BEAVER LAKE FIRE DEPARTMENT
BOARD OF DIRECTORS AGENDA
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Date: Tuesday, August 12, 2025
Time: 6:00 p.m.
Place: Beaver Lake Fire Department, Station 1
Location: 16035 Cypress LN, Rogers AR 72756
Zoom Link: Watch the meeting Zoom ID 895 9812 4894 Meeting starts at the 11 minute mark.
1.
CALL TO ORDER
1.1.
Directors attending in person: Jeff Easley, Monte Gagliardi, Curtis Hathcock, Jerry Hudlow, Kelly Lewis, Steve Long, Laura Tucker, Todd Weber (8 of 10)
1.2.
Special Board Members attending in person:
1.3.
Attending via Video: Gisela Mejia, Larry Smith
1.4.
Absent: Chief Qualls
1.5.
Quorum Status. Quorum is present to conduct all matters of business. Eight (8) present in person and two (2) present via Zoom.
2.
Chairman Comments.
2.1.
Opening summary. Chairperson Easley called meeting to order at 6:03 PM. Summarized meeting agenda emphasizing concerning proposal to change handling of LOPFI
2.1.1.
Special Donation Recognition. Laura provided details on donation made to support firefighters in the amount of $250. The funds are being combined with others for the acquisition of a recliner for the station.
2.1.2.
Introduction of Board of Director candidates.
2.1.2.1.
Holly Smyth. Steven Long made introductions of Holly to the board. Members had received notification of her interest in serving as a director. Holly provided a summary of her experiences over her working career. She has been living in the Beaver Lake area since 1994. She is willing to help wherever the need arises.
2.1.2.2.
Ken Powell. Monte Gagliardi introduced Ken and his family have been in the Beaver Lake area since 1978 with the last 20 plus years in Prairie Creek. He has served his community in various position and has recently retire from the Clorox Company in Rogers. Ken was a volunteer firefighter previously at the College of the Ozarks and with the city of Bentonville for a couple of years.
2.1.3.
Upcoming vote to fill Director positions for the 2026-2027 term. Chairperson Easley reiterated that three existing Directors were coming to the end of their term (Curtis Hathcock, Kelly Lewis, and Gisela Mejia). He informed the board that Larry Smith and Steven Long would be returning candidates recommended to the general membership along with new candidates Meredith Hutchins, Ken Powell, and Holly Smyth would be
BEAVER LAKE FIRE DEPARTMENT
BOARD OF DIRECTORS AGENDA
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other candidates recommended by the Board. This will leave one position vacant having a term that ends December 31, 2026. Every effort should be made to find a willing candidate to fill this position as quickly as possible.
2.1.3.1.
Gisela Mejia took an opportunity to thank the board and BLFD membership for allowing her to serve. She enjoyed her time and had a great experience.
2.1.3.2.
Chairperson Easley clarified that the list of potential candidates from the board does not limit general members from submitting a candidate for a director position. Discussion ensued clarifying that a candidate for a director position must be submitted to the Board of Directors at least 60 days prior to an election for said position to ensure appropriate vetting has been completed for qualification to serve. Therefore, any nominations which might be made by the general membership at the Annual Members Meeting in September will not be presented for vote by the membership at that time. The candidate may be eligible for appointment to a director position by an approving vote of the Board at a subsequent Board Meeting.
2.1.3.3.
Chairperson Easley called for a motion from the Election Committee members (Jeff Easley, Monte Gagliardi, Jerry Hudlow, Laura Tucker, Todd Weber) to approve the list of candidates to be voted upon at the 2025 Annual Membership Meeting to fill director positions for the 2026 through 2027 term. The candidates are Meredith Hutchins, Steven Long, Ken Powell, Larry Smith, and Holly Smyth. Motion was made by Jerry Hudlow. Motion was seconded by Todd Weber. Motion was approved by a unanimous voice vote of the 5 members.
3.
Disposition of Previous Meeting Minutes.
3.1.
Review Board of Directors Meeting Minutes for June 10, 2025.
3.1.1.
Motion to approve Minutes of meeting. Motion made by Monte Gagliardi to approve Board Minutes for June. Motion seconded by Kelly Lewis. Motion approved by unanimous voice vote.
3.2.
Review Board of Directors Meeting Minutes for July 8, 2025.
3.2.1.
Motion to approve Minutes of meeting. Motion made by Steven Long to approve Board Minutes for June. Motion seconded by Kelly Lewis. Motion approved by unanimous voice vote.
4.
Open to Public Comments.
5.
Reports of Officers
5.1.
Fire Chief Operations Report.
5.1.1.
Reviewed monthly response numbers.
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BOARD OF DIRECTORS AGENDA
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BEAVER LAKE FIRE DEPARTMENT
BOARD OF DIRECTORS AGENDA
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5.1.2.
Captain Stanbery provided a quick summary of the numbers shown in the charts above. Monte asked if there have been any staffing issues given circumstances with ambulance services county wide. No significant impact has been noted.
5.1.3.
Acquisition of new Firefighting/Recue Apparatus. Captain Stanbery informed the Board that the acquisition is on track and has an estimated delivery of 14 weeks out, maybe around Veterans Day.
5.1.4.
Backup Generator Project. A query will be made to determine if we can proceed with project and use grant funds after the fact if they are approved or do we have to wait until funding is approved/disapproved to begin the project.
5.2.
President’s Report. Todd Weber provided an update on the process to be used to assist the Prairie Creek Community Association with having a meeting place. Fire Station was used recently creating some confusion but seemed to be acceptable. They will continue to be allowed to use the Fire Station 1 for meetings on the first Thursday of each month for the foreseeable future.
5.3.
Treasurer’s Report.
5.3.1.
Review Monthly Financial Documents. Gisela Mejia provided overview of current financial status of the organization. Operations occurred normally. The organizations current total assets came to $615,872.16.
5.3.2.
Motion to approve financial documents. Motion made by Todd Weber to approve monthly Balance sheets, P &L, and Budget review documents for June. Motion seconded by Kelly Lewis. Motion approved by unanimous voice vote.
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BOARD OF DIRECTORS AGENDA
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5.4.
Secretary’s Report.
6.
Reports of Committees – Recommendations for Director positions to be voted upon by the general membership next month. Candidates are Meredith Hutchins, Steven Long, Ken Powell, Larry Smith, and Holly Smyth. Additionally, there is still a vacant position with a term running through the end of 2026. The board should continue to seek to fill this position via appointment.
7.
New Business. None.
8.
Old Business.
8.1.
LOPFI Policy. A request has been made by BLFD full-time personnel (Justin Stanbery and Elijah Ballou) to have the portion of their contributions for retirement pension / social security be made to the LOPFI pension program in its entirety.
8.1.1.
Current contribution structure. The BLFD contributes 24% currently on fulltime employees to LOPFI. The BLFD pays a matching 6.2% for Social Security and 1.45% for MEDICARE. The employee contributes 3.5% to LOPFI, 6.2% to Social Security and 1.45% to Medicare through a payroll withholding.
8.1.2.
Laura Tucker is working with Chief Qualls to assess legal and financial ramifications for BLFD and the firefighters. Laura has contacted Madison Davis, the state Social Security Analyst to obtain the state agency’s assistance in this matter.
8.1.3.
The proposed change we are considering would have BLFD continuing to pay the 24% contribution for full-time employees (firefighters) based upon our firefighters’ request. The employee’s (full-time firefighters) would then be paying 9.5% to LOPFI and the 1.45% to MEDICARE through normal payroll deductions.
8.1.4.
This change would allow the fulltime employees options to access potential retirement funds earlier than the Social Security program allows. Additionally, the Arkansas LOPFI program is more robust and has more retirement options than the Social Security System provides.
8.1.5.
Mr. Davis has stated he will continue to help BLFD in executing any required actions and answering questions during our review.
8.1.6.
Bottom line, further research is needed to determine what the best choice for the organization would be in this matter. It is important to recognize that many other local fire departments including the cities of Rogers and Springdale already use this method of maximizing proceeds for firefighters retirement.
8.1.7.
The Board agreed to continue further investigation into this matter and Laura Tucker shall continue research with the State of Arkansas, LOPFI and the IRS. We are seeking clarification and guidance regarding Exemption of Social Security coverage for our full-time firefighters both of whom participate in LOPFI (Local Police and Fire Retirement System), which is a qualified public retirement system under IRS rules. Chairman Easley requested an official vote recognizing continuance to proceed on this issue. The motion was submitted by Jeff Easley . Motion was seconded by Jerry Hudlow. Motion approved by unanimous voice vote.
BEAVER LAKE FIRE DEPARTMENT
BOARD OF DIRECTORS AGENDA
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8.2.
New Building for equipment Storage. This project has been tabled for now.
8.3.
BLFD Bylaws Review/Update/Amendment.
8.3.1.
Grammatical and formatting corrections. Discussed and approved.
8.3.2.
Voting Rights for business. If the business is the owner of record of improved property within the BLFD General Service Area (GSA) it will be treated the same as any other member. Refer to paragraph 3.1.1 Voting Rights of Members.
8.3.3.
The board members agreed that upon the approval vote of the Proposed Bylaws, it will be presented to the general membership via multiple methods. This should allow general members to review and identify any items more specifically.
9.
Other Business.
9.1.
Next Board Meeting scheduled for September 20, 2025, at BLFD Fire Station 1, 16035 Cypress LN, Rogers AR 72756. Meeting to be conducted concurrently with Annual Membership Meeting presentation.
10.
Adjournment. Motion made by Jerry Hudlow to adjourn the meeting. Seconded by Steve Long. Motion for adjournment passed by unanimous voice vote.
SUBMITTED BY: Curtis Hathcock, Board Secretary