School Board denies Monkey Rock parking request

STURGIS, S.D. – After a three hour meeting, the Meade School Board voted 7 to 2 to deny a request by HD Logix to rent school property east of Sturgis to park rally traffic.

HD Logix, the company putting on the Rock N' Rev concert series at Monkey Rock during the motorcycle rally, had offered to give the school board $25,000 to lease the hay field between Monkey Rock and the high school, and an additional $10,000 to rent the high school parking lot for the week. The group promised security, lighting, and a $5-million liability insurance policy. Law enforcement agreed opening up the field could help alleviate traffic problems east of Sturgis - but fell short of actually endorsing the idea -- saying that was up to the school board.

The majority of school board members were concerned about the short timing of the request -- and seemed hesitant to fall into the business of catering to the motorcycle rally. In the end, board members found too many unknowns that had to be answered. Furthermore, had the board approved the request -- it would also had to of been approved by the Rapid City School Board and Western Dakota Tech - who holds the lease on the hay field until mid-August.

Without the school property for parking, members of the group say they will go back to the drawing board as construction continues at the Monkey Rock site to accomodate what they say could be 12,000 to 16,000 concert-goers a day. The Rock N' Rev is in a predicament after a contract dispute with Glencoe, where the concerts were originally scheduled to take place.