WINNEMUCCA — There’s little question about the success of Run-A-Mucca – held annually over Memorial Day weekend.  Last year there were 700 registered participants with an estimated economic impact to local businesses of $300,000, which is a dollar figure too powerful to be ignored in any rural community struggling to make ends meet.

But it is not a cheap event. Hidden in the cost of staging Run-A-Mucca is the $12,000 (estimated 2010 cost) in overtime for the people providing event security:  the Winnemucca Police Department.  The people paying that bill:  local taxpayers.

Who should pay the overtime – or at least help pay the overtime -- was the subject of discussion on Tuesday (March 9) with the Winnemucca City Council.  The council ultimately voted to shift the discussion to their annual retreat as it was too late to address the issue this year.

It should be noted there hasn’t been trouble of any significance at the yearly event since it started, but there’s a general consensus that’s probably due to the increased law enforcement.

The council discussed several options including whether the city should continue to foot the overtime bill or whether a small fee should be charged to participants or whether the cost could be shared between the city and the WCVA (Winnemucca Convention and Visitor’s Authority) or some combination. 

Councilman Rich Stone argued if the fee was going to be charged for this event it would only be fair to add that to the cost of all events. 

Run-A-Mucca is hardly the community’s largest event. The 44-Hour tournament brings an average influx of 1,200 visitors and the Ranch Hand Rodeo this past weekend saw more than 2,000 visitors. It was a busy weekend for law enforcement.

Run-A-Mucca is, however, as Councilman Joyce Sheen pointed out, the most expensive for organizers, which is what sets it apart from other community events.

Also under consideration is what Winnemucca was like over Memorial Day before Run-A-Mucca:  empty restaurants and hotel rooms. Organizers fear if the registration fee is raised less participants will roll into town – thereby defeating the purpose.

The Ninth Annual Run-A-Mucca is scheduled for May 28-30^th. Early registration fee through April 30^th is $30. For more information: Ninth Annual Run-A-Mucca