The City of Tarkio Board of Aldermen met Wednesday, January 11, 2023, at Tarkio City Hall. The Pledge of Allegiance was conducted at 6:03 p.m. Roll call was done by Danielle Madron, City Clerk: aldermen Scott Poppa, Jeff Agnew, and Andy Riley were present; Blu Dow was absent. Visitors were: City of Tarkio employees – Street Superintendent Jamie Quimby, Parks Department employee Chris Niles, Building Inspector Jesse Payne, Chief of Police Tyson Gibbons, and Police Officer Dorrel; citizens – Marvin Southard, Timothy Morehouse, Jessica Walker, Scott Walker, Ashley Dalton, Mike Klosek, Jr., Mike Klosek, Sr., Sharon McCall, and Dallas Prather; and Park Board members Brooke Vette, Paige Agnew, Jennifer Peregrine, Summer Reeves, Jeff Olson, and Michael Klosek, III.

Minutes of the regular meeting  December 14, 2022, and the special minutes from meetings December 20, 2022, and January 5, 2023, were approved as distributed.

Riley requested a marijuana tax be added to the agenda.

Dow entered the meeting at 6:12 p.m.

Mike Klosek, Sr. spoke on behalf of Klosek Trash, LLC. They would like to be put on next month’s agenda to discuss possible changes to the current trash contract they have with the city.

Jessica Walker asked the board to reconsider their decision to remove Kyra Mills from the Public Works Board. Walker stated that Mills is an asset and has done great things to help the Board of Public Works. Timothy Morehouse also spoke to the board on behalf of Kyra, stating that three of the four current City Council members voted to appoint her as president of the Board of Public Works.

Candidates for the April 4, 2023, general election are as follows: South Ward Alderman – Jeffrey Olson and Timothy Morehouse; and North Ward Alderman – Daryl E. Wiley and Scott Walker.

Mayor Staten read by title Bill No. 287.23 Ordinance No. 273.23: An Ordinance Of The City Of Tarkio, Missouri, To Establish A Procedure To Disclose Potential Conflicts Of Interest And Substantial Interests For Certain Officials. Dow made a motion to accept Bill No. 286 Ordinance No. 272.23. Poppa seconded the motion and all approved.

Mayor Staten gave the second reading of Bill No. 287.23 Ordinance No. 273.23. Riley made a motion to accept Bill No. 286 Ordinance No. 272.23. The motion was seconded and approved. Bill No. 287.26 Ordinance No. 273.23 was adopted.

Mayor Staten read by title Bill No. 288.23 Ordinance No. 274.23: An Ordinance Amending The Code Of The City Of Tarkio Title Vii: Public Utilities; Chapter 700: Water And Sewer; Section 700.290: Water Rate And Section 700.340: User Charge Rates, Of The Board Of Public Utilities. Dow made a motion to accept Bill No. 288.23 Ordinance No. 274.23. The motion was seconded and approved.

Mayor Staten gave the second reading of Bill No. 288.23 Ordinance No. 274.23. Agnew made a motion to accept Bill No. 288.23 Ordinance No. 274.23. The motion was seconded and all approved. Bill No. 288.23 Ordinance No. 274.23 was adopted.

Mayor Staten asked to approve Resolution 68.23: Resolution to Remove Kyra Mills from the Tarkio Board of Public Works Board. Dow made a motion to approve Resolution 68.23. The motion was seconded and all approved. Resolution 68.23 was passed.

Mayor Staten asked for approval of the 2023 Tarkio Volunteer Fire Department’s election of officers: Fire Chief – Shane Bredensteiner, 1st Assistant Chief – Allen Wennihan, 2nd Assistant Chief – Keaton Shaw, President – Brett Reeves, Vice President – Kevin Sundermann, Secretary/Treasurer – Curtis Evans, board member – Nic Schebaum, and Training Officer – Mike Shaw. The 2023 election of officers was approved.

Mayor Staten asked the council to approve the appointment of Terry White as the new judge for the Tarkio Municipal Court. The appointment of Terry White was approved.

A discussion was had about what would work best to resolve the parking issues on the north side of Main Street from 6th to 10th streets. Agnew expressed that parking has always been allowed on the north side without any restrictions. Klosek expressed his concerns for the trash throwers working around those vehicles that are parked in the way of trash pick-up. Parking on the north side of Main Street is progressively getting worse. Dow made a motion to make an ordinance implementing a three-hour parking limit. Poppa seconded the motion and two aldermen voted aye and two nay. An aye vote from the mayor broke the tie. The motion and the second passed. There will be a public hearing on this matter at the next council meeting on February 8, 2023, at 6:00 p.m.

Riley was informed that the county and Rock Port have discussed putting a marijuana tax on the ballot for a vote on April 4, 2023. This tax would be collected if any marijuana is purchased from a business in town that starts selling recreational marijuana. Clerk Madron is going to check with the county and Rock Port City Hall and see what they have decided. Clerk Madron will bring this matter back to the board once she has more information on it.

Department Reports

Blu Dow, City Buildings – Dow reported that $607.06 was donated from the Atchison County Historical Society to be put towards upkeep on the North Polk Schoolhouse. Travis Hicks will be at City Hall next week to continue work on the evidence room door. Danny Beckman will be here to tuckpoint the south wall of City Hall once the weather is at a consistent 50 degrees.

Jeff Agnew, Fire Department – Agnew will be getting information needed to purchase a new fire truck and see what all is needed – if needed – to have a bond prepared for next year to help with this expense.

Andy Riley, Parks & Pool – Paige Agnew reported the Parks Board has a tentative calendar of events that will be going out soon, listing all their planned events for 2023. A little over $50,000.00 has been raised for the baseball field, freeing up some of the additional money the department had set aside for other projects. The Park Board asked if the $50,000 that is now available could be used to start pool repairs. Dow made a motion to allow the park board to use the $50,000.00 to get pool repairs started. Poppa seconded the motion and four ayes voted to accept the motion and the second. The Park Board has finished the 2023 lease agreement between the City and Tarkio High School for use of the baseball field. They propose a one-year contract for $5,000.00, plus half of the field maintenance costs. Agnew made a motion to accept the proposed contract. Dow seconded the motion and four ayes approved. The motion passed. Clerk Madron will get the contract sent to the school.

Scott Poppa, Street Department – Quimby’s Report:

• Repairs/Equipment – The F350 has an issue with the passenger side low beam headlight. They have tried to fix it, but have been unsuccessful. There is a chance that it is a computer issue and will have to go to a Ford dealership to be fixed. Quimby will make an appointment as soon as the threat of winter weather subsides in case it takes a while to repair.

• Winter Weather – There has been some inclement weather this last month; everyone did a good job on keeping the streets cleared and passable. We did get a substantial rain that washed a lot of leaves into tube inlets. The department is working on getting them cleared.

• Brush Pile – This area is going to be burned again soon.

• RV Park – This area is not in use at this time.

• Christmas Décor – There were issues with the décor on Main Street. Quimby did have Evergy here twice to work on them and they got some of them working, but unfortunately some went out again shortly after they were worked on. There was an issue with the sign at the fire station, but got it working again. All Christmas décor that the city puts up has been taken down.

• Potholes – Some potholes have been filled and the crew will keep assessing them to try to stay ahead of the bad ones.

• New F350 – Quimby asked the dealership for an update on the order status and ours is not on the schedule to be built yet. He was told to check again in about a month, but some that they had ordered were starting to show up on the build list.

• Gold Dump Truck – This truck is advertised for sale and bids will be opened next month at the City Council meeting. Minimum bid is $3,800. Quimby has had some people show interest in this piece of equipment.

Mark Staten, Gould Peterson Municipal Airport – There was nothing to report.

Chris Niles, Animal Control – Niles has had a few dogs at the dog pound this month. He still currently has one. He has repaired the fence that was damaged at the dog pound.

Tyson Gibbons, Police Department – The annual Holidays with Heroes event was in December and was a success. An emergency action plan for extreme low temperature events and power outages has been reviewed and prepared for implementation if needed.

Danielle Madron, Financials – Clerk Madron has started working on the budget for next year. She will be meeting with department heads to get their budgets prepared. The current budget will need to be amended in February.

The meeting was adjourned at 7:24 p.m. The next regular meeting will be February 8, 2023, at 6:00 p.m.