The City of Tarkio Board of Aldermen met Wednesday, July 12, 2023, at 6:00 p.m. at Tarkio City Hall. The Pledge of Allegiance was conducted. Roll call was done by Tarkio City Clerk Danielle Madron: aldermen Scott Walker, Blu Dow, and Jeff Olson were all present; aldermen Jeff Agnew was absent. Visitors were: City of Tarkio employees – Street Superintendent Jamie Quimby, Chief Tyson Gibbons, Park Superintendent Chris Niles, and Building Inspector Jesse Payne, Tarkio Board of Public Works employee Curtis Hedrick; Park Board president Ashlee Driskell and Park Board Secretary Jennifer Peregrine; and citizen Mike Klosek, Sr.

Mayor Staten opened the public hearing for the partial vacation of Sycamore Street from 6th to 7th Streets and for the tax rates for 2023-2024 at 6:02 p.m. There were no comments from any citizens during the open hearing. Mayor Staten closed the open hearing at 6:10 p.m.

Mayor Staten asked for the approval of the regular meeting minutes from July 12, 2023. Dow made a motion to approve the minutes from the July 12 meeting and the motion was seconded and approved.

Mayor Staten gave the first reading for Bill 299.23 Ordinance 285.23: An Ordinance Declaring The Partial Vacation Of Sycamore Street Between North Sixth Street And North Seventh Street In Tarkio, Missouri. Dow made a motion to approve Bill 299.23 Ordinance 285.23. The motion was seconded and approved.

Mayor Staten gave the second reading for Bill 299.23 Ordinance 285.23. Walker made a motion to approve Bill 299.23 Ordinance 285.23. The motion was seconded and approved. Bill 299.23 Ordinance 285.23 was adopted.

Mayor Staten gave the first reading of Bill 300.23 Ordinance 286.23: An Ordinance Levying A Tax Upon All Of The Taxable Property. Walker made a motion to approve Bill 300.23 Ordinance 286.23. The motion was seconded and approved.

Mayor Staten gave the second reading of Bill 300.23 Ordinance 286.23. Dow made a motion to approve Bill 300.23 Ordinance 286.23. The motion was seconded and approved. Bill 300.23 Ordinance 286.23 was adopted.

Some friends of Patty Clark’s family would like to hold a fundraiser at the Tarkio Community Building to help with Patty’s medical costs. They are asking for the rental fee of $75 to be waived. They are still willing to pay the $80 deposit. Dow made a motion to waive the community building rental fees and the motion was seconded and approved.

The Health and Wellness Coalition is looking into making businesses within city limits smoke-free. They will be coming to present ideas to the council in October. The city will look into finding sample ordinances to mirror off of when the time comes.

Chief Gibbons asked the board to consider passing an ordinance to mirror the state’s new law on texting and driving. The state ordinance will take effect August 28. The board agrees that an ordinance should be put into place. An ordinance will be presented to the council in September.

Department Reports

Blu Dow, City Buildings – Clerk Madron and Sherri Bowlin deep cleaned all the tables at the Community Building. The correct handle and lock have been put on the evidence room door.

Jeff Agnew, Fire Department – There was nothing to report.

Jeff Olson, Parks & Pool – Chris Niles with the parks said that the Par “K” 3 golf tournament is this Saturday. The sand has been delivered to the tennis courts. The park board is looking into estimates on new back boards for the basketball hoops. Chris will be painting the court lines on the basketball court. The board is still working on getting the grant ready to apply for pool funding to make repairs. The contractor is available to come look at the pool in the fall, but there is no set date yet. There were over 100 kids in this summer’s swimming lessons. Friendship Day is scheduled for September 23.

Scott Walker, Street Department – Quimby’s report was given.

• Brush Pile: The brush pile has been used properly so far this season and no items of concern have been dumped. The brush pile will be burnt soon after the pool closes.

• RV Park: There are two campers at the RV Park that are people working on wind mills.

• Cold Patch: Repairs to potholes continue. There have also been some street edges that have been repaired.

• Signage: Several signs that were faded or otherwise not in good shape have been replaced or repaired.

• Basketball Court/Volleyball Pit: All the sand has been delivered to the new volleyball pit.

• Tree Removal and Trimming: A tree was damaged in a thunderstorm near 8th and Chestnut that Bob Wooten and Quimby removed. There were also a few larger limbs that had to be cleaned up after the same thunderstorm on 13th Street. Bob and Quimby have been working on trimming low hanging limbs. Elm and Chestnut have been completed and they are working on Pine.

• Friendship Day: They are starting to make sure that there are enough barricades available for this event and making sure there is a plan in place for staging them and putting flags up, etc.

• Plugged Tube: There is a tube plugged on South 8th Street and the crew has tried to get it open with a fire truck. The next option is to have it jetted. Quimby has made arrangements to get this done. He is going to ask that they bring their camera with them in case it can’t be opened, then the camera can be used to see what is going on. They did get some flow with the fire truck, but it was very slow. Quimby is confident that they will be able to get it opened without digging.

• Christmas Decorations: The new Christmas decorations for Main Street have been ordered. The approximate delivery date is August 14. When it arrives, we will start removing the old brackets and installing the new ones. A few poles still need new wiring.

Curtis Hedrick, Board of Public Works – All easements are in place for when the generators do come in to fix the lift stations. Bulk water is being sold to a wind tower company to help with repair of the roads that go to each windmill.

Mark Staten, Gould Peterson Municipal Airport – The hangar building construction is almost complete. They are working on electrical inside the building at this time.

Chris Niles, Animal Control – The Atchison County Veterinary Clinic in Tarkio called. They had a stray dog brought in by the Atchison-Holt Ambulance crew that had a chicken bone stuck in its mouth and was flea infested. They flea dipped the dog and asked if Animal Control could come pick it up and take it to the city pound. Megan McAdams posted about the dog on Facebook and within an hour, the animal was picked up and claimed by its owner.

Tyson Gibbons, Police Department – The K-9 golf tournament was a success. There were more teams that played this year than last. The tournament profited $4,153.74. The new radios for the patrol cars have come in and will be installed August 21 and August 23.

Danielle Madron, City Financials – There was nothing to report.

A break was taken from 7:00 to 7:05 p.m.

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

After discussion, the executive session was closed and the meeting moved back into regular session.

The meeting was adjourned at 7:50 p.m. Next month’s regular meeting will be September 13, 2023, at 6:00 p.m.