Letter to the Editor:

Rules? Ordinances! We don’t need no stinking rules and ordinances. Wrong! I am getting a little tired of all the bellyaching from a vocal minority here in kidder. We do have to remain aware of the possibility of a council person using their position improperly, but the fact is that the rules apply to everyone. It seems, based on the newspaper reports, that the council may, at times, be a little dysfunctional. However, it is much easier to criticize then it is to come up with a workable solution. The only way to do that is by working together. I would encourage those folks who like to complain to be willing to work with the council to come up with something reasonable. I also hope that the council will make the effort to listen and work with them. When I was on the council, many hours were spent reading thru and discussing proposed ordinances. We followed the standard ordinances and guidelines used for small communities like ours. We adjusted them to try to be fair but still enforceable.  We made allowances in the rules for a business versus a residential property.

Property owners do have the right to live their lives and build or destroy their property value any way they want to until it starts to affect those around them. Yes, we have a property line that separates us from our
neighbors, but there are other senses involved such as sight, hearing and smell. Without rules, the neighbor could decide they wanted to use a lagoon rather than the city sewer system. Or they might decide to build a “nature center” that attracts bees, snakes, skunks and all forms of “God’s little critters”.

Probably an exaggeration, I am sure, but people do have different opinions about what is acceptable to look at, the need to clean up trash, or how to take care of their property. If you live out in the country, you have a lot more freedom in these choices but when you live in a community, then; YES, there does need to be some rules. In any case, we sure don’t need folks running around town pointing out what they don’t like to those whom they think are in violation. That is why we hired a codes enforcement person. The main reason some of the junk has been cleaned up is because we have ordinances.

We do have some problems, but ordinances, for the most part, are not one of them. It is important for people to get involved and question the council when they don’t understand the rules but when you identify a problem, you also need to be willing to spend some time trying to come up with a “workable” solution. The fact is, this is still a darned good little town to raise a family. I hope the complainers, and some council members, decide to start acting more like adults. Please: Put more effort into getting along then you do fighting.

Pat O’Connor

Kidder