The City of Tarkio Board of Aldermen met Wednesday, March 9, 2022, at 6:00 p.m. Roll call was done by City Clerk Danielle Madron: aldermen Blu Dow, Scott Poppa, Andy Riley and Mike Klosek, Jr., were present. Visitors were: City employees – Animal Control Officer Chris Hogue, Street Superintendent Jamie Quimby, and Building Inspector Jesse Payne; and citizens – Mike Klosek, Sr., Curtis Hedrick, Gerry Tohill, Daryl Wiley, Jeff Agnew, Paige Agnew, and Michael Klosek, III.

Mayor Morehouse opened the public hearing to inform citizens of a request from Klosek’s LLC Trash Service to reduce the trash pick-up days for the City of Tarkio to just Thursday, instead of multiple days a week. Gerry Tohill was present and asked what the benefits would be to picking up trash on Thursdays only. Alderman Michael Klosek, Jr. told her it would cut down on the wear to city streets and would also cut the costs for Kloseks. There has not been a definite date set as to when these changes might happen. Notice will be sent out if this is approved. The public hearing was closed at 6:15 p.m.

The regular meeting minutes of February 9, 2022, were approved as distributed.

Poppa asked if the Atchison-Holt Ambulance District was still planning on building a new ambulance barn. The ambulance district director Gene Bradley had informed the city that they still plan to move forward on this, but with being short staffed due to Covid, it has been delayed.

Mayor Morehouse read by title Bill No. 278.22 Ordinance No. 264.22 An Ordinance Adopting A Budget For The City of Tarkio’s Fiscal Year April 1, 2022, to March 31, 2023. Mayor Morehouse gave the second reading of Bill No. 278.22 Ordinance No. 264.22. The first and second readings were approved. Bill No. 278.22 Ordinance No. 264.22 was adopted.

The Tarkio Board of Public Works would like to have Corey Martin appointed to the open position on the board. The appointment was approved.

Mayor Morehouse presented an estimate from Strukel Electric on the price of spare parts they suggest the city buy, to have on hand in case they are needed at the Gould Peterson Municipal Airport. The cost for the spare parts would be $1,755.52. The aldermen voted to purchase the spare parts.

Daryl Wiley has recently moved back to Tarkio and has purchased property at 505 Broad Street. He has inquired about purchasing the property east of his at 112 N. 5th Street. The current owner has not had any tenants or water hooked up to the house in 13 years and refuses to maintain or sell the property. Daryl came to the board to see if there was anything the city could do to help with this. Mayor Morehouse stated there was nothing the city could do to help get the property owner to sell.

The board discussed the topics of last month’s public hearing, parking on Main Street from 6th to 10th Street. Dow made a motion to change the parking policies on Main Street and implement a three-hour parking limit. The motion died for lack of a second.

The board discussed the changes to the current trash pick-up schedule for the city. Clerk Madron will contact the city attorney for guidance on changing the contract. The board will revisit this at the April 13 meeting.

The board had discussion about the property on the corner of 7th and Walnut. Donnie Dockins approached the board a few months ago asking if they were willing to sell. The property has one of the city sirens on it, therefore the property is considered part of the Emergency Management System, so the city is not interested in selling said property.

The board has decided that the policy for time off due to Covid no longer needs to be in effect for city employees. If an employee contracts Covid, he or she will need to use their available sick time.

Department Reports

Blu Dow, City Buildings – Dow had nothing to report.

Michael Klosek, Fire Department – One of the fire trucks is being worked on. All trucks are being looked over and prepped for inspections.

Andy Riley, Parks & Pool – Everything is on track for the parks and pool to open on time. The Parks Board is waiting for the new company from Bellevue to come and help them prep the pool for the upcoming season. This new company will train managers on the chemicals for the pool. The city parks will be open on April 1.

Scott Poppa, Street Department – Jamie Quimby’s report: Snow Storm – There were a couple of weather events this last month. The street crew did not have to push snow. Brush Pile – This area has been cleaned up and is being used. There was one issue this last month with someone dumping burning leaves that could have caught the area on fire. The fire department was called and it was put out before any embers blew into the pile. Potholes – Quite a few have been repaired repaired. The city is out of the winter patch that is used. More can be ordered, but with warmer weather approaching, they are going to try to hold off until the  regular cold patch can be ordered. Light Pole Improvement – The new electrical drops have been made and will be installed on 20 poles in the near future. When this is done all extra hardware will be removed from poles and flag holders will either be replaced or relocated so that all flags are at the same height. Quimby has located a company that will paint the poles on Main Street. They will clean and repair rust and blemishes before painting. The cost estimate received was $26,880. This estimate is for 56 poles. Quimby presented a proposal to purchase a new Ford F350 pickup to help with snow removal. Buying a new pickup would make it simpler to clean and maintain the streets in a snow event. It would also negate the need for the gold dump truck, which frequently needs repairs. The cost for the new F350 would be offset by selling the gold dump truck. He has contacted the same dealer the city used to purchase the 2010 F350 the city currently has. The dealer informed Quimby that they can not give out a price quote or order the pickup until September at the earliest.

Timothy Morehouse, Mayor – The city received an award for the concrete work done out at the airport. Most of the current projects are finished and the city is waiting on final reimbursement requested to come in.

Chris Hogue, Animal Control – There are no animals in the pound at this time.

Tyson Gibbons, Police Department – Police K-9 golf preparations are under way for the tournament in July. Hemi has assisted in many drug cases and also assisted in a tracking case.

Danielle Madron, City Financials – Clerk Madron informed the board she would be at the annual Spring Institute Clerks’ Conference next week. Deputy Clerks Becky Jones and Debbie Beckman will be covering the office for her.

The meeting moved into executive session per Chapter 610.021 Section 3 hiring, firing, disciplining or promoting a particular employee, etc. The meeting back into regular session.

The aldermen voted unanimously to give the following employees $1.00 per hour merit-based raises effective April 1, 2022: Tyler Dorrel, Tyson Gibbons, Jamie Quimby, Chris Niles, and Danielle Madron.

The meeting was adjourned at 7:50 p.m. The next regular meeting will be April 13, 2022, at 6:00 p.m.