BEAVER LAKE FIRE DEPARTMENT
ANNUAL MEMBER and BOARD of DIRECTORS MEETING Minutes
Page 1 of 6
BEAVER LAKE FIRE DEPARTMENT
ANNUAL MEMBERSHIP MEETING
September 20, 2025
BEAVER LAKE FIRE DEPARTMENT
ANNUAL MEMBER and BOARD of DIRECTORS MEETING Minutes
Page 2 of 6
Date: Tuesday, September 20, 2025
Time: 10:00 a.m.
Place: Beaver Lake Fire Department, Station 1
Location: 16035 Cypress LN, Rogers AR 72756
Zoom Link: Watch the meeting (starts at 00:04:22) Last part of recording
(minor technical issue caused recording to stop. Restarted on second link)
1.
CALL TO ORDER
1.1.
Directors attending in person: Jeff Easley, Curtis Hathcock, Jerry Hudlow, Kelly Lewis *, Steve Long, Larry Smith, Laura Tucker, Todd Weber
1.2.
Special Board Members attending in person: Chief Qualls, Captain Stanbery
1.3.
Attending via Video: Kelly Lewis* started remotely but later arrived at the meeting.
1.4.
Absent: Monte Gagliardi, Gisela Mejia
1.5.
Quorum Status. A quorum of 29 voting memberships (28 in person 1 by proxy representative) were present for the Annual Members Meeting. The Board of Directors had 8 of 10 members present
2.
Chairman Comments.
2.1.
Opening summary
2.1.1.
Annual Membership Meeting and Board of Directors Meeting. Chairpersons Jeff Easley called the meeting to order. He explained that this meeting would serve as both the 2025 Annual Members Meeting and the Annual/Monthly Board of Directors Meeting. Board business would be conducted as necessary during the presentation of information to the general members present.
2.1.2.
Timeline of Events
2.1.2.1.
Concurrent Meetings Guidelines
2.1.2.1.1.
Conduct of Normal Business. Normal Board of Director business requiring votes and recording were conducted during this meeting.
2.1.2.1.2.
Public Comments. The chairperson made it abundantly clear that general members would be recognized to make comments and ask questions throughout the meeting.
2.1.2.2.
Major Achievements
2.1.2.2.1.
Insurance Services Office (ISO) Rating. The BLFD had a periodic review and evaluation conducted for the purpose of establishing the level of Public Protection Classification the department scored based upon current fire protection capabilities. The BLFD received a rating of 3 out of 10. This is an
BEAVER LAKE FIRE DEPARTMENT
ANNUAL MEMBER and BOARD of DIRECTORS MEETING Minutes
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improvement over the last rating. A rating of 1 is the highest score with 10 being the lowest. Most volunteer fire departs score between 5 and 10. Member’s property insurance premiums may be reduced the better the rating is for the department.
2.1.2.2.2.
Emergency Medical Services (EMS) Integration – Pafford contract
2.1.2.3.
Election of Directors – Introduction of Board of Director candidates was made by Chairperson Easley. Each candidate was given an opportunity to address the audience.
2.1.2.3.1.
Meredith Hutchins
2.1.2.3.2.
Steven Long (currently serving director)
2.1.2.3.3.
Ken Powell
2.1.2.3.4.
Larry Smith (currently serving director)
2.1.2.3.5.
Holly Smyth
3.
Disposition of Previous Meeting Minutes.
3.1.
Review Board of Directors Meeting Minutes for August 12, 2025.
3.1.1.
Motion to approve Minutes of meeting. Motion was made by Larry Smith to approve Board Minutes for August. Motion seconded by Todd Weber. Motion approved by unanimous voice vote.
4.
Reports of Officers
4.1.
Fire Chief Operations Report.
4.1.1.
Reviewed monthly response numbers. Chief Dusty Qualls began with a general overview of how well the Board and other members have been working together to make the organization work so well. Responses to incidents may appear to be down but are actually running about normal for this time of year. When looking at year to year trends it must be remembered that last year was very dry and we had a significant increase in number of incidents due to wildland fires.
Chief continued with discussion of our firefighters’ qualifications, hard work and introduced our newest graduate from the Fire Academy, Elijah Ballou.
BEAVER LAKE FIRE DEPARTMENT
ANNUAL MEMBER and BOARD of DIRECTORS MEETING Minutes
Page 4 of 6
4.1.2.
Acquisition of new Firefighting/Recue Apparatus. The vehicle is scheduled to be ready for delivery in November given no hiccups. A request has been made by the provider for an initial payment of approximately $80,000 to pay for the baseline chassis to be followed by balance upon delivery. Laura Tucker provided quick summary of how the board had already approved an expected $50,000 downpayment earlier in the year. She stated we have ample funds available to cover the additional $30,000 and explained how this will just reduce any amount we need to finance in the future. The overall budgeted
BEAVER LAKE FIRE DEPARTMENT
ANNUAL MEMBER and BOARD of DIRECTORS MEETING Minutes
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amount for the cost of the apparatus is not changed. Motion made by Todd Weber to approve paying the $82,000 down payment as requested. Motion seconded by Steven Long. Motion approved by unanimous voice vote.
4.1.3.
Backup Generator Project. Member Sheila Gallahger asked for clarification on funding source for the system. Chief Qualls confirmed it was anticipated that the funds would come from state sponsored grants money.
4.1.4.
Improved ISO rating to Level 3
4.2.
President’s Report. President Todd Weber congratulated the Chief Qualls and all the firefighters for their work and dedication to making the organization so efficient. The validation shows by the improvement in the ISO rating from 4 to 3. Larry Smith asked if the use of fire station 1 classroom by the Beaver Shores HOA for its monthly meeting. Todd explained how they have been using it on the first Thursday of each month. Some confusion occurred last month, but everything is normal.
4.3.
Treasurer’s Report.
4.3.1.
Review Monthly Financial Documents. Laura Tucker, vice Treasurer provided a summary of the annual budget and explained how the numbers were presented differently than in the past. The current bank account assets are at $604,815.41.
4.3.2.
Motion to approve financial documents. Motion made by Curtis Hathcock to approve monthly Balance sheets, P &L, and Budget review documents for June. Motion seconded by Jerry Smith. Motion approved by unanimous voice vote.
4.4.
Secretary’s Report.
5.
Reports of Committees – None
6.
New Business.
6.1.
Tax Equity and Fiscal Responsibility Act of 1982 (TEFRA)
6.1.1.
Public Notice Requirement
6.1.2.
Resolution Requirement
7.
Old Business.
7.1.
LOPFI Policy. Request has been made by BLFD personnel to have all contributions for retirement pension / social security be made to the LOPFI pension program instead of the current split system. Evaluation and determination of status is a continuing process.
7.1.1.
Update.
7.2.
New Building for equipment Storage. Jeff Easley briefly discussed for the audience to explain how the issue was identified for initial discussion due to acquisition of the new multi-purpose apparatus.
BEAVER LAKE FIRE DEPARTMENT
ANNUAL MEMBER and BOARD of DIRECTORS MEETING Minutes
Page 6 of 6
7.3.
BLFD Bylaws Review/Update/Amendment.
7.3.1.
Proposed revision of Bylaws has been published to website for general membership review and comment. Member Jeff Durocher asked if input was going to be allowed by the general members to discuss changes in the bylaws. He was concerned the approval requirements to make changes to the bylaws. He had concerns that a small number of individuals could get things changed without general member input. Members of the board discussed how the bylaws are an administrative function. This board wants the general members input, which is why the proposed change was posted to social media. No significant change was made to the specific part of the bylaws requiring a super majority approval of the board to make changes to the bylaws. The current board does want the general membership to concur and understand how the bylaws will affect them. Furthermore, it is imperative that members remain engaged with the board to prevent results such as those presented as an example of how a board may have abused its authority.
7.3.2.
Final approval vote for adopting new Bylaws expected next month. The final vote will be dependent upon further discussion at next month’s board meeting. This will include input received from the general membership.
8.
General Membership Question and Answer.
8.1.
Open Forum.
8.2.
Election of Directors – Final call for submission of ballots. Ballots were distributed and collected to identify individuals to fill the 5 director positions that will serve from January 1, 2026, to December 31, 2027 (2 years). There were 29 memberships represented for the election. Three memberships did not submit a ballot for tabulation. A total of 26 ballots were received and counted. No new candidates were submitted via a write-in. Each of the submitted ballots approved all 5 of the board recommended candidates. Therefore, the Board of Directors beginning January 1, 2026, will be; Jeff Easley, Monte Gagliardi, Jerry Hudlow, Meredith Hutchins, Steven Long, Ken Powell, Larry Smith, Holly Smyth, Laura Tucker, Todd Weber (10 of 11 positions). One position is still vacant. The board will continue seeking a candidate to fill this position.
9.
Other Business.
9.1.
Next Board Meeting scheduled for October 14, 2025, at BLFD Fire Station 1, 16035 Cypress LN, Rogers AR 72756. Meeting to be conducted concurrently with Annual Membership Meeting presentation.
10.
Adjournment. Meeting was adjourned at 11:24 A.M.
SUBMITTED BY: Curtis Hathcock, Board Secretary