Barron County hears proposal to expand Staples Lake Protection and Rehab District; public hearing set for June 18

Barron County received a briefing on a proposal to expand the Staples Lake Protection and Rehab District to include 19 riparian parcels currently in Polk County.

Pat Brown, lakeshore technician with the county soil and water conservation department, told the board the Staples Lake District first formed in 1976 and that the original formation included only Barron County parcels. The Lake District has asked the county to incorporate 19 Polk County parcels that are riparian to the lake. Brown said the district mailed registered notices to affected property owners and had return receipts for 16 of the 19 notices; four affected owners attended a recent Lake District meeting and were in favor of inclusion.

Brown said Polk County’s administrator provided a letter stating no objection to the expansion. The board was told the process requires the county with larger equalized value to hold the hearing; in this case Barron County will host the public hearing, after which the Staples Lake committee will determine whether the expansion is necessary and beneficial. If the committee decides to proceed, it would send a resolution to the county board for potential approval; Brown said the committee may have up to six months to act.

The county scheduled a public hearing for Wednesday, June 18, at 6 p.m. in the county auditorium to take testimony for and against the proposed expansion. Brown described the agenda item to the board as “for discussion only” that evening and noted the Staples Lake committee handling the expansion would be appointed later in the meeting.

Board members asked how district fees are collected and how services are delivered. Brown explained that Staples Lake uses a flat fee model (stated on the record as $150 annually per property) rather than a mill rate based on assessed value, and that the fee revenue funds lake-management projects such as invasive-species control and equipment for lake maintenance. Brown said adding parcels would not change county property-tax revenue; the fee is collected on the Polk County tax roll for Polk parcels and then remitted to the Staples Lake District.

Board members also were told that owners of added parcels would become eligible to serve on the Lake District’s commission if included. No formal board vote to expand the district was taken at the meeting; any final determination will follow the public hearing and committee recommendation.