The City of Tarkio Board of Aldermen met Wednesday, July 8, 2026, at Tarkio City Hall. The Pledge of Allegiance was conducted at 6:00 p.m. City Clerk Danielle Kephart conducted roll call: Mayor Jeff Agnew and councilmen Jeff Olson, James Navin, and Scott Poppa were all present. Others present at the meeting included: City of Tarkio employees – Police Chief Tyson Gibbons, Street Superintendent Jamie Quimby, and Building Inspector Jesse Payne; THS Gamers Club members – Dr. Marinda Liming, Dezi Kimpston, Nadine Henning, Andrew Romesser, Lynora Kimpston, and Dani Burke; and visitors – Matthew Burke, Teresa and Bill Smith, Craig and Matthew Vance, Sharon McCall, and Mike Klosek, Sr.

Mayor Agnew opened the public hearing on tax rates. Clerk Kephart posted the notice for the public hearing at three places on July 20. The regular monthly meeting changed from August 12 to August 19. Clerk Kephart posted the hearing date change at the same three public places on August 4, 2026. The tax rate in 2025 was $1.6953. The new tax rate is $1.7076; an increase of 0.0123. Mayor Agnew closed the public hearing on tax rates.

The aldermen voted to approve the July 8, 2026, regular meeting minutes and special meeting on July 31, 2026, as distributed. There were no additions or deletions to the agenda.

Bill Smith spoke to the council about a recent encounter he had with one of the Tarkio Police officers. He was displeased with how he was treated and the conduct of the officer. Matthew and Craig Vance stated they had a similar encounter with the same officer. The council assured them they would look into the incidents further.

Mayor Agnew asked for the approval of the appointment of Natasha Baruth to the open North Ward Alderman position. Navin made a motion to accept the appointment and the motion passed. Alderman Baruth will be sworn in at the September 9 city council meeting.

Mayor Agnew gave the first reading of Bill 337.26 Ordinance 323.26 An Ordinance Levying A Tax Upon All Of The Taxable Property. Olson made a motion to approve Bill 337.26 Ordinance 323.26. The motion was seconded and approved.

Mayor Agnew gave the second reading of Bill 337.26 Ordinance 323.26. Navin made a motion to approve Bill 337.26 Ordinance 323.26 and the motion was seconded and approved. Bill 337.26 Ordinance 323.26 was adopted.

The THS Gamers Club members spoke to the council about how their club came about and what they do as a club. They started this club as a way to make friends and be involved in activities. They play a variety of different games; some they have made up themselves. They play board games, card games, and do different activities. They would like to partner with the city and Tarkio Parks and Rec boards to get the community more involved. They would like to have events to bring people out to enjoy games, socialization, and get involved with other community members.

Councilman Olson presented a quote from Delmar Schebaum for new tin roofs at the shelter houses at Doug Summa Memorial Park. The quote was for $5,451.72. Work would need to be done to the rest of the shelters, such as pressure washing and painting. The park employees could help with this part of the repairs. Poppa made a motion to accept the bid. The motion was seconded and passed.

Clerk Kephart reached out to Scott Prior with Municipal Development and Funding to check on the progress for the financing on the animal control/park building. Mr. Prior informed Kephart that the process is slow moving, as it will take Morton three to four months after receiving the signed step two contract to finalize the design, pricing and architectural plans. Once that is complete, the city will move forward on the financing, then on to actual prep work, and building construction.

Mayor Agnew spoke to the council about scheduling the review of ordinances. He would like the council to review all of Chapter 100. This chapter includes elections, city boards and officials and their roles, open records, municipal court, and taxation. They will review them at the September meeting.

Department Reports

James Navin, City Buildings – Meek and Sons was called to check on the air conditioners at the Tarkio Community Building, as one of the renters stated the building was not getting cooled down. Meek stated the south air conditioners were not working and that he did get them fixed. He also informed Clerk Kephart that the air conditioners were over 20 years old and suggested the city look into replacing a few at a time. Clerk Kephart mentioned the possibility of purchasing some new white tables for the community building. This would allow the city to get rid of the old, heavy brown tables and replace some of the white tables that are stained and not looking the best. The older, stained tables could be used for outdoor events that the park board puts on throughout the year. The eight foot white tables have been priced at $138.99 each from Amazon. Clerk Kephart will look for more prices and bring them back to the council in September.

Scott Poppa, Volunteer Fire Department and Board of Public Works – There was nothing to report.

Parks and Rec Board – The triathlon was a huge success, with a lot of positive feedback from the participants. They have a tentative date for next year’s event. The pool is being emptied and will be winterized for the season.

Jeff Olson, Street Department – Jamie’s report on streets:

• RV Park – There are currently three campers using this facility.

• Weather Event – A couple of tree limbs caused issues this last month. One on Ceder Street fell in the night and blocked residents in. It was moved off the street and cleaned up when the sun was up. Another limb fell on 7th Street and took out power to several residents. Evergy had to come out and cut this one up and get power going again. Quimby has made arrangements to have this tree cut as soon as the Evergy tree crew comes and cuts some limbs that are hanging over the power lines, making it much safer for the crew to work around.

• Parks – Assistance was given to the Parks and Rec Board by helping prepare for the triathlon. Tables, chairs, trash cans, power cords and such were moved to Gould Peterson Municipal Airport for this event. Arrows were also painted to assist athletes with the route here in town.

• Sidewalk – The health center is looking at replacing the sidewalks and some other work.

• Signage – There have been a couple of stop signs either installed or replaced. Quimby did an audit of street name signs from 1st to 7th Street and ordered 28 name plates that have either faded to the point they were hard to read or have been damaged. These have come in and the crew is replacing them. He will also do another audit 7th to 13th Street.

• Street Project – Herzog has been here and worked on the street matting project.

Mayor Agnew, Gould Peterson Municipal Airport – There was nothing to report.

Chris Niles, Animal Control – There was nothing to report.

Chief Gibbons, Police Department – The air show went well last month. There have been several kids riding E-bikes and not paying attention to or stopping at intersections, which could cause serious injuries if they are in an accident. Chief Gibbons is looking into more information for education on this topic. The new RMS system is up and running and e-ticketing will be up soon as well.

Kephart, City Financials – Next month, the city will be doing budget review and cost-of-living increase talks.

The aldermen voted to enter into executive session per Chapter 610.021 Section 3 hiring, firing, disciplining or promoting a particular employee, etc.

Poppa made a motion to close executive session. Olson seconded and the motion was approved.

Olson made a motion to adjourn the regular meeting and the motion was seconded and approved. The meeting adjourned at 7:25 p.m.

The next regular Tarkio Board of Aldermen meeting will be held Wednesday, September 9, 2026, at 6:00 p.m. at City Hall. Anyone is welcome and encouraged to attend.