Jeff Olson, left, and Scott Walker, right, were sworn in at the April 15 meeting of the Tarkio Board of Aldermen.

The City of Tarkio Board of Aldermen met Wednesday, April 16, 2025, at Tarkio City Hall. The Pledge of Allegiance was recited at 6:00 p.m. City Clerk Dhani Kephart conducted roll call: Mayor Jeff Agnew and Councilmen Scott Walker, Jeff Olson, and Scott Poppa were present; Councilman James Navin was absent. Visitors present were: City of Tarkio employees – Police Chief Tyson Gibbons, Park Superintendent/Animal Control Officer Chris Niles, and Building Inspector Jesse Payne; Fire Chief Mike Shaw; Tarkio Board of Public Works employees Danny Martin and Sara Lester; Tarkio Park Board member, Atchison County Ambulance District representative and Tarkio Chamber member Ashlee Driskell; Atchison County Mail owner W.C. Farmer; and Tarkio citizens Dan and Sally Vietze and Sid Cooper.

Mayor Agnew asked for the approval of the regular meeting minutes from March 19, 2025, as well as the April 2 and April 9 special meeting minutes as distributed. The minutes were approved as distributed. There were no additions, deletions or continuances to the agenda.

Sid Cooper asked the board about the status of fixing alleyways within the city of Tarkio. Whenever there is heavy rain or the snow melts, it causes mud to be deposited on her back patio. The city has done some work to try and fix this problem, along with the water company after fixing a water leak, and the issue has not been fully resolved yet. Mayor Agnew assured Mrs. Cooper that the city would continue to try and get this issue resolved for her.

Ashlee Driskell extended a thank you on behalf of the Ambulance District Board to the Board of Aldermen and the city citizens for their votes to pass the ambulance tax levy. They have several projects in mind that can now be done due to the levy passing. Driskell also informed the board on behalf of the Chamber of Commerce that the senior banners for Main Street have been ordered and will be in around April 30. Brackets will be ordered to get them hung up as soon as they come in.

Mayor Agnew gave the first and second readings of Bill 323.25 Ordinance 309.25: Declaring the Results of the General Election held April 8, 2025. Both were approved. Bill 323.25 Ordinance 309.25 was adopted.

Mayor Agnew gave the first and second reading of Bill 324.25 Ordinance 310.25: Declaring Election results on the Public Safety Tax. Both were approved. Bill 324.25 Ordinance 310.25 was adopted.

Mayor Agnew asked for the approval of the appointments for Pamela Blevins, Judge; Robert Sundell, Prosecuting Attorney/City Attorney; Danielle Kephart, City Clerk/Treasurer, Tyson Gibbons, Police Chief; Jesse Payne, Building Inspector; and Aron Burke, Health Inspector. The appointments were approved.

Mayor Agnew asked the board to approve Scott Poppa to remain acting president of the board. Walker made a motion to approve Poppa for acting president and Olson seconded. There were two aye votes and one abstained. The motion passed.

Mayor Agnew asked for the approval of 2025-2026 department heads as follows: Scott Poppa, Park Department; Scott Walker, Fire Department; Jeff Olson, City Buildings; and James Navin, Street Department. The department heads were approved.

Mayor Agnew asked for approval of Resolution 78.25: Tarkio Housing Board Member Reappointment. Resolution 78.25 was adopted.

Mayor Agnew asked for the approval of the new Tarkio Park Board member, Bobby Kephart. Poppa made a motion to approve the appointment of Bobby Kephart to the park board. The motion was seconded and approved. The Park Board appointment was approved.

Fire Chief Mike Shaw asked the board if the city would be able to put block posts around the newly installed generator down at the fire department station. The Street and Parks Department will get this done. Shaw also asked if some gravel could be taken to the airport and spread for the fire trucks to park on for the air show. Mayor Agnew and Alderman Poppa will be in contact with the Airport Manager Brooks Hurst and make sure something is done before the air show.

The board discussed the stipulations for Tarkio City-Wide Clean-Up. Clerk Madron will be working on the flyer and will get it out to the public and the newspaper as soon as possible. (Note: since the meeting, clean-up days have been changed to May 29-31.)

Mayor Agnew informed the board that it was time to send out bid packets for the 2025 street matting project. Sealed bids need to be turned into City Hall by 4:00 p.m. on May 12, to be opened and reviewed at the council meeting that evening.

Department Reports

Jeff Olson, City Buildings – New doors for the Community Building have been ordered and will be installed sometime in July. The city received an estimate for the tuckpointing that needs to be done on the city hall building. Roush Construction placed a bid for $8,500. Poppa made a motion to accept the bid and the motion was seconded and approved.

Scott Walker, Fire Department – Scott had nothing to report.

Scott Poppa, Parks/Pool – There were seven lifeguard and three junior guard applications approved for hire for the 2025 pool season by the park board. Poppa made a motion to approve the applications. The motion was seconded and approved. The Park Board voted to put the old park truck and an old John Deere lawn mower out for bid. They no longer use these pieces of equipment and would like to sell them. The pool pump is installed and is waiting to be wired. Once wiring is complete, the pool can start being filled for the season.

James Navin, Jr., City Streets – Street Superintendent Jamie Quimby’s report was presented:

• Repairs/Equipment – New tires were put on the skid steer.

• RV Park – There are no campers at this time. Improvements here are done with the exception of the building being sided. The crew will have to spray where they have put rock to keep weeds and grass from taking over this summer.

• Alley – The alley north of the Smart Store had some very large potholes. They repaired this area as it was a safety concern for the children who use the alley when walking to and from school.

• Drain grate – A drain grate that was broken during the winter was replaced on North 4th Street.

• Gravel Parking Lot – The gravel parking lot south of the baseball field that is going to be a t-ball field needed to have some of the gravel removed. They have removed what was necessary and used this gravel in some alleys and such.

• Board of Public Works – The crew hauled several loads of gravel to the lagoons for the Board of Public Works as they were repairing an issue.

• Weeds on Main Street – Weeds on Main have been sprayed.

• Gravel Lot – The gravel lot across from the pool is now being locked at the end of work each day and on the weekends. If there is a baseball game, it will be left open for parking. It will also be left open if there is an event at the Tarkio Community Building that needs extra parking.

• Winter Equipment – Snow removal equipment has been cleaned and stored for the spring and summer. The attachments that are used for spring and summer have been retrieved and are ready for use. There are eight pallets of salt for snow removal left after the winter season and there are several buckets of pre-treatment left to make a good start for the next winter season.

• 2025 Street Overlay Project – Quimby would like to put out for bid the yearly overlay/street matting. This year, the plan is to do one block north and one block south of Main on 3rd Street. If there is enough money left in the budget after they get these bids back, they have some cement work that needs to be done at the corner of 6th and Ash streets. Quimby does believe that there will be enough to complete both projects this year.

• Equipment Replacement – The skid steer that the city has is now 10 years old. Quimby would like to put out for bid to replace this machine with another CASE unit TR270B. This is in the budget for this year and the machine is still worth a decent amount. He would propose that the city sells the current unit and puts any proceeds from it toward offsetting the cost of the new machine.

Danny Martin, Tarkio Board of Public Works – There were four locations where concrete work was completed. There was an issue with the lagoons, but that issue has been resolved.

Mayor Agnew, Gould Peterson Municipal Airport – There was nothing to report.

Chris Niles, Animal Control – There was nothing to report.

Chief Gibbons, Police Department – Several cases have been closed this month. Chief Gibbons will be attending the chiefs conference at the beginning of May and hopes to bring home some bids for a new police vehicle. The Public Safety Tax has passed and a list of needs will be assembled so that the police department can start using this tax money as it starts coming in.

Clerk Kephart, City Financials – There was nothing to report.

The aldermen voted to go into executive session per Chapter 610.021 Section 3 hiring, firing, disciplining or promoting a particular employee, etc.

Olson made a motion to close executive session. The motion was seconded and approved. The meeting moved back into regular session.

Poppa made a motion to hire Mike Logan as a full-time police officer at the rate of $20.00 per hour. Walker seconded the motion and all voted aye. The motion passed.

The meeting adjourned at 8:00 p.m. The next regular Board of Aldermen meeting will be Wednesday, May 12, 2025, at 6:00 p.m. at Tarkio City Hall. All Tarkio citizens are encouraged to attend.