OCTOBER 2019
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Lake Viking News
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VVA Board of Directors October 13, 2019 Call to Order Troy Lesan, Lot 576, called the meeting to order at 6:30 p.m. in the upper level of the clubhouse. Members in attendance were Eric Odette, Lot 220; Mark Leggett, Lot 72; Mike Booth, Lot 1259 and Flint Hibler, Lot 183. Shad Mort led the Pledge of Allegiance. Mark Leggett led in prayer. Tony Gronniger, Lot 2281 and Susan Zalenski, Lot 364 were unable to attend. Approval of Minutes Mark Leggett moved to approve the minutes of the Sept. 8, 2019, Board meeting. Eric Odette seconded; motion passed. Department of Conservation Alan Bradford, Daviess County Conservation Agent, along with Gary Miller and Jason Braunecke, also agents of the Missouri Conservation Department, came before the Board of Directors to ask for a gate card to have full access to Lake Viking. Alan has always had a good relationship with the lake. Alan Bradford had approached the Lake Manager a few weeks ago about getting a card for the gate at the Marina, and Shad Mort, Lake Manager, denied that request due to the fact the Conservation Department is not a member of the Association. Shad explained the rules that have been written about access to our lake and did not feel comfortable bypassing those rules. Even though Shad would not issue Alan a gate card, he did tell him if he needed on the lake to call him or Safety and they would get him through the gate. Mark Leggett asked how many times a year would he need access to the lake and what is his purpose for being on the water? Alan responded, probably 3-4 times in the spring and summer months to check fishing licenses. Shad asked if they have access to any other gated lakes. Their response was, there are no other gated lakes in their North Missouri territory that they are aware of. There are gated lakes in the Kansas City/St. Louis areas, but these agents do not cover those areas. Alan went on to say, if we cannot give them the card for access, then they will no longer be able to help us in any way with our fishery at Lake Viking, such as shocking procedures to determine the health and counts of our fish. Mark Leggett moved to issue one gate card to Alan Bradford, who is the local Daviess County Agent for Missouri Conservation. Eric Odette seconded. The vote was Mark Leggett – yes, Eric Odette – yes and Flint Hibler – yes. Mike Booth abstained from the vote. Motion passed. Committee Reports Handbook Committee: No report. Finance Committee: Eric Odette reported expenses are still down, but in the coming weeks we will have road work, which is probably going to be $30,000-$35,000 over budget. This was discussed at the last board meeting so everyone was aware where this was heading. At the Finance Meeting it was discovered we had too much money in one account, which put us over the allowed limit for FDIC, so we immediately moved $100,000 to another investment account. We had a CD that came due in September and it was cashed out and deposited to our checking account which created the overage. We have another CD due in November that we will probably have to cash for operating funds, but will make sure we do not create the same situation as the one in September. Strategic Planning Committee: Kenny Southwick reported the committee had their first meeting for the long range plan for Lake Viking. There were 24 people present. There will be two more sessions, one in October and November. They are planning on presenting their plans to the board in February. Activities Committee: Eric Odette reported on the latest activity of Beer and Brats. There were about 90 people that attended and $600 was raised. Gail Bush discussed the possibility of having another bus tour, but needs the board’s approval. There will be a limited number of people that can actually take the bus, approximately 35. Some of the committee members may have to follow in private vehicles if there are more people than the bus can hold. Mark Leggett moved to approve the bus tour. Eric Odette seconded. After discussion, the motion passed. Mike Booth asked about insurance for something like this. Mark Leggett said anyone going on the bus would have to sign a [Continued on Page 4]
Next VVA Board Meeting:
Look familiar? Association Maintenance crew pulls more drift out of the lake.
Fake News Flash – Driftwood 4 Sale! By Troy Lesan Would you believe? Two more lake closures again in the past month due to high water. In a way we should feel fortunate. We haven’t had any of those big five or six inch rains this summer – for the first time in a while – but with the ground so saturated with water, the two and three inch rains are more than enough to close the lake. And once again, the Association Maintenance boat goes out to haul in the large and dangerous “pieces” of drift floating in the lake as a result. (I say “pieces” ... some of these “pieces” are like huge trees.) An example of a recent lake closure occurred on Sept. 28. There had been a steady rain that afternoon, and several Association members had gone into Gallatin to the annual Kickin’ Cancer with Kindness fund-raiser. Normally a street event, the Kickin’ Cancer gig had to be moved inside the Methodist Church. The event was a success by the way. Over $10,000 raised for this great cause, but on the way back to Lake Viking, deep water from a flooded ditch was running over a low spot in the road just east of the Lake Viking Church. Everyone had to detour. Wouldn’t you know it: lake closed! Then, a week later, more rain came. Normally the 1¾” might not be enough to close the lake, but with the ground already saturated, it was. Once again, the Association Maintenance crew went out & pulled more big pieces of drift out of the water. By the way, somewhere in the mix, there was hail. We were gone and missed it, and it certainly wasn’t a major hail event as in 2009 and 2011, but there have been a few damage claims. My neighbor Adam Whitney, who has a roofing company, tells me that one house may have damage while another house across the street remains unscathed. Anyway, back to my fake news headline. Driftwood 4 Sale! It’s a close-out clearance sale. Rock bottom prices! Everything marked down! Everything goes! The Association Maintenance Crew has pulled a HUGE INVENTORY of drift out of the lake this year.
6:30 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 10, 2019 Lower level of the clubhouse
All members in good standing are welcome and encouraged to attend. If you want on the agenda, you must notify the office on or before the Monday prior to the board meeting.