Call to Order
Tony Gronniger, lot 2281, called the meeting to order, held in the upper level of the clubhouse as well as via Zoom at 6:34 p.m. Board members present were Mark Leggett, lot 72; Celeste Armanees, lot 62; Troy Lesan, lot 576; Marvin McNabb, lot 28; Mike Booth, lot 2380; and Allan Slavin, lot 181. Mark Leggett led in prayer. Shad Mort led the Pledge of Allegiance. Tony Gronniger opened the meeting with the Vision/Mission Statement: “Lake Viking is a private lake aspiring to preserve our community and environment for future generations.”
Approval of Minutes
Troy Lesan moved to approve the minutes of the February 14, 2021 board meeting. Celeste Armanees seconded; motion passed.
Committee Reports:
Handbook Committee
Celeste Armanees reported the committee has one proposed rule change to be discussed later in the meeting under board discussions.
Finance Committee
Finance Committee met via Zoom on Thursday April 8. Attending were John Kmetz (chair), eight other committee members, and board president Tony Gronniger sitting in. Financial statements were reviewed with attention given to several line item expenses that were above last year’s. Administrative expense was larger due to extra expenses incurred at our annual meeting and additional expense for implementing our new office phone system and safety app. Office expense was disproportionately high this time of year due to seasonal expense of statements (dues invoices), membership cards, etc. Propane cost was also higher but we have everything topped off and should be good until September. Money (dues payments) are coming in now, and the money that we’ve had in checking will sustain us without having to dip into bucket one of the Morgan Stanley fund, which presently has earnings of approximately $8,000 above the amount invested as of April 9.
Another line item that looks different is #7100 Campground Expense, which is way above last year’s amount. The reason for this is accurate tracking. Sally has pulled campground’s usage out of VVA electric, water, and trash expense and instead put it under campground expense. Going forward, the finance committee would like to further differentiate campground non-utilities vs. campground utilities by creating a new line item “#7101 Campground Utilities” to track these higher-dollar expenses of electric, water, and trash. So going forward, VVA electric, water, and trash expense line items will show lower due to the corresponding amounts appearing under new line item 7101 Campground Utilities. That means the existing line item 7100 Campground Expense will be non-utility expenses such as gravel, repairs, a small annual cost for lagoon maintenance, etc… and eventually campground manager reimbursement. Mowing expense will be handled just as it is with association lots. Individual campground members will be billed, just as association members are billed if our staff mows their lots. It was further noted that moving campground’s labor expenses, such as wages paid for bathhouse cleaning and other staff wages, to a generic line item would complicate the reporting of wages for end-of-year taxes. Instead it was agreed that Shad would document these labor expenses as they occur, to track on a separate schedule then add at year-end to campground expense, so can accurately calculate the new campground fee structure for 2022. These and all items will be compiled in September so VVA can calculate total income vs. total expenses and thus set “self-sustaining” campground fees for 2022, according to the campground study recommendation.
Strategic Planning Committee – No Report
Activities Committee
Celeste Armanees reported the calendar of 2021 activities has been posted. The Sip ‘n Paint was held on March 20. The garage sale is April 17. The committee is proposing a new event: Bass Fishing Tournament. Troy Lesan commented he’d like to see the activities committee do another “Meet and Greet” for new members with Jason McTheeney from safety giving a presentation on rules r Regulations. The committee will look into this.
Building Committee
Marvin McNabb reported there were 18 permits to review in the month of March. Two of those permits were houses. Marvin moved to add Matt Hibler to the Building Committee. Mike Booth seconded; motion passed. Allan Slavin asked if the committee was giving consideration for extra extensions due to the pandemic’s construction delays. Flint Hibler responded that they were giving up to a year on big projects without having to pay extra fees.
Fire Department
Tony Gronniger reported the SCBA’s have been certified with only one needing repaired. Tony provided copies of the new fire department SOP for the board. The sirens were tested at this month’s meeting. The fire department is always looking for new volunteer members.
Campground Committee
The 15 new spots recently added to campground #1 are ready and have been assigned, so the wait list for camp spots is shrinking. There are only two people left on the 30amp wait list. There are two open 50amp spots in campground #1, and two open spots in campground #2.
Lake Committee
Troy Lesan reported that roadside inspections have begun. The committee will meet in a couple weeks.
Water Plant
Troy Lesan reported that questions have arisen on whether a VVA building permit is needed by PWSD #3 in construction of a new water plant. The water department is not on VVA property and has individual ownership of water-plant lot; however the plant construction is subject to approval by Missouri Department of Natural Resources (DNR), whose oversight and requirements are more comprehensive than anything VVA has in our building requirements.
Infraction Committee / Safety
Mark Leggett reported this year’s first meeting is next week. This will be a clean-up meeting for the 12 tickets given at the end of 2020. James Funk (chair) is unable to attend this meeting, so Jason McTheeney will be conducting the meeting. Allan Slavin is the new board contact for this committee.
Dredge Committee
Mark Leggett asked Shad Mort when they would be taking depth measurements. Shad responded they need to move some docks and add some pipe first. Shad Mort reported the new structure at Garney is almost full, so we will need to monitor it closely so it doesn’t overflow. Shad and Shawn Hepinstall are discussing the possibility of a camera system from the dredge overlooking the pond, so the operator can check the level of the pond periodically.
Lake Manager Report (Shad Mort)
- The bar-coding system and the new phone system are operational. There have been a few bugs to work out in these systems, but we are working on them.
- The new safety boat is scheduled to be complete by May 6. We have the shipping arranged at a cost of $1,950. Jason McTheeney and John Oaks will be going to the manufacturer in Oregon for orientation on the new boat.
- Marvin McNabb got quotes for installing cameras at maintenance area overlooking dumpsters, and at beach 2.
- Shad asked the board about changing the board meeting in May, which falls on Mother’s Day. The board changed the date for the May meeting to May 16th.
- We have a new safety employee, Peggy Lankford.
- Shad let the board know we have tentatively scheduled several events at the clubhouse. Shad asked if it was safe to open the clubhouse back up for these events. The board gave the okay to open the clubhouse for rentals, with a COVID risk sign posted on the door.
Financials
Mark Leggett moved to approve the financial reports. Troy Lesan seconded; motion passed.
Guest Time:
No guest time
Board Discussions
- Trash: Shad Mort reported that of the four companies we sent our RFP, two trash companies responded with their bid for trash service. The current contract expires May 31, 2021. After discussing the two bid proposals, the board decided to ask Affordable Disposal to negotiate the residential price of their bid. Mark Leggett has negotiated it down, but would like Shad to talk to him also. The cost spent last year on commercial and residential trash was compared with the new bids from both companies. The board will put this on hold until Shad can negotiate a lower bid price.
- Activities: Mark Leggett moved to add the proposed Bass Fishing Tournament on Aug. 14th to the activities schedule. Celeste Armanees seconded; motion passed.
- Campground: Mike Booth reported the pole has been set for internet service in campground #1. Currently waiting for Farmers Electric to place a meter.
Celeste Armanees discussed a clarification change in verbiage to a motion already approved in February for Handbook pg. 30. The original motion passed in Feb. reads: “Max two (2) total spaces per VVA member: VVA annual dues & assessments must be paid on 2nd space (effective Mar. 1, 2022).”
Celeste moved to revise it to the following: “Max two (2) total spots per VVA member. “One lot, one spot”: If don’t own a 2nd VVA lot, then the equivalent of VVA dues & assessments must be paid on 2nd spot (effective Mar. 1, 2022).” Mark Leggett seconded the motion. Tony Gronniger opened the floor for discussion.
Mike Booth commented he believed this is the same as charging another set of dues and assessments. Troy Lesan asked how many people this would affect. Flint Hibler responded 23 people currently have two spaces. James Funk asked why there was not a grandfather clause for the people who have two spaces now. James also commented he is in favor of the campground being its own entity and they could have their own board and not have to answer to the association board. Mark Leggett replied they would still have to answer to the association and bring a campground budget to the board for approval. Mark also commented campground 2 feels left out. Mary Hibler said she has four new campers already asking for a second spot. Mike Booth did not think this should be voted on now. He would like to see a full year’s financials on the campground before we ask for more fees. Mike also did not like the verbiage of “equivalent to” dues & assessments. After discussion, Tony Gronniger called for a vote. There were four yes votes and two no votes. Motion passed.
- LLC as members: Mark Leggett discussed an issue the office is having with properties deeded to LLC’s. The problem is identifying the actual VVA member. The office is not getting a clear definition of who actually owns the property, hence the office doesn’t know who to bill or send correspondence to. We ask for their articles of Incorporation, but many times only the attorney’s name who prepared the paperwork is on the document. The office looks for the LLC’s Registered Agent, which in many cases is again the attorney, but not the lot owner. Mike Booth asked if we could just use the president of the LLC, but Mark responded that not all LLC’s list the officers. Mark Leggett moved that anytime a deed shows an LLC as the lot owner, a drafted addendum will be sent with the VVA membership application asking for the point of contact and their role in the LLC. Allan Slavin seconded; motion passed.
Adjourn: Mark Leggett moved to adjourn into executive session to discuss personnel and board organizational matters at 8:11 p.m. Celeste Armanees seconded; motion passed.
Attendance: Flint & Mary Hibler, Mark & Stephanie Closterman, Robert Walton, James Funk, Don & Carolyn Leeper, Shad Mort (Lake Manager), and Sally Zerbe (Office).
Let the record show that these minutes are a record of the business transacted at this meeting and a sampling of the discussions. Comments and discussions are not reflected in whole or as actual quotations in the minutes, nor do they reflect all comments by members.
Respectfully Submitted,
Celeste Armanees, Secretary
VVA Board of Directors
