Shown during Sidney Town Council meeting Monday, Oct. 13 from left are Rebecca Adams, Sharon Rancourt, Gavin Parrett and Lisa Parrett, clerk/treasurer. Photo by Brianna White.

By Brianna White
InkFreeNews

SIDNEY — Tensions rose between community and town council during a discussion on town ordinance violations and the formal complaint process at the Sidney Town Council meeting Monday, Oct. 13.

One community member started the discussion on town ordinances, after criticizing the formal complaint process for taking too long and having to fill out a formal complaint form. Additionally, he disliked that Sidney’s ordinances changed in 2021 to align with Indiana’s State Code.

Several people were upset that the board did not “police” the town for ordinance infractions.

Lisa Parrett, town clerk/treasurer, explained the violation process. First, they send a notification to the homeowner regarding the ordinance they are breaking; second, they send a letter with a fine to the homeowner for the offense; third, they consult with the town lawyer. They do not notify the person who sent the complaint.

Parrett claimed they do not send letters on every complaint they receive, because one complaint is just one person out of the whole town taking issue with something.

“That one person is very important and should be listened to,” said a community member.

“I’m not saying they’re not important,” said Parrett, “but we need a little more before we go applying fines to people.”

Parrett said nobody has gotten to the point of a fine yet. The two properties that had received the most complaints have taken care of their issues. In the one case, the broken truck has been moved, and in the other, the grass was mowed.

“We may as well not even have these damn ordinances,” said a community member. He then went to point out that the Sidney Town Council and the town clerk/treasurer were the ones who determined what ordinance violation complaints to respond to.

Several community members then accused two board members and clerk/treasurer of violating Sidney town ordinances. Parrett responded they had not received any formal complaints about their properties.

Parrett was accused of having non-running, junk vehicles on her property. One of which, a camper, had somebody living in it. Parrett responded that her PT Cruiser was “tagged and legal,” and the camper on her property was being stayed in temporarily by her “disabled, veteran brother” who just closed on a home and would be moving out soon.

Several community members in attendance stated they had either seen or heard about him urinating in the yard. One community member said the camper had not moved in three years, to which Parrett responded that her house had not been built until 2023.

Board member Gavin Parrett was also accused of violating ordinances, though it was not specified what ordinances he was breaking. Board member Rebecca Adams was also accused of breaking town ordinances by having junk vehicles on her property. Adams and her husband, who was in attendance as a community member, claimed all of their cars were registered, running and moved “forwards and backwards weekly.”

At one point a community member started demanding to hear from board member Sharon Rancourt, insisting that she is the only one who was not violating town ordinances.

After back and forth between community members, Gavin Parrett, Lisa Parrett, Adams, and Adams’ husband, Rancourt cut in and said, “I think, as a board, it’s our responsibility, acknowledging the level of frustration with the residents that ordinance violations aren’t going out the way that they used to … We did use to have a process. It did not used to be that it was solely on the residents.”

Rancourt continued, “Number one, we need to come up with a better plan to get ordinance violations out of the office faster. If that’s once a week, if that’s every other day, it just needs to be faster. Is that what I’m hearing? That you want these things addressed faster?”

Several community members in attendance responded “yes” to this.

Other Business

• Ben England volunteered to donate five lots on North Street and Monroe Street for the community park project. In total, these lots make up approximately an acre. England stated that he had already cleared the dilapidated outbuildings off the land. He told the council that he would appreciate if the park being named a memorial park for his parents but that it was not a requirement.
• Tim Woodward from the water treatment plant submitted the five-year permit renewal paperwork. This paperwork is not due until February 2026.
• Discussion was started about doing an engineering study on the wastewater plant. Zach Dripps from Baker Tilly confirmed that it would likely qualify for up to 90% funding through a grant through the Indiana Office of Community and Rural Affairs.
• A public survey to assist with creating a strategic plan is still available. Less than 25 have been submitted so far. Reach out to Parrett, town clerk/treasurer, for a copy of the public survey.
• Trick-or-Treating will be from 5-7 p.m. Friday, Oct. 31.