The City of Tarkio Board of Aldermen met Wednesday, April 8, 2026, at City Hall. The Pledge of Allegiance was recited at 6:00 p.m. Deputy Clerk Becky Jones conducted roll call: Mayor Jeff Agnew, Councilmen Scott Walker, Jeff Olson, and Scott Poppa were present. James Navin was absent. Visitors present were: City of Tarkio employees – Chief Tyson Gibbons, Animal Control Officer/Park Supervisor Chris Niles, Street Superintendent Jamie Quimby, Building Inspector Jesse Payne, and Custodian Danny Martin; Park Board member Danny Vietze; and city citizens Sally Vietze, Melissa White, Sharon McCall, Debbie Tullis, Vicky Rogers, and Mike Klosek, Sr.
The public hearing was opened for the consideration of a request from Scott Fletcher to have a 24’x30’ shed (portable structure) placed on gravel on his vacant lot at 407 Broad Street. The Zoning Board heard the request and approved the variance for consideration of a 24’x30’ shed (portable structure) placed on gravel.
Mayor Agnew asked for approval of the April 8, 2026, regular meeting minutes as distributed. The aldermen voted unanimously to approve the minutes as distributed.
Congratulations were extended to the city clerk and her husband, Danielle and Bobby Kephart, on the birth of their son.
Mayor Agnew opened bids for the 2026 Asphalt Street Overlay Project. Bids were opened in the order received. They were: JMac Asphalt Paving, $158,200.00; Herzog Contracting Corp., St. Joseph, Missouri, $126,280.00; and Approved Paving LLC, Atchison, Kansas, $135,000.00. The aldermen voted unanimously to approve the bid from Herzog Contracting Corp. for $126,280.00.
Mayor Agnew asked approval of the variance request by Scott Fletcher at 407 Broad Street. The aldermen voted unanimously to accept the Zoning Board recommendation to allow the variance.
Mayor Agnew asked the board to consider the request of the Park Board to increase wages at the city pool. They were: manager, $17 per hour; lifeguards, $15 per hour; and junior guards, $8.50 per hour. The aldermen voted unanimously to approve the schedule of wages from the Park Board.
Mayor Agnew asked for approval to appoint Keevan Baker to replace Corey Martin on the Board of Public Works Board. Scott Poppa made a motion to appoint Keevan Baker but the motion died for a lack of a second. The agenda item was tabled to the June 10, 2026, meeting of the Board of Aldermen.
Department Reports
Scott Poppa, Fire and Board of Public Works – The new air conditioner was installed at the fire department. Lester gave her two weeks’ notice at the Board of Public Works.
Scott Walker: They are trying to figure out why the water is going onto the tennis court. There is a pile of dirt that will be moved from west side to the horseshoe pit on the east side. The company doing the work at the tennis court is doing a good job fixing the crack and moving along with the project.
Jeff Olson, Streets – Clean-up went well.
Jamie Quimby, Street Department –
• Repairs/Equipment: No major repairs this last month.
• RV Park: No campers at this time.
• Weather Event: There was a lot of rain in April, so there was quite a bit of washing in alleys. They spent some time pulling it back into the alleys and making some repairs. The street sweeper attachment was also used to clean up some of these areas.
• Brush Pile: This area is being used as it should be at this time of year. So far there have been no issues with items being dumped that are not allowed.
• Dog Pound Building: This area is getting close to being ready. Morton will be here to check in the future. An e-mail was received stating that they are starting phase 2. He believes this is the contract with Municipal Leasing who will then contact the city.
• Trees: Four more trees that were becoming dangerous have been taken down. He has also hauled away some large stumps for residents who could not move them themselves.
• City-Wide Clean-Up: This event went well from what he can tell, and he has not heard any complaints. Close to 17 tons of rubbish and close to 7 tons of metal were collected.
• MDC: The conservation department was looking for a place to do testing on deer for CWD. He and Tyson talked about it and offered the street department building. They have come and looked at it and will be in touch this fall when rifle season is closer. It will just be opening weekend.
• Banners: The banners on Main Street have been changed out to the senior class banners. He was asked to take them down after Memorial Day weekend and to hold off on putting the veteran banners back up until fall.
• Gravel Delivery: There have been several gravel deliveries this last month on top of what they have used to patch alleys that washed out.
Mayor Agnew, Gould Peterson Municipal Airport – The MIRMA report has some items that need attention at the airport building, such as the fuel tank and the airport van. The Community Building porch floor needs to be repaired or replaced. Chris Niles mentioned that he has worked on the bad areas of the porch. There were other items on the list that need to be addressed.
Chris Niles, Animal Control – There was one dog and one rat call this past month.
Chief Gibbons, Police Department – Chief Gibbons gave his report on calls for all officers.
Deputy Clerk Jones, City Financials – The reports were sent out to members by mail and printed. No one had any questions.
The aldermen voted unanimously to enter into executive session per Chapter 610.021, legal actions, causes of action or litigation (except those votes, minutes and settlement agreements must be opened to the public on final disposition, unless ordered closed by a court). The executive meeting was adjourned.
The regular meeting adjourned at 7:50 p.m.
The next regular City Council meeting will be held Wednesday, June 10, 2026, at 6:00 p.m. at City Hall.
SPECIAL MEETING
The City of Tarkio Board of Aldermen held a special meeting Friday, June 5, 2026, at 5:30 p.m.
The Pledge of Allegiance was recited and Mayor Agnew called the meeting to order at 5:30 p.m.
Roll call was conducted by the deputy clerk, Becky Jones. Councilmen Scott Walker, Jeff Olson, Scott Poppa, and James Navin were present.
One addition was made to the agenda: 2025 Rosenbauer Commercial Pumper (fire truck) payment.
The aldermen unanimously voted to approve Highway 136 Roadhouse, LLC, Matt Rohlmeier for a caterer’s license and to serve at the Tarkio Rodeo June 19 and 20.
Discussion was held on the proposed new Animal Control/Parks building. Municipal Development & Funding will design and engage Morton Buildings, Inc. and its authorized professional designer’s development of finalized plans for the project in accordance with the City of Tarkio’s intended function and desired aesthetics. The design payment of $20,000.00 under the agreement shall be applied in full to the total amount of the project as indicated in the Morton Construction agreement. The budget estimate range for the project is between $383,000.00 and $422,000.00, based on 1,680 square feet. The estimate may be adjusted throughout the design phase process. The aldermen voted unanimously to pay $20,000.00 to Municipal Development & Funding to begin the process of the building.
Clerk Jones asked if the board would like to make a larger than scheduled payment for the 2025 Rosenbauer commercial pumper (fire truck) payment. The Capital Improvement Tax voted on in 2024 has brought in over $170,00.00 since it was implemented. This is the first scheduled payment of $38,038.03, with the interest being $37,789.95 and principal payment of $248.08. The aldermen voted unanimously to pay $170,000.00 towards the first payment.
The meeting was adjourned at 5:50 p.m.
