BEAVER LAKE FIRE DEPARTMENT
BOARD OF DIRECTORS MEETING MINUTES
Page 1 of 6
Date: Tuesday, July 9, 2024
Time: 6:00 p.m.
Place: Beaver Lake Fire Department, Station 1
Location: 16035 Cypress LN, Rogers AR 72756
Zoom Link:
1. CALL TO ORDER –
1.1.
Directors attending in person: Jeff Easley, Monte Gagliardi, Curtis Hathcock, Jerry Hudlow, Kelly Lewis, Gisela Mejia, Larry Smith, Laura Tucker, Todd Weber (8 of 10)
1.2.
Special Board Members attending in person: Chief Qualls, (Justin Stanbery via Zoom)
1.3.
Attending via Video: Justin Stanbery
1.4.
Absent: Ronda Pegram
1.5.
Quorum Status. Requirement met. Eight out of 10 directors were present for the meeting.
2. Chairman Comments.
Chairman Jeff Easley called meeting to order and provided brief summary remarks on how the meeting would progress.
3. Disposition of Previous Meeting Minutes.
3.1.
Review Board of Directors Meeting Minutes for June 11, 2024. Comments provided by Larry Smith noted grammatical error in paragraph 5.1.2. Changes were made to correct and clarify the sentence concerning public comments being made by board members.
3.2.
Motion to approve Minutes of meeting held on May 14, 2024, was made by Curtis Hathcock. Motion seconded by Monte Gagliardi. The minutes were approved by a unanimous vote of those present.
4. Open to Public Comments.
No comments were presented from the public audience.
5. Reports of Officers
5.1.
Fire Chief Operations Report.
5.1.1.
Reviewed monthly response numbers.
BEAVER LAKE FIRE DEPARTMENT
BOARD OF DIRECTORS MEETING MINUTES
Page 2 of 6
BEAVER LAKE FIRE DEPARTMENT
BOARD OF DIRECTORS MEETING MINUTES
Page 3 of 6
5.1.2.
Review of monthly Response numbers. Response numbers for the first half of this year is up 63% over same period last year (305 vs. 187). This trend is comparable to trend at other fire departments this year.
5.1.3.
The Fourth of July parade for the community went well.
5.1.4.
Three firefighters working with BLFD graduated Paramedic Training. Congratulations to: firefighter Britain Butler, firefighter Jackson Collingsworth, and firefighter James Perez. Congratulations to our guys and thank you for their service. Having more of the firefighters qualified as Paramedics performing shift coverage with BLFD provides a vastly improved service for our members.
5.1.5.
Chief Qualls informed the Board that a company was coming out to the fire stations tomorrow (July 10, 2024) to evaluate plans for providing backup generator capability for each.
5.1.6.
Acquisition of new Firefighting/Recue Apparatus. Question answer session with Banner Equipment Representative, Darrell Osborn.
5.1.7.
Chief Qualls introduced Darrell Osborn of Banner Fire Equipment, Inc. He is the Territory Manager for our area. Banner Fire has been in business for over 35 years. Darrell provided a little background information to include the process he and Chief Qualls have done to date. Once the specification for production is complete, he will be able to provide a final quote on cost. He talked about issues that can impact the build process due to current economic factors. He further offered to coordinate tours of their facilities in Oklahoma City for those interested. Gisela Mejia asked several questions concerning pricing and ordering process. Bottomline, once final contract (order) is completed, the price won’t change, and payment is “cash on delivery”. Banner Equipment is very adaptable to the needs BLFD may require handling the transaction.
5.1.8.
Public comment by Steve Long asked for further explanation of why no other fire department seemed to have a vehicle like the Multi-Purpose Firefighting/Recue Apparatus. Is the BLFD Firefighting/Recue Apparatus a “unicorn” piece of equipment. President Todd Weber provided an explanation of how this apparatus would enhance the BLFD in responding to calls for both fire and medical support purposes. He further suggested this apparatus could more than likely be the primary response vehicle to nearly 80% of the calls requested.
5.2.
President’s Report.
5.3.
Treasurer’s Report.
5.3.1.
Review Monthly Financial Documents. Current cash asset in bank accounts is $438,083.75. Only items that were significant to note were expense for refilling propane tank ($1,200) and Website upgrade and management ($2,080). Review of the Actual to Budget plan is running very close to projections for this point in the year.
5.3.2.
Tax filing of Form 990 is due. Compilation and submission of Form 990 can take hours. Discussion encompassed the use of our CPA firm which quoted a price of $1500 or asking Jerry Hudlow to prepare the forms for BLFD. After further discussion, the board
BEAVER LAKE FIRE DEPARTMENT
BOARD OF DIRECTORS MEETING MINUTES
Page 4 of 6
decided to authorize a payment of funds not to exceed $750
to Jerry Hudlow should he accept the task of filing Form 990 for BLFD.
5.3.3.
Motion to approve monthly Balance sheets, P &L, and Budget review documents for the month of June made by Gisela. Seconded by Kelly Lewis. The motion was approved by a unanimous vote of those present.
5.4.
Secretary’s Report. No comments.
6. Reports of Committees – See paragraph 8.2.
7. New Business.
7.1.
None.
8. Old Business
8.1.
Acquisition of new Firefighting/Recue Apparatus. This item was discussed during Fire Chief’s Report.
8.2.
Special Meeting of the General Membership.
8.2.1.
Kelly Lewis informed the Board she had secured use of the Prairie Creek Association Community Room. She also coordinated with First Security Bank for use of their parking areas. They agreed if we clean the area after use and make sure we don’t block access to the ATM. Kelly asked for a sign to be made that would show the firefighters that volunteer for shifts for BLFD to help members to see who and just how many we have participating. She will be using social media to inform members and seek potential donations of time, money or food items to support the cookout after the meeting.
8.2.1.1.
Five (5) Director positions are up for election. Currently held by Jeff Easley, Monte Gagliardi, Jerry Hudlow, Laura Tucker, Todd Weber.
8.2.1.1.1.
Confirmed candidates willing to serve include Jeff Easley (current director), Monte Gagliardi (current director), Jerry Hudlow (current director), Todd Weber (current director).
8.2.1.1.2.
Potential candidates include Laura Tucker (current director), and Steve Long (BLFD member).
8.2.1.1.3.
One director’s position normally filled during odd years is vacant and available for an appointee to be determined by the Board of Directors in accordance with current BLFD Bylaws.
BEAVER LAKE FIRE DEPARTMENT
BOARD OF DIRECTORS MEETING MINUTES
Page 5 of 6
8.2.1.2.
Nominees. Board members were asked to seek potential candidates for director positions that can be reviewed at the next meeting.
8.2.1.3.
Two directors, Monte Gagliardi and Laura Tucker advised the board that neither would be able to attend the annual meeting in September.
8.3.
Backup Generator Project. Updates were provided during the Fire Chief’s Report in paragraph 5.1.5, previously.
8.4.
BLFD Bylaws Review/Update/Amendment.
8.4.1.
The Board of Directors had a robust discussion of the remaining areas of the bylaws review listed below. Members should take the opportunity to watch and listen to discussions using the link located at the beginning of this document. Curtis Hathcock, Board Secretary, committed to producing a completed draft format of the proposed Bylaws within a week of the conclusion of this meeting. This will provide each board member with the ability to perform a final review and identify any issues, typographical errors or additional discussion requirements for the next meeting.
8.4.2.
Most changes to original Article VI are related to grammatical corrections.
8.4.3.
Review of paragraph 3.5.3. description of Officers of the Board responsibilities.
8.4.4.
Review of paragraph 2. Membership
8.4.4.1.
Paragraph 2.1 Defining General Member and additional classifications.
8.4.4.2.
Paragraph 2.2 Non-members
8.4.4.3.
Paragraph 2.3 Transfer of membership
8.4.4.4.
Paragraph 2.4 Termination of membership
8.4.4.5.
Paragraph 2.5 Determination and Collection of Dues
8.4.4.6.
Paragraph 2.6 Determination and Collection of Charges for Services
9. Other Business.
9.1.
Open to the floor.
9.2.
Next Board Meeting scheduled for August 13, 2024, at BLFD Fire Station 1, 16035 Cypress LN, Rogers AR 72756.
9.3.
Proposed Bylaw Review items for next meeting. TBD
BEAVER LAKE FIRE DEPARTMENT
BOARD OF DIRECTORS MEETING MINUTES
Page 6 of 6
10. Adjournment.
SUBMITTED BY: Curtis Hathcock, Board Secretary