On weekends in the spring, summer and fall, thousands of people would flock to Bargersville.
They came to treasure hunt and chow down at the decades-old flea market, arguably the most popular attraction in the town of less than 8,000 residents.
That won’t happen this year, which would have been the flea market’s 50th anniversary.
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Flea market manager Billy Burchett received letters from both the Bargersville Town Council and Johnson County Health Department notifying him of new laws and regulations that would require significant changes to the way he operates the flea market, a mainstay in the small, tight-knit Johnson County community.
When Burchett received a letter from the town council last month with a newly imposed ordinance attached, he decided he’d had enough. He grabbed his chainsaw, marched over to the property, sawed the flea market sign down and planted a “No Trespassing” sign in its place, he said.
“I can’t operate under those conditions,” Burchett said.
And with that, after 49 years in business, the Bargersville Flea Market was permanently closed.
The ordinance, which the town council approved in November, requires all solicitors, transient merchants and peddlers to get a license from the town prior to doing business in Bargersville. The new rules were not meant to target the flea market, said Julie Young, Bargersville’s development director.
Instead, the ordinance is meant to deter solicitors, transient merchants and peddlers from going door-to-door in Bargersville to sell items, an issue Bargersville residents have complained to town officials about, she said.
But regardless of the intent, the new law certainly would have affected the flea market, which was home to an estimated 250 vendors.
In addition to paying Burchett rent for a booth at the flea market, vendors would also have to pay the town licensing fees of $25 per day, $100 per week, $250 for six months, or $300 for one year, according to town documents. Food vendors would have to pay even more.
And the fines imposed on those who break the law wouldn’t just affect the vendors without a license. Burchett and the property owner would also be fined, according to town documents.
Burchett owns part of the property near the busy State Road 135 and State Road 144 intersection, and rents the rest.
“It shall be the duty of both the owner of a Public Marketplace and the person-in-charge of a Public Marketplace to ensure that persons engaged as solicitors, transient merchants or peddlers that are selling goods, wares, merchandise or food at the Public Marketplace have a valid license from the Town of Bargersville,” the ordinance reads.
“The lack of a valid license from the Town of Bargersville as a solicitor, transient merchant or peddler is a violation of this ordinance by both the owner of a Public Marketplace and the person-in-charge of a Public Marketplace.”
A fine of no less than $200 would be imposed on any vendor, Burchett and the property owner for operating without a license.
News of the new law came just a few months after the Johnson County Health Department decided no licenses would be given to any food vendors at the flea market this year. The reason was because not all food vendors were licensed and Burchett failed to provide proper utilities, including running water, an ongoing issue, Johnson County Health Department Director Betsy Swearingen said.
“This means absolutely no food sales of any kind are permitted at the Bargersville Flea Market until further notice,” an Oct. 25 letter from the health department said.
Burchett received at least two written notices prior to that letter, and health department staff had several conversations with him leading up to that decision, Swearingen said.
She recommended Burchett move all food vendors to one area at the flea market so he could easily monitor them and provide proper utilities, but he failed to do that, she said.
So last summer, the health department started cracking down.
“We started doing what we call raids on Sunday mornings, and we found several vendors without licenses selling food improperly and dangerously,” Swearingen said.
For example, one vendor would prepare chalupas in their own pots and pans at home, transport the food to the flea market and sell it out of the back of their minivan, she said.
Many of the food vendors did have licenses and were up to code, but it’s the ones that didn’t, as well as Burchett’s failure to fix ongoing problems, that led to the health department’s decision, Swearingen said.
“(Burchett’s) inability to keep them out eventually led to us getting serious, and that was a source of contention with the vendors. The option was there, and it was very economical, he just chose not to do it,” she said.
Annual licenses for flea market food vendors cost $50 last year. That price increased to $100 this year.
“I don’t want to say they were negligent. It just got so big so fast, it was hard for two people to control,” she said.
The health department wasn’t the only agency cracking down, Swearingen said. They were working with the town’s planning and zoning departments, local law enforcement and INDOT due to the selling of stolen goods, and high number of people crossing State Road 135 to get to and from the flea market, she said.
The flea market drew crowds of 5,000 to 6,000 people on Sundays from the last weekend of March to the second weekend in November, Burchett said. So many people attended, he paid residents to help park cars, and Bargersville police helped navigate traffic.
“It was kind of like going to church, everyone gathering around out there. Four generations I saw come through that flea market,” said Burchett, who said he missed one Sunday in 49 years.
He started the flea market in his backyard, originally selling produce, particularly oranges and peaches. One thing led to another, and the flea market grew from that, he said.
By last year, vendors hailing from eight different countries sold food or merchandise at the expansive flea market, which attracted a variety of people, including Vice President and former Gov. Mike Pence and famous race car drivers, Burchett said.
Vendors sold items ranging from knives and billfolds to clothes and toys. Several of the vendors had a booth at the flea market for more than 30 years.
“If you needed something, you could find it at the flea market. It was a well organized place to have that many people,” Burchett said.
News of the closure spread quickly on social media, garnering more than 3,200 Facebook shares and 1,300 comments.
“We have some very bad news. We will not be reopening this year. We had (too) many violations of our rules and decided we do not want to have to fight each week to keep our rules in place,” the flea market posted on its Facebook page on March 14.
“Thank you to our vendors who have been with us for our 30 (plus) years. We will miss getting to know you all and watching so many people go through and overcome great things. Best wishes to all.”
Burchett said he received more than 200 calls from angry vendors and saddened community members. He received so many calls the weekend after the announcement he shut his phone off.
It’s hard, he said. The flea market was the only source of income for many of the vendors, and something they prepared for year-round, buying and creating items in the winter they could sell the rest of the year. It was their business.
“That’s the part that hurts so bad,” Burchett said. “A few dollars ain’t much, but when you’re broke, it goes a long way.”
Still, he felt he had no choice.
“I just don’t think it’s right for a city to vote on something and say to hell with everybody else. But the law is the law, and I can’t put myself at risk,” he said.
Neither the town nor health department said their requests were unreasonable.
Town officials are working to determine next steps considering the popularity of the flea market and the number of visitors it brought to the town, Young said.
“I think at this time we’re evaluating the impacts of that decision and planning for the future of the community,” she said.
“At this point, the community has several different businesses and draws.”
Burchett said he has no plans for the property.