Resident urges Sawyer County to adopt land acknowledgment, rethink ATV routes and study housing options including mobile home park inspections

During the public comment period, Linda Zilmer, an Edgewater property owner, urged Sawyer County supervisors to adopt a land acknowledgment recognizing the Lac Courte Oreilles (LCO) tribal relationship, raised concerns about the county's process for opening county highways to ATV/UTV traffic, and asked the county to examine housing and homelessness options.

Zilmer said some towns supported opening county highways to ATV and UTV travel while others did not, and she described lingering tensions in how the county handled route openings. She also asked the county to consider adopting a land acknowledgment and provided the board with a draft and drafting guidance by email earlier that morning. Zilmer tied the suggestion to the county’s relationship with the LCO tribal government and said she appreciates ongoing conversation with the tribe but wants the county to explicitly acknowledge that relationship in its public practice.

On housing, Zilmer pointed to recent zoning questions about whether park-model RVs can be placed in mobile home parks and shared a Wisconsin Watch story on mobile home parks. She suggested Sawyer County consider pursuing designation as an agent of the state Department of Safety and Professional Services (DSPS) to inspect mobile home parks and asked the county to examine homelessness interventions beyond current efforts, including faith-group housing initiatives.

The board did not take formal action on any of Zilmer’s requests during the meeting. Her remarks were presented during the public comment portion of the agenda.

Key points raised by the speaker: - Request that Sawyer County adopt a land acknowledgment to reflect its relationship with the Lac Courte Oreilles tribe; Zilmer emailed a sample and drafting guidance to the board the same morning. - Concern about transparency and town-level consent when county highways were opened to ATV/UTV routes; some towns supported openings and some did not. - Suggestion that the county explore becoming a DSPS agent to inspect mobile home parks and include mobile home parks and faith-based housing efforts in county planning to address homelessness.

No county action or vote followed these public comments; they were recorded as part of the public comment agenda item.