Call to Order
Board President Marvin McNabb, lot 28, called the meeting to order, held in the upper level of the Clubhouse, at 2:00pm. Board members present were: Doug Winter, lot 46; Mike Booth, lot 2380; Allan Slavin, lot 181; George Eshnaur, lot 505; Celeste Armanees, lot 62. Not present was Troy Lesan, lot 576. Celeste Armanees led in prayer. Tony Gronniger, interim Managing Director, led the Pledge of Allegiance.
Approval of Minutes
A motion was made by Doug Winter to approve the July 2022 Board minutes. Seconded by Allan Slavin; minutes were approved.
COMMITTEE REPORTS:
Handbook Committee
Celeste Armanees reported: The new ‘22 Handbook is available—please stop by the Office to get your copy. Later in today’s meeting, we’ll discuss a “Wakesurfing with restrictions” proposed rule. Also, we do need additional members to volunteer on the Handbook Committee, so please email:
[email protected]
Finance Committee
Doug Winter reported: Revenue was slightly up. Cost initiatives have been initiated & are in the discussion/implementation phase. These include outsourcing our payroll which will occur October 1, and installing an IT tech software for HOAs called Condo Control, which will tie the separate IT systems used by our various departments all together.
The company we will use to process payroll is called A Payroll Company. Doug Winter made the motion to outsource payroll to this company. Seconded by Mike Booth; motion passed.
Discussion ensued regarding the HOA software called Condo Control. This system will cost $5,000 to implement, and will tie the systems we now use together. Safety and the VVA Office will both utilize this software enabling their systems to “talk” to each other. We will begin storing files in the Cloud, so files will be readily available to all users, and all users will be able to view a current version of a document at any time. Mike Booth made a motion to proceed forward with this Condo Control software. Seconded by Celeste Armanees; motion passed. Marvin McNabb indicated he is currently checking references and will not sign a contract for software install until references are checked.
A motion was made by Doug Winter to remove John Kmetz and Lyle Alexander (outgoing members) from the Finance Committee & add Kevin Euston to the Finance Committee. Seconded by George Eshnaur; motion passed.
Strategic Planning Committee
Kenny Southwick (Chair) reported: It has been requested that the committee generate a new 5-year Financial Plan for the Lake. The committee will meet in September to begin this process.
Activities Committee
Celeste Armanees reported a few scheduling changes: The Scavenger Hunt will be held Aug. 27 from 1-3 p.m. The Fall Garage Sale will be Sept. 10 from 8am-2pm with registration forms in the Office. Cost is $10 per registration. The Fishing Tournament will be Sept. 17 from 7am-noon with registration forms in the Office. The Wine Festival and the Beer & Brats evening with Levi Garrison & Sons will be combined into one event on Oct. 8. Also, a Patio party with band on Sept. 3 has been added to the schedule.
Building Committee
Allan Slavin reported: In the past month, the committee has received & reviewed 9 permits—including 1 permit for a house.
Fire Department
Tony Gronniger reported: The Fire Department met, and the monthly meeting time will be moved to Friday afternoons and training will be done. It is hoped moving this time will allow more volunteers the opportunity for training. This change will start Oct. 1 at 2:00 p.m. Also, the Fire Department will be returning a conservation truck that has reliability problems with frequent breakdowns.
Campground Committee
Flint & Mary Hibler reported: Things are going well in the Campgrounds. They have mowed in Campground 1 and campers have been invoiced for the mowing. They will begin monitoring the grass levels in Campground 2 as it has been brought to their attention that grass is not being mowed there.
Lake Committee
Celeste Armanees reported: Follow-up inspections are being completed. There has been good response to the letters & e-mails sent out by the committee on property upkeep issues. The committee will meet the week of August 22 for further follow-up inspections.
Infraction Committee
Allan Slavin reported: A meeting was held August 13th to review 44 Infraction tickets. All tickets were upheld. Of these tickets, 13 were for non-mowing in Campground 1.
Dredge Committee
Shawn Hepinstall (Chair) reported: Dredging continues on the south end of the lake near the island. The Dredge Committee/workers are basically in mile 2 of a marathon–they will continue diligently working on dredging until it is completed. The Committee has been asked to recondition Beach 1 & 2, so they’ll present a plan to the Board soon on maintaining the beaches. The committee will be getting bids and submitting a plan later in the year.
MANAGING DIRECTOR’S REPORT
Tony Gronniger (interim Managing Director) reported that the Farm Mowing Partners has completed this season’s mowing and baling. Tony advised members to source other mowing if they have any lots not yet mowed. The Goose Court road extension is moving forward–the ground is cleared, road is marked, and we will have a road ready for access by later this year, since one of these lots has been sold. The county’s Tax Sale is August 22 which we’ll attend to purchase a few lots for Lake use. Also, the big tractor used by Maintenance Department was broken down but has been repaired, so is now back in service.
APPROVAL OF FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
George Eshnaur made a motion that the Financial Statements be approved as presented. Seconded by Doug Winter; motion passed.
GUEST TIME
No guests had requested time on the agenda.
BOARD DISCUSSION
Proposed Rule on Wakeboats
The first reading of the original motion which was introduced last month by Celeste Armanees (Board contact for Handbook Committee) was read: “Surfing and/or plowing (that which maintains an excessive wake sufficient to support a surfer) behind any watercraft is prohibited.” Celeste then moved to replace this first reading with the following motion (please refer to the copy you received at front door of meeting):
Proposed Rule: Add at end of Water Rules & Regulations section (’22 Handbook, pg. 31):
WAKE SURFING: Effective August 24, 2022 there is a freeze on additional wakesurf boats at Lake Viking. Only wakesurf boats already on the lake as of the above date are allowed, with the following restrictions:
- NO additional wakesurf boats are allowed—whether new purchase nor replacement. Also, no boat of any kind shall be modified or retrofitted with a wave or surf device.
-
Wakesurfing shall only be performed behind a direct-drive inboard-type watercraft, in which the propeller is located under the keel of the boat.
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Wakesurfing is restricted to the main channel & near the center of the channel, as marked by 4 wakesurf buoys. ALL wakesurfing must be within / inside these “buoy boundaries.” Direction of travel is counter-clockwise, consistent with normal lake traffic.
-
Water bladders or other watercraft weight-enhancement devices must be filled & emptied within the “buoy boundaries” set forth in #3 above. This rule applies to all watercraft that have wave-enhancing devices, whether wakesurfing or not.
-
Zebra mussels: If used outside Lake Viking waters, a thorough hotwash of boat & especially its water bladders (that easily hide zebra mussels) must be performed by Lake Viking staff.
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Wakesurf boats already authorized on Lake Viking may not be sold to another Lake member for use on Lake Viking. If a property is sold with a wakesurf boat, that boat will not be authorized to use the lake.
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Any violation of the above wakesurfing rules is subject to maximum $500 fine.
End of rule. Motion to discuss was seconded by Mike Booth. Discussion began & the following members participated:
Bryce Wade, lot 224: Asked “Why can’t we replace our boats?” Discussion ensued regarding fairness, etc. of the rule.
Matthew Nielson, lot 386: Asked if height of the wave created by wakeboats can be regulated and ticketed if the height was exceeded? Discussion ensued on the maximum height of a wave to surf on. Mr. Nielson responded he felt it was about thigh-high for an adult. A statement was made by the Board that it is impossible to consistently regulate/measure the height of waves a boat is making. Board member George Eshnaur stated that we should have a case-by-case review of options to trade out or replace a boat that is aged out.
Brian Edwards, lot 218: Will the buoys for the surfing area be lit at night and/or brighter so they would be easy to see during day? The answer from the Board was yes; they are working to have the buoys lit & a bright color.
Mark Closterman, lot 1902: Is the confined area only for surfing? The answer was no—because this area within the 4-buoy boundaries–same as the rest of the Lake–will be open to all watercraft on the lake. Keep in mind that most surfers prefer to be out surfing when the water is calm, so usually in mornings or evenings when the lake has very little traffic.
Christian & Nicole Rogers, lot 737: Said they just purchased a lot & built a house, so are boat shopping now. Will they still be able to have the wakeboat they are intending to buy? Answer: Only if it has been ordered by August 24.
Kristen Pickens, lot 659: Do any current Board members surf? None are surfers. Also, has the Board considered that property values might fall if people are no longer allowed to put a wakeboat on the lake, as current members may leave the lake because their family cannot enjoy surfing? The Board answered that yes they have heard this point-of-view, and have also heard the opposite point-of-view that property values may increase if there are no large waves from boats surfing.
Kyle Loehnig, lot 5: Asked about any wakeboat taken from Lake Viking to another lake must be thoroughly washed and checked for Zebra Mussels that may be concealed in the bladders of the wakeboat. Discussion ensued questioning if Safety has the expertise to do this type of cleaning, as several wakeboat owners indicated they were not sure exactly how to clean to ensure all trace of Zebra Mussels was removed.
Tom Rice, lot 343: What is this rule’s definition of a wakeboat? He said there’d be situations where a boat owner would assume their boat was not a wakeboat or could be used as a wakeboat, when in truth it could be. He stated buyers and sellers need this definition in order to know what is & what is not permissible to buy or to sell to another member on the lake.
Josh Wright, lot 532: He stressed that he would like to preserve the lake for future generations of surfers (his kids & grandkids) but made the point that a person cannot afford to depreciate their boat to zero dollars and not be allowed to replace their wakeboat.
Joe Steer, lot 690: Is the Board reaching out to wakeboat owners to solve the problems they feel are arising from wakesurfing? The Board has spent countless hours reading & discussing the various published studies on wakesurfing.
The questioning period was ended, and the Board voted on the motion to add the new “wakesurfing with restrictions” rule to the VVA Handbook. The motion which was made prior to the discussion passed by a vote of 4 yes & 1 no by George Eshnaur.
ADJOURN
Allan Slavin moved to adjourn to Executive Session at 2:51 p.m. to discuss legal, personnel, and Board organizational matters. Mike Booth seconded; motion passed.
ATTENDANCE
Approx. 70+ members attended, too many to list here. A sign-in Attendance Sheet is on record at the Office for reference.
Let the record show that these minutes are a record of the business transacted at this meeting and are 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, Board of Directors
Viking Valley Association
