BEAVER LAKE FIRE DEPARTMENT
BOARD OF DIRECTORS MINUTES
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Date: Tuesday, October 14, 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
1.
CALL TO ORDER
1.1.
Directors attending in person: Jeff Easley, Monte Gagliardi, Jerry Hudlow, Steve Long, Gisela Mejia, Laura Tucker, Todd Weber
1.2.
Special Board Members attending in person: Chief Qualls
1.3.
Attending via Video: Captain Stanbery
1.4.
Absent: Curtis Hathcock (proxy privileges given to Jeff Easley), Kelly Lewis, Larry Smith (proxy privileges given to Laura Tucker)
1.5.
Quorum Status. A quorum is present to conduct all matters of business. Seven directors are present in person, and a valid proxy has been given to Jeff Easley to represent director Curtis Hathcock’s vote and a valid proxy has been given to Laura Tucker to represent director Larry Smith’s vote. Therefore, a total of 9 out of 11 voting director positions are represented.
2.
Chairman Comments.
2.1.
Opening summary. Chairperson Easley informed those present that for this meeting directors would need to review their materials handed out for reference. The Secretary, who normally runs the projection of documents on the big screen is not present. The zoom recording will only contain an audio record of the meeting.
2.2.
Recognition of Director elects for coming year. The three newly elected directors whose terms start on January 1, 2026, are not present for official recognition.
3.
Disposition of Previous Meeting Minutes.
3.1.
Review Annual Members / Board of Directors Meeting Minutes for September 20, 2025.
3.1.1.
Motion to approve Minutes of meeting. Motion made by Monte Gagliardi to approve the combined Annual Membership and Board of Directors Meeting. Motion seconded by Todd Weber. Motion approved with a unanimous vote of those present (7) and 2 proxy votes. One vote, not present.
4.
Open to Public Comments.
BEAVER LAKE FIRE DEPARTMENT
BOARD OF DIRECTORS MINUTES
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5.
Reports of Officers
5.1.
Fire Chief Operations Report.
5.1.1.
Reviewed monthly response numbers. Incidents have been a little less this month, but trending upward again. In the last 2 weeks, there have been 2 structure fires that BLFD responded. In both cases, the crews did an excellent job. Chief Qualls introduced a new volunteer firefighter, Jason Drum. He is current going through training at the Metro Firefighting Academy.
BEAVER LAKE FIRE DEPARTMENT
BOARD OF DIRECTORS MINUTES
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5.1.2.
Acquisition of new Firefighting/Recue Apparatus. Everything is still on track.
5.1.3.
Backup Generator Project. No new update. Not sure how the government shutdown may be affecting approval process of the grant which BLFD applied.
5.2.
President’s Report. No comments.
5.3.
Treasurer’s Report.
5.3.1.
Review Monthly Financial Documents. Laura tucker presented update on payment made towards acquisition of the multi-purpose apparatus. She then reviewed the monthly financial documents. Cashflows have increased due to the end of property tax period. Expect that November will have a very large cash inflow due to normal collection processes at the county.
5.3.2.
Motion to approve financial documents. Motion made by Steve Long to approve monthly Balance sheets, P &L, and Budget review documents for September. Motion seconded by Monte Gagliardi. Motion approved by voice vote. Approval votes totaled 7 directors present in person, and 2 votes via proxy.
5.4.
Secretary’s Report. None.
6.
Reports of Committees – None.
7.
New Business.
7.1.
TEFRA (Tax Equity and Fiscal Responsibility Act of 1982).
7.1.1.
Requirements of this law must be adhered to when a non-profit organization (such as BLFD) is going to acquire tax-exempt financing for acquisition of an item such as the multi-purpose firefighting and rescue apparatus. When this process is used, public notice must be made in the affected locales area of jurisdiction. Use of this process provides an opportunity for BLFD to finance the purchase of such equipment over a period of years to better retain an operating reserve for the organization. Public notice was published through multiple social media outlets last month. The final step requires the board to approve a resolution stating the intent to use this process for the acquisition process.
7.1.2.
RESOLUTION 2025-F-0001, Authorize Acquisition of Financing for Command Multi-Purpose Apparatus is hereby presented to meet the TEFRA requirements. This motion is made by Steven Long. Motion seconded by Jerry Hudlow. Motion approved with a unanimous vote of those present (7) and 2 proxy votes. One vote, not present.
7.2.
Election to fill Officer positions on the Board of Directors for CY 2026.
7.2.1.
Chairperson Easley is asking members of the board to start thinking about the officer positions for the next calendar year. Members are encouraged to discuss their interest
BEAVER LAKE FIRE DEPARTMENT
BOARD OF DIRECTORS MINUTES
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in positions with current officers. Election of the positions for the next calendar year will be conducted during the November or December Board of Director meeting.
7.2.2.
Open discussion of developing a good system of checks and balances needs to be developed to insure BLFD doesn’t have potential for illegal activities which have plagued some other fire fighting organizations within Arkansas. Further research and discussion of a methodology will be done during future meetings.
7.3.
Proposed Budget for Calendar Year 2026.
7.3.1.
Most significant changes to budget would include the addition of 1 more full-time firefighter to provide 24/7 coverage of all shifts with a full-time firefighter. This will simplify management and operational processes.
7.3.2.
Funding of the new multi-purpose apparatus is included.
7.3.3.
This proposed budget would represent an increase of approximately 3% over last year’s budget.
7.3.4.
Bottom line BLFD is in a strong financial position and will remain so. Directors need to review and be prepared to vote for the approval of the budget next month.
8.
Old Business.
8.1.
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.
8.1.1.
Current contribution structure. BLFD contributes 3.5% to LOPFI and 6% to social security for each firefighter.
8.1.2.
After extensive research the Department has determined that full-time firefighters who participate in LOPFI may be exempt from mandatory Social Security coverage under the provisions of IRS Publication 963 and the regulations governing qualifying public retirement. Per Madison Davis, State Social Security Analyst, Beaver Lake Fire Department, Inc. does not have a Section 218 Agreement filed with the Office of the State Social Security Administrator.
8.1.3.
RESOLUTION 2025-F-0002, a Resolution regarding the discontinuation of Social Security Contributions for Full-Time Firefighters and Exclusive Participation in LOPFI. Motion to begin implementation of Resolution beginning January 1, 2026. This motion is made by Todd Weber. Motion seconded by Jerry Hudlow. Motion approved with a unanimous vote of those present (7) and 2 proxy votes. One vote, not present.
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.
BEAVER LAKE FIRE DEPARTMENT
BOARD OF DIRECTORS MINUTES
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8.3.2.
Motion to approve the new Bylaws for BLFD as written and reviewed during the last year. Motion made by Laura Tucker. Motion seconded by Steven Long. Motion approved by voice vote. Approval votes totaled 7 directors present in person, and 2 votes via proxy.
9.
Other Business.
9.1.
Next Board Meeting scheduled for November 11, 2025, at BLFD Fire Station 1, 16035 Cypress LN, Rogers AR 72756
10.
Adjournment.
SUBMITTED BY: Curtis Hathcock, Board Secretary