The regular monthly meeting of the Board of Directors of the Viking Valley Association was held on January 11, 2026 at 2:00 pm in the Upper Clubhouse. There were 11 members in attendance. Board Members present were: Michelle Sullivan (lot #1826) – Board President, Christina Lindsay (lot #429) – Secretary, Tom Rice (lot #343) – Assistant Secretary, Dave Daniel (lot #231) – Assistant Treasurer. Board Members not present were: Dan Weidmaier (lot #309) – 1st Vice President, Dave Schaefer (lot #1227) – 2nd Vice President, Robert Walton (lot #217) – Treasurer.
Michelle read our mission statement: Lake Viking is a private lake aspiring to preserve our community and environment for future generations. The pledge was led by Brian Holcomb, Managing Director, and the prayer was offered by Dave Daniel.
Tom made a motion to approve the minutes from the December 14, 2025 board meeting. Dave Daniel seconded the motion. Motion passed.
There was no report for the Handbook Committee.
Michelle reported for the Finance Committee. The final payment for the Ford F-450 lease was made as part of a lease-purchase agreement, and the vehicle is now owned by the Association. The dredge expenses for 2025 exceeded the budget due to significant silt containment costs, but this variance was expected and previously noted. The old pontoon is being replaced, with a $1,000 down payment on the replacement made this month. A notable recovery of nearly $100,000 in uncollected debt was achieved through the efforts of the office staff, providing unexpected income to balance the year-end budget. Two Z lots and one SU lot were sold, which generated $35,550 in income, and we no longer have any Z lots for sale. The Morgan Stanley investment fund saw a $3,000 increase in value for the month of December. An update was provided on the clubhouse septic system. Brian is currently working with an engineer to develop a plan for draining and retiring the old system once the new one is built. The Association also realized significant savings in trash expenses, totaling $1,404 for December and $22,817 for the first 6 months of the contract. Brian reported initial projects for 2026 including the budget for road repairs, Cap X purchases, and securing delivery of the new maintenance boat. The committee also reviewed the Retained Earnings schedule and held a substantial discussion regarding a proposal for a new policy, which remains under further review. Michelle provided an insurance update, noting her ongoing review of existing policies and exploration of increased liability coverage. The Association received its first payment from the “Mastercard/Visa Settlement” class action lawsuit. An account has been established for the deposit of refunds, with the first distribution received in the amount of $236.26.
There was no report for the Strategic Planning Committee, however they did make a motion to approve two members to the committee. Tom moved to approve Felicia Roth (lot #1922) and Peter Almenoff (lot #458) to the Strategic Planning Committee. Dave Daniel seconded the motion. Motion passed. A point of clarification was made by the board, stating that the office makes sure all nominees for committees are in good standing before they are brought before the board.
Michelle reported for the Activity Committee. The committee is actively working on the 2026 Activities schedule, and it will be ready for the February meeting.
Michelle reported for the Building Committee. There was not a meeting in the month of December. Meetings will be held on the 2nd and the 4th Monday of the month moving forward. The board discussed a rule change concerning carports. Michelle read the current rule: Aluminum carports are not allowed. She then read the proposed motion: Carports are allowed when attached to a garage or a house and using the same design and materials as the garage or house. Carports that are grandfathered in can be repaired but not replaced. Tom moved to approve the motion. Dave Daniel seconded the motion. Motion passed. The board discussed that there are 3 lots that will be grandfathered in this rule. Lot #449 has a standalone carport and lots #1226 and #MH163 have aluminum carports. The Association will make a record of this and place it in the building permit file as well as the membership file for these 3 lots.
There was no report for the Fire Department, the Campground Committee, the Lake Committee, the Infraction Committee, and the Fishing Committee. The Campground Committee will meet again in February.
Dave Daniel reported for the Dredge Committee. Dredge has met several times and they are getting ready for their Dredge project this spring.
Brian gave the Managing Director’s Report. Maintenance cleared snow during the storm. They replaced the brakes on one dump truck and replaced leaf springs on another dump truck. Landscaping and grounds work continued across the community, featuring the removal of a dead tree near Community Area 6 and the clearing of old fencing and trees at Campground 1. Additional tasks completed this month included leaf burning, the removal of concrete debris from the south end near the dredge pond, and they made buoy weights.
Safety responded to 2 medical calls, and 2 house alarms, and assisted 3 vehicles that slid off the road during the snowstorm. They also conducted an audit of watercraft documents as they were moved from Condo to HOALife, to ensure the accuracy of watercraft owned by members. Safety issued 37 deer hunting permits in the year 2025, with 10 harvested deer reported. 5 goose hunting permits and 1 turkey hunting permit were also issued in 2025.
The Office launched HOALife to membership, and assisted members with setting up their user accounts. They performed an audit of the campground, invoiced annual campground fees, and created a batch invoice process. They processed deeds for lot transfers, invoiced for Lake Viking News, reviewed and processed invoices for payment, prepared and processed bank deposits, ran payroll (input hours, processed IRA contributions, reviewed ADP journal entries), ordered supplies, and answered customer phone calls and walk-in requests.
Brian reported on the new HOALife platform. We continue to work with the company to optimize processes for some of the concierge requests such as guest information, boat stickers and pet information. Please continue to be patient as we work through these challenges that are common with applications that have been created for mass use with standardized features. As a reminder, if you have any questions or have trouble logging into your account, please contact the office.
The Daviess County Special Road District’s car counter was installed on Nickel Avenue during the month of December and there were 20,138 axles recorded. The counter is stored for the winter.
Trash expense for Rapid Removal during the first 6 months of the contract, July through December 2025, is $22,817 less than the expense during the same months last year.
The Clubhouse Septic project was awarded to Dykes Construction in Lawson, Missouri, who provided the lowest bid. Due diligence checks were performed on the company prior to the decision. Tom Fritts at Residential Sewage forwarded the plans to an engineer for approval. Once the plans are stamped by the engineer, the plans will be sent to the Daviess County Health Department and the Missouri Department of Health (MDOH) for final approval. We are creating a closure plan for the existing system that will have to be approved by the MDOH in concert with the installation of the new system.
We reviewed the past 5 years of Board meeting minutes and are currently working to ensure all votes of the Board are accurately reflected in the handbook. We are experimenting with other handbook improvements, hoping to make the handbook more professional looking and easier to use while saving on printing fees.
The Association purchased MH35 at the tax sale in August 2025. The dilapidated mobile home was removed last week, and we plan to do a few more things to beautify the lot prior to making it available for purchase. There was discussion about past due accounts and the board asked Brian to forward the list to the Finance Committee to investigate options for collecting these amounts.
The Association has almost 200 lots that are noted “do not sell.” We worked with the Dredge Committee and the Campground Manager to critique this list, and it appears we will have additional lots for sale. The list of new “for sale” lots will be forwarded to the Real Estate Subcommittee of the Finance Committee for a decision on lot prices. There was discussion and agreement that the list of new lots for sale should be released publicly in a way that all members have an equal opportunity to purchase lots.
We are working on a roads budget that will impact as many roads and members as possible. More to come on this next month.
We received email confirmation from Wald Fireworks that our fireworks display will be on Saturday, July 4, 2026. We will provide information during the coming weeks about the donation fundraising program requested by the Board last year. The budgeted amount for fireworks is $20,000 and we anticipate this amount will grow with member donations.
The new buoys for the lake have been delivered and will be installed in the coming months, and we will take possession of the new work boat for maintenance on January 15, 2026.
Felicia Roth continues her work on updating and creating a new color map of Lake Viking.
The Lake Viking Water District will be installing a water testing meter on the community area at Deer Run. The Missouri Department of Natural Resources requires a test meter at a location that is as far from the treatment plant as possible.
Tom made a motion to approve the December 2025 financial statements. Dave Daniel seconded the motion. Motion passed.
In Board Discussion Tom made a motion to replace “Condo Control App” with “VVA’s online system” in the handbook. Dave Daniel seconded the motion. Motion passed.
Tom motioned to adjourn the meeting at 2:52 pm. Dave Daniel seconded the motion. Motion passed. The Board moved into Executive Session to discuss legal matters, third party contracts and employee matters.
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 by Christina Lindsay
Secretary, Board of Directors
Viking Valley Association
