A fellow member of the Trent town council has asked board president Bob Dickey to resign from his position.
Council member Matt Larson cited several complaints from citizens and detailed behavior he described as ranging from unethical to illegal in asking for Dickey’s resignation at the regular town meeting Dec. 12. Larson read 12 reasons why Dickey should resign, including that he and his family have borrowed city equipment for personal use, he has talked publicly in the local bar about who hasn’t paid their water bills and has written a bad check, he has threatened to kill pets and he has been untruthful and misused power.
One resident kept track on a calendar the days that Dicky used city equipment to plow snow at his business. “When this same resident talked against what the president of the town council has done in the past, he was harassed by the president of the town council. One occasion, he had dog dung thrown in his yard, and the other time the president of the town council and his family sat across the street and shot paint balls at his home,” Larson said in his complaint.
In response to the request for resignation, Dickey said, “There’s a lot here misrepresented.” He did not agree to resign at the meeting nor after an executive session that included him, the two other board members and city finance officer Kim Nelson. The next regular council meeting is 6 p.m. Jan. 3.
When asked after the meeting if he wanted to say more about the issue, he waved and walked away.
At least 25 citizens attended the board meeting and at times shouted at Dickey for things they said he has done. Dickey, who also is employed by the town for water, sewer and snow removal, has been on the board or involved in the city in some way for at least 35 years, Nelson said.
Brandy Ament, who has lived in Trent 16 years, said after the meeting that Dickey should resign. She questioned why the city could inform residents of a church service but wasn’t able to give notice of a special meeting Dec. 4. In addition, Dickey has told bar patrons that she didn’t pay her water bill, which he has no business doing, she said.
Laura Grib, who also supports Dickey resigning, said he and another family member entered her basement without permission, which Dickey said was not true. She said she asked him to check on a possible water leak from her house to the street, but later saw the two on her security camera and they entered her home, which she said was locked at the time.
“You took it upon yourself to enter my basement,” she said in the meeting.
Verzalla Bauman said she has had several complaints with the city over the years, and she and her husband have had to hire lawyers in order to work with the city and to do what they should be able to rightfully do as citizens. Despite having a pet ordinance and an animal enforcement official, dogs roam town and poop in her yard. “And I just hate it,” she said.
The town needs to set a better example for its children, and it isn’t being run right, she said. “Can’t we all just move along and do the right thing? Get along. It’s too small of town not to.”
