The City of Tarkio Board of Alderman met Wednesday, January 13, 2021, at 6:00 p.m. The Pledge of Allegiance was conducted. Roll call was done by City Clerk Rebecca Jones: aldermen Scott Poppa was present, Blu Dow and Andy Riley were present via videoconference, and Mike Klosek was absent. Visitors present were city employees,  Street Superintendent Jamie Quimby, Animal Control Officer Chris Hogue and Building Inspector Jesse Payne.

Mayor Morehouse asked for the approval of the regular meeting minutes of December 9, 2020, and special meeting of December 3, 2020, as distributed. The minutes were approved.

Election filing for Northward and Southward Aldermen for the April 6, 2021, General Election began December 15, 2020, and will end January 19, 2021, at 5:00 p.m. The positions held by Scott Poppa and Andy Riley are up this year. 

Bid opening will be January 28 at 2:00 p.m. for the Apron Rehab and Fuel projects at Gould Peterson Municipal Airport. A special meeting will take place January 16, 2021, at 5:30 p.m. at the Community Building.

Mayor Morehouse asked for approval of Bill No. 249.21, Ordinance No. 235-21 – An Ordinance Of The City Of Tarkio, Missouri, To Establish A Procedure To Disclose Potential Conflicts Of Interest And Substantial Interests For Certain Officials. Riley made a motion to approve Bill No. 249.21, Ordinance No. 235-21. Poppa seconded the motion and all voted aye to pass the bill. 

Mayor Morehouse gave the second reading by title of Bill No. 249.21, Ordinance No. 235-21. Poppa made a motion to approve Bill No. 249.21, Ordinance No. 235-21. The motion was seconded and approved. Bill 249.21, Ordinance 235-21 was adopted.

Mayor Morehouse asked for approval to hire Scott Day to be an official building inspector to replace Adam Stanton, who resigned. Riley made a motion to allow Scott Day to be certified as Tarkio building inspector at $1,500.00 per year paid semi-annually. Poppa seconded the motion and three voted with ayes. The motion and second passed.

Mayor Morehouse asked to change the March meeting to March 3 from March 10. Poppa moved to change March meeting date to March 3 and the motion was seconded and approved. 

Mayor Morehouse informed the board that the copier and the clerk’s computer need to be replaced. Also, the clerk uses her personal iPad for education. Morehouse suggested supplying the new clerk with an iPad. The board reviewed estimates on the new copier and computer. Riley made a motion to get the Sharpe color copier from SumnerOne of St. Joseph at $3,690.00 split with administration, streets, and parks. Poppa seconded the motion with three ayes. The motion and second passed. Riley made a motion to approve the new computer with Midwest Data Center at $1,817.02. Poppa seconded the motion, there were three ayes. The motion and second passed. Riley made a motion to proceed with getting an iPad for the clerk from Midwest Data Center. The motion was seconded and approved.

Mayor Morehouse requested to allow the clerk to pay monthly reoccurring bills as they come in. If the bill is out of the ordinary, they must ask for approval. Riley made a motion to approve the mayor’s request on paying bills. Two signatures will still be required on the checks. Poppa seconded and there were three ayes. The motion and second passed.

Department Reports

Blu Dow, City Buildings – Dow Construction will be working at the pillars at the Community Building soon.

Michael Klosek, Fire Department – Klosek was absent. There was no fire report.

Andy Riley, Parks & Pool – The parks and pool will be ready in March.

Scott Poppa, Street Department – Quimby’s report: Repairs/Equipment – “There have been some minor repairs to both trucks this month. We continue to social distance due to COVID-19. Progress continues on the new maintenance building, furnaces and insulation have now been installed and the wiring is 99% complete. Majority of items have been moved from the old building. The brush pile dirt work has been completed. The county has removed quite a bit of the rip rap pile and will be coming for more. Some Christmas décor is down, waiting on Evergy to remove décor on Main. There have been no major repairs at the R-V Park. We had a weather event of ice, snow, and rain. Hours were spent removing piles of snow from Main. We used 7,500 pounds of salt and 10 gallons of liquid ice for this one storm. Chief Gibbons and I are addressing the issue of large amounts of discarded items on the curbs. This is the resident’s responsibility to remove.”

Chris Hogue, Animal Control – Chris has not had any animals in the pound for a few months.

Tyson Gibbons, Police Department – Tyson reported new stop signs at 13th and McNary to slow down traffic. The board reviewed Gibbons’ report. The police department will be working on getting home owners to remove unlicensed, inoperable vehicles from their property, unless in a garage or shed. 

Timothy Morehouse, Mayor – Mayor Morehouse asked the board to allow tree removal to be moved from administration budget into street budget.

Becky Jones, Financials – Financials were given for December and no questions were asked. The budget for 2021-2022 will be passed March 3, 2021. Anyone who submits information needs to do so by February 24. 

The board voted to pay the outstanding bills.

The meeting adjourned at 6:45 p.m. The next regular meeting will be February 10, 2021, at 6:00 p.m.