The City of Tarkio Board of Aldermen met Wednesday, August 10, 2022, at City Hall. The Pledge of Allegiance was conducted at 6:00 p.m. Roll call was done by City Clerk Danielle Madron: aldermen Scott Poppa, Jeff Agnew, and Andy Riley were all present; alderman Blu Dow was absent. Visitors present were: City of Tarkio employees – Street Superintendent Jamie Quimby, Animal Control Officer Chris Hogue, Building Inspector Jesse Payne, and Chief of Police Tyson Gibbons; Tarkio Parks and Recreation Department board members – Summer Reeves, Paige Agnew, Jennifer Peregrine, Jeff Olsen, Seth Spire, and Brooke Vette; and Tarkio citizen – Dallas Prather.

Mayor Staten opened the public tax hearing. There were no public comments for the tax hearing and the hearing was closed at 6:05 p.m.

Board members approved the special meeting minutes of July 11 and  regular meeting minutes from July 13 as distributed. There were no additions to the agenda.

Mayor Staten read Bill 281.22 Ordinance No. 267.22 An Ordinance Levying A Tax Upon All Of The Taxable Property In The City Of Tarkio, Missouri, For Municipal Purposes For The Year 2022 For The Purpose Of Paying The Ordinary And Current Expenses Of Said City, Including General Fund For The Purpose Of Carrying On The City Government And Paying The Expenses Of Said City Government; Including Lighting Of Public Streets And Alleys; And For The Further Purpose Of Levying A Tax For The Year 2022 Upon All Taxable Property In Said City For The Purpose Of Providing For The Maintenance And Improvements Of The Public Parks Of Said City; And Further Providing For The Collection Of Penalties On Delinquent Taxes. The first reading and second readings were accepted and Ordinance 267.22 was adopted.

Alderman Dow joined the meeting at 6:15 p.m.

Alderman Riley has been contacted about several dilapidated properties in town. Riley asked Chief Gibbons what the police department could do to help take care of these properties. Clerk Madron will contact the city’s attorney to see what can legally be done on properties that haven’t been taken care of if the owners can not be contacted.

Poppa has been approached by citizens asking about sidewalks in town. They were wondering if the city helps pay for sidewalk repairs on citizens’ properties if the citizen shares the costs. Clerk Madron is going to get more information on ARPA fund usage at her meeting next week and see if that is something the city can help with on a limited basis, while the funding is available.

The council has decided to put a hold on the new Christmas decorations for Main Street as purchasing new decorations is not currently in the budget.

Department Reports

Blu Dow, City Buildings – Beckman Construction put in a bid for repairs to the City Hall building. The front of the building needs to be tuck pointed to stop leaks in the roof. The bid was for $3,500.00 and was accepted.

Jeff Agnew, Fire Department – The fire department needs to replace one of their fire trucks. There was a tax levy for this years ago that had been cancelled. Clerk Madron is looking into the possibility of using some ARPA funding as a down payment for this and will bring the information back to the board as soon as she gets it.

Andy Riley, Parks & Pool – A leak has been identified and temporarily fixed at the pool. Agnew talked to the son of the man who originally built the pool and got some ideas from him on where the possible leaks could be. He gave Agnew ideas of what to look for to determine whether it is a structural or a plumbing issue. Once the pool closes for the season, there will be a better chance of finding out the exact problems at the pool.

Scott Poppa, City Streets – Quimby’s report:

• Repairs/Equipment – There were no major repairs this month.

• Brush Pile – This area is being used frequently and properly, it is getting full and will be ready to burn as soon as the pool closes.

• Cold Patch – The cold patch has all been used. Quimby is going to try to not order anymore because he doesn’t believe the city would need the minimum amount that would be required to purchase. He will be getting Aqua patch for winter use again this year.

• Dumping Issue: On July 24, there was a dumping issue at the rip rap pile reported. Someone had dumped several mattresses and box springs along with a couch and trash bag. Quimby reported this to the police department and also put a post about it on his personal page on Facebook. The individual that dumped these items reached out and apologized.

• Street Sign Project – The new name plates for the streets to be completed this year have been received and the crew will be placing locates and installing these in the very near future.

• Street Striping – McFadden Construction was here on Friday, July 29, to paint the parking areas on the newly matted part of Main Street. The blue paint recently arrived to paint the handicap emblem in handicap parking spots.

• New F350 Proposal – Quimby has a breakdown on the price of a new pickup and blade. It also shows what it would cost to wire this truck with all necessary equipment to put the current salt spreader in it. Quimby is not sure that this needs to be done as it is an added $1,511. Clerk Madron and Quimby have looked at the budget and do feel that the best way to fund this would be to lease purchase it as has been done with other equipment in the past. Clerk Madron is getting information from the bank on this lease agreement before we move forward.

Mark Staten, Gould Peterson Municipal Airport – Olsson will open bids for the hangar project September 8, 2022, at 2:00 p.m. at City Hall. A bid will be submitted at the next council meeting. The city is waiting on final payments to come in from MoDOT so they can finish paying on the other projects.

Chris Hogue, Animal Control – There is one cat in the pound. It will be put up for adoption as the owners have not made contact to come get the animal.

Tyson Gibbons, Police Department – Officer Nic Schebaum has completed his field training and the required officer active shooter training for all the officers has been completed.

Danielle Madron, City Financials – No financial questions were asked and there was nothing more to report.

A break was taken at 7:40 p.m. Everyone returned from break at 7:50 p.m.

Mayor Staten announced an executive session would be held per Chapter 610.021 Section 3 Hiring, firing, disciplining or promoting a particular employee, etc. The board voted to move into executive session. Following discussion, executive session was closed.

The meeting was adjourned at 9:00 p.m. The next regular meeting will be September 14, 2022, at 6:00 p.m.

Tarkio Board of Aldermen holds special meeting

The City of Tarkio Board of Aldermen met Friday, August 12, 2022, in special session at Tarkio City Hall. Mayor Mark Staten called the meeting to order at 12:00 p.m. Roll call was taken by City Clerk Danielle Madron: aldermen Andy Riley, Blu Dow, Scott Poppa, and Jeff Agnew were all present.

Mayor Staten announced an executive session would be held per Chapter 610.021 Section 3. Hiring, firing, disciplining or promoting a particular employee, etc. Dow made a motion to enter into executive session and Agnew seconded. All voted aye. The motion passed.

Poppa made a motion to close the executive session. Riley seconded. Roll call was taken. All voted aye. The motion passed and Executive Session ended.

Dow made a motion to relieve Chris Hogue from his duties as Parks Superintendent and Animal Control, effective immediately. Agnew seconded. A roll call vote was taken: Dow aye, Riley aye, Agnew aye, and Poppa aye. The motion and the second passed.

The meeting adjourned at 12:10 p.m.