Melissa Mattson, left, Missouri City Clerks and Financial Officers Association Division President, presented Tarkio City Clerk Danielle Kephart with a certificate recognizing her on earning her Missouri Registered City Clerk certification. (Submitted photo)

The City of Tarkio Board of Aldermen met at City Hall Wednesday, August 13, 2025. The Pledge of Allegiance was recited at 6:00 p.m. Clerk Danielle Kephart did roll call: Mayor Agnew and Councilmen Scott Walker, Jeff Olson, Scott Poppa, and James Navin were all present. Visitors present were: City of Tarkio employees – Street Superintendent Jamie Quimby, Building Inspector Jesse Payne, and Police Chief Tyson Gibbons; Park Board member Dan Vietze; Northwest City Clerks PR Committee members Melissa Mattson, Mindi Dreher, and Patricia Fisher Johnson; Northwest Missouri Regional Council of Governments representative Kirk Kopper; Debbie Bennett with MU Extension; City of Tarkio business owners Mandy Whipple and Melissa White; and city citizens Sidney Cooper, Sharon McCall, Dallas Prather, and Joe and Vicky Rogers.

Mayor Agnew asked for the approval of the July 9 regular meeting minutes as distributed. Walker made a motion to approve the minutes as distributed and the motion was seconded and approved.

There were no additions, deletions or continuances to the agenda.

Sid Cooper asked if there had been any progress or updates to fixing the issues with the alley south of her residence. Mayor Agnew informed her that the city would be having a third party come in to look at the issues and see what they suggest to get the problem fixed, as none of the options so far have corrected the problem.

Dallas Prather informed the council that Tarkio Renewal sold one of their properties this past month. They are also working on some other possible civil projects around town.

Mandy Whipple spoke on her concerns for the parking issues on the business district on Main Street. Main Street is the heart of Tarkio and buildings that have been changed from businesses to apartments are causing Main Street to lose some of its appeal and preventing new businesses from wanting to come into town. Parking issues have also prevented customers from frequenting the current business due to limited parking. Ms. Whipple suggests limiting residential parking during business hours.

Next month’s meeting will be September 10, 2025, at 6:00 p.m. The local Boy Scouts will be attending.

Patricia Fisher Johnson, Melissa Mattson, and Minde Dreher with the Public Relations Committee for the Missouri City Clerks and Financial Officers Association presented Clerk Kephart with a certificate congratulating her on earning her Missouri Registered City Clerk certification.

Debbie Bennett with the MU Extension office spoke to the board about working with communities to improve sidewalks, lighting, placing benches in places they might be needed. She discussed doing a “walk audit” around town to narrow down where sidewalks need fixed, where lights could be placed and such to make areas of town safer and prevent injuries from occurring. The board assured her they are very interested in participating in this. Ms. Bennett will be contacting Clerk Kephart with more information.

Kirk Kopper with Northwest Missouri Regional Council of Governments told the board about all the different services the regional council of governments can provide to the city, from grant writing to economic development. The city does currently use their services for grant writing and will continue to reach out with anything they are able to assist us with.

Mayor Agnew gave the first reading of Bill 326.25 Ordinance 312.25 An Ordinance Levying A Tax Upon All Of The Taxable Property. Walker made a motion to approve Bill 326.25 Ordinance 312.25 and the motion was seconded and approved.

Mayor Agnew gave the second reading of Approve Bill 326.25 Ordinance 312.25. Poppa made a motion to approve Bill 326.25 Ordinance 312.25 and the motion was seconded and approved. Bill 326.25 Ordinance 312.25 was adopted.

Mayor Agnew gave the first reading of Bill 327.25 Ordinance 313.25, Amendment To Bill 324.25 Ordinance 310.25, An Ordinance Declaring The Results Of The Municipal Election For The Purpose Of Imposing A Public Safety Sales Tax In The City Of Tarkio, Missouri, For The Purpose Of Improving Public Safety. Walker made a motion to approve Bill 327.25 Ordinance 313.25 and the motion was seconded and approved.

Mayor Agnew gave the second reading of Bill 327.25 Ordinance 313.25. Olson made a motion to approve Bill 327.25 Ordinance 313.25 and the motion was seconded and approved. Bill 327.25 Ordinance 313.25 was adopted.

Clerk Kephart has been working with Midwest Data Center on a quote to change the city phone services from Brightspeed to Midwest Data Center. There have been several days the city phones have not worked due to the Brightspeed service. The city was given a quote for $5,193.95, which includes all new equipment and installation costs. Poppa made a motion to approve the quote from Midwest Data Center and the motion was seconded and approved.

Continuing the conversation about parking boats and trailers and residential parking on Main Street and other side streets, the council asked the citizens in attendance to continue with voicing their concerns. Citizens are concerned with the hazards involved with parking a trailer on the sides of streets. There is no current ordinance that prohibits trailers being parked on streets. The council assures the citizens that a solution will be found for this problem. The residential parking issues on Main have also become an issue. The council discussed possible solutions and will continue this subject to the September 10 meeting to find more possible solutions. Joe and Vicky Rogers spoke on the parking situation at 6th and Linden Street. The city has an ordinance in place stating that there can be no parking withing 40 feet of an intersection and another ordinance stating that cars must park on the east side of the street, on streets that run north and south. The already narrow streets in that area of town makes driving past cars parked on the street difficult. The council will also discuss possible solutions to this issue and bring ideas to the September meeting.

Department Reports

Jeff Olson, City Buildings – Olson has asked a company to look into putting some French drains around the animal control building, to help with the flooding issues after every rain. The building gets water and mud inside due to its location. The city will be getting a quote for this work and will make a decision when the quote comes in.

Scott Walker, Volunteer Fire Department – Tim Morehouse replaced 30 light bulbs in the overhead lights at the fire station this past month.

Scott Poppa, Parks/Pool – The last day the pool will be open this season will be Sunday, August 17. Mayor Agnew will contact Mason with KC Gunite about getting a dye test done to show where there are still possible leaks in the gutter system.

James Navin, Jr., City Streets – Quimby’s report:

• Repairs/Equipment – They had to have the skid steer worked on and the radiator had to be replaced.

• RV Park – There are many campers at this location at this time. There have been some electrical issues there. Quimby thinks that the electrical system should be evaluated and updated as needed to carry the heavy load that is being used.

• Tree Trimming – The crew continues to work on trimming low branches. There is a map at the office that shows where they have been.

• Light Pole Painting – Quimby found the contact information for the pole painting company that he had spoken to a few years back. They updated the estimate that we had and the new amount is $27,500. If this is something that the city chooses to move forward with, it could be included in the next fiscal budget. The price would probably increase a little, but it wouldn’t be a large amount.

• Rain – With the rains and storms that we have had, there have been some tree limbs fall that the city crews have had to deal with. The rain has also brought to light that there are a lot of people blowing grass clippings into the streets. This has been a challenge as far as plugging grates. There has also been an instance or two of people throwing weeds and such pulled from their flower beds onto storm grates and plugging them.

• Flag Hardware – New flag hardware has arrived. The city will be working with Evergy to get it put up. Quimby’s goal is to get the business part of Main done by Labor Day weekend and possibly also get the top part of Main done in the same timeframe.

• Tarkio Board of Public Works – Assistance was given to the Tarkio Board of Public Works a couple of times this last month.

• Parks Dept. – Chris had to be gone for a week so assistance was given to the parks while he was gone.

• Elm Street – The crew worked on a tube that was being washed out of the ditch on the north side of Elm between 5th and 6th streets. Quimby has also reached out to see what if any grants are available. There might be one that the city might be eligible for next April that Jerri Dearmont shared information about. Congressman Sam Graves’ office was also contacted and Matt Berry gave some advice and is looking into something. In order to get a grant, the city will have to hire an engineer and have at least a primary engineering report to start.

• Alleys – There was some work done on an alley that a handicapped person has to use and they were having issues getting their van through without dragging and sometimes having traction issues. The city provided some assistance to improve the situation. (They must enter the home from the back side of the house not the street side.)

• Equipment Financing – Clerk Kephart has taken care of setting up the financing for the new skid steer. As of right now, the bank sees no issues with being able to get the loan. The money it is sold for will automatically be put down on the loan to offset the cost of the machine.

Mayor Agnew, Gould Peterson Municipal Airport – Clerk Kephart has been working on getting ARPA reimbursement for airport expenses. The reimbursement amount is around $19,000.00 on funds.

Chris Niles, Animal Control – There were three animals in the pound last month. All were returned to their owners. Clerk Kephart asked about getting some security cameras at the pound, due to someone breaking in last month and taking their dog. The council agreed this would be a good idea.

Chief Gibbons, Police Department – The board was presented with several quotes for a new police vehicle. NRoute gave a quote for $54,800, which includes the lights and installation of the radios. The council felt this was the best quote. Poppa made a motion to approve NRoute’s quote, Olson seconded. All approved the motion and the second. Chief Gibbons also presented information on an RMS system that would allow for interagency work and e-ticketing to improve the way tickets are handled. Olson made a motion to move forward on getting the RMS system for the police department. Poppa seconded the motion and all approved the motion and the second.

Clerk Kephart, City Financials – The board was reminded that next month will be the salary discussion and budget amendment.

Walker made a motion to enter into executive session per Chapter 610.021 Section 3 hiring, firing, disciplining or promoting a particular employee, etc. The motion was seconded and the executive session was held.

Poppa made a motion to close the executive session and the motion was seconded and approved. The meeting moved back into open session and then was adjourned at 8:20 p.m.

The next regular Tarkio Board of Aldermen meeting will be held Wednesday, September 10, 2025, at 6:00 p.m. at Tarkio City Hall. Citizens are encouraged to attend.