more than a year
ago, the idea of a cost/benefit analysis of Bike Week
may be coming back to life.
Ward 1 City Councilor Judy Krahulec on Monday
proposed the city re-examine collaborating on the same
type of study that it had rejected back in 2002.
Mayor Mark Fraser ultimately referred the matter of
the Bike Week study to the council’s Government
Operations and Ordinances committee.
In 2002, Fraser broke a 3-3 tie against the city
spending $10,000 as its share of a $30,000 study that,
according to officials of the Belknap County Economic
Development Council, 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, which came up with the idea for the
study, tried to get the project funded in equal part
by the city, the state and the county and various
organizations including the Meredith Area and Greater
Laconia-Weirs Beach chambers of commerce, the Lakes
Region Association and the Laconia Motorcycle Rally
and Race Week Association.
But the council, while not questioning the worth of
such a study, questioned why Laconia should have to
come up with such a high percentage of its cost when
the benefits accrued to all of the communities of
Belknap County and especially to the state.
Councilors also raised concerns that the study
might not reflect "quality of life issues" created by
Bike Week.
Despite the ongoing work of the municipal
Motorcycle Week Advisory Committee, which is covering
some of the same ground as the proposed cost/benefit
study, Krahulec said the study "should not have been
dismissed."
Having been in recent e-mail contact with Brian
Gottlob, the would-be author of the study back in
2002, Krahulec said he was now offering to do the same
work for just $21,000.
Ward 5 Councilor Rick Judkins said it was unclear
whether the BCEDC still supported the cost-sharing
formula it had previously suggested.
Fraser said he wanted a commitment from the BCEDC,
Rally and Race or whomever might be the third party
interested in paying for the study.
