The City of Tarkio Board of Alderman met Wednesday, February 10, 2021, at Tarkio City Hall. The Pledge of Allegiance was conducted at 6:00 p.m. Roll call was conducted by city clerk Rebecca Jones: aldermen present were Scott Poppa, Blu Dow, and Mike Klosek; alderman Andy Riley was absent. Andy Riley was present by Zoom at 6:15 p.m. Visitors present were Gould Peterson Municipal Airport Manager Brooks Hurst, Tarkio Street Department Superintendent Jamie Quimby, Tarkio Animal Control Officer Chris Hogue, Tarkio Building Inspector Jesse Payne, and Tarkio Park Board members Ashlee Driskell and Corey Martin. Chief of Police Tyson Gibbons was present by Zoom. Mayor Morehouse asked for the approval of the regular meeting minutes of January 13, 2021, as distributed.

Corey Martin was present to speak about the lot south of the ballfield, requesting the possibility of Vestas placing rock and parking vehicles while working on windmills this year. Ashlee and Corey left the meeting at 6:15 p.m.

Brooks Hurst wanted to clear with the city the possibility of placing a drive-thru on the west side of the Flower Mill, from the alley back to Main Street. The board saw no issues with the drive-thru.

Airport Manager Hurst also spoke to the mayor and board about building a 35×40 maintenance building at Gould Peterson Municipal Airport. The building would store the mower, tractor, and airport vehicle. There are capitol improvement funds available left from 2020 and 2021, funds of $150,000.00 available later this year. The city’s part to complete the building would be $7,500. Riley made a motion to allow up to the $7,500 to build the maintenance building. The motion was seconded and approved.

Mayor Morehouse asked to approve Olsson’s recommendation to accept DR Petroleum for Gould Peterson Municipal Airport Project No. 20-001A-2. Klosek made a motion to accept Olsson’s recommendation and the motion was seconded and approved.

Mayor Morehouse also requested the approval of Olsson’s recommendation to accept GDS, LLC for Gould Peterson Municipal Airport Project No. 20-001A-3. Poppa made a motion to accept Olsson’s recommendation and the motion and the second were approved.

Mayor Morehouse read by title, Bill No. 260.21 Ordinance No. 246.21, An Ordinance Adopting An Amended Budget For The City Of Tarkio’s Fiscal Year April 1, 2020, To March 31, 2021. Poppa made a motion to pass Bill No. 260.21 Ord. No. 246.21, and the motion was seconded and approved by all. Mayor Morehouse gave the second reading of Bill No. 260.21 Ordinance No. 246.21. Klosek made a motion to pass Bill No. 260.21, Ord. No. 246.21. The motion was seconded and approved and Bill 260-21, Ordinance 246.21 was adopted.

Department Reports

Blu Dow, Tarkio city buildings: Dow questioned recommendations from MIRMA on the Tarkio Animal Control/Parks Department building. The board will make the decision at a later time on building a new building to house the park equipment and Animal Control.

Michael Klosek, Tarkio Fire Department: The food pantry will be using the fire station to do a food drive-thru pickup, due to the extreme cold.

Andy Riley, Parks & Pool: The Tarkio Park Board budgeted to buy a new Grasshopper 900 mower from Merz. The Park Board also approved new tires for the park vehicle, totaling $598, with the cost to be split between parks and animal control.

Scott Poppa, Tarkio Street Department: Quimby’s report – “Repairs/Equipment: There have been some minor repairs to equipment this month. We continue to social distance due to COVID-19. The new building is nearing completion. The office has been drywalled. Meek & Sons will finish the plumbing when mudding is complete. There have been no major repairs at the Sycamore RV Park. Several renters have left recently. There have been several weather events over the last month. We have put salt and chat down; however, due to extremely cold temperatures, the salt may not help melt the ice until temperatures increase. Officer Dorrel has helped compile a list of street signs that are missing or damaged. This summer we will start to replace damaged signs and place new signage where signs are missing.”

Timothy Morehouse, Mayor: The new maintenance building will have an LED light on the north side of the building and on the main doors. There will not be one on the south side of the building as previously discussed.

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

Tyson Gibbons, Tarkio Police Department: Tyson reported Officer Keaveny is now done training and working on her own. The police department is organizing a four-person golf tournament with proceeds to go to help pay for the K-9 expenses.

Becky Jones, City Clerk: Deputy Clerk Danielle Madron and Clerk Jones have been working on the budget for 2021-2022. Changes need to be relayed back to the clerks by March 1. The budget will be adopted at the March 3, 2021, regular meeting.

Mayor Morehouse announced an executive session would be held per Chapter 610.021 Section 2 leasing, purchase or sale of real estate where public knowledge might adversely affect the amount paid in the transaction. Klosek made a motion to enter into executive session per Chapter 610.021 Section 2. The motion was seconded and approved. Roll call was taken: Poppa, Klosek, and Dow were present, and Riley was present by Zoom.

The meeting came out of executive session. Riley made a motion to sell land to the south of the Tarkio Fire Station to the Tarkio Special Road District for $1.00. Klosek seconded the motion with three ayes voting to accept the motion and one abstaining. The motion passed.

The meeting was adjourned at 6:45 p.m. The next regular meeting will be March 3, 2021, at 6:00 p.m.