Sawyer County board asks state to revise lake-district law as residents debate Callahan Mud Lake proposal

The Sawyer County Board on Feb. 20 approved a resolution asking the Wisconsin Legislature to amend Chapter 33—current law governing inland lake protection and rehabilitation districts—to give approving bodies authority to add conditions, set time limits and require reauthorization or monitoring of lake districts.

The vote came after a string of public comments both supporting and opposing the proposed Callahan Mud Lake District and a series of questions from supervisors and staff about long‑term oversight, taxation and dam ownership.

Several residents who signed a petition supporting the proposed district spoke to the board. Holly Robbins, who said she represented petition signers, noted that the county and the Town of Round Lake would have permanent voting seats on the Lake District board and told supervisors that “62% — a clear and broad majority” of local property owners had asked for the district. Robbins urged the board to follow the statutory criteria in reviewing the petition.

Other speakers pressed the board for more scrutiny. Tom Murray read historical dam inspection correspondence dating back about 70 years and described repeated ad hoc repairs to the Callahan Lake dam; he said the dam had been listed for abandonment in 1990 and that the town had disclaimed ownership in 1992. Murray told the board he opposed formation of the district in its current boundaries and asked the county to detach his property and nine others if the district were approved.

Natalie Lilleblad and other non‑riparian property owners spoke against automatic inclusion, saying they did not want to be assessed for lake work that they said did not benefit them. Lilleblad, who identified herself as a real estate professional, said adding taxes to non‑lake properties would stigmatize them and depress resale value.

County staff and supervisors framed the resolution as a request to the Legislature to add tools for local oversight. Administrator Andy Alvarado and committee members said the intent was not to directly alter any pending petition but to ask lawmakers to consider changes so future districts could be created with conditions such as a sunset clause, reauthorization requirement, or continued review by the approving unit.

A motion to adopt the resolution passed on a voice vote. Board members who spoke during the discussion described the request as a long‑term legislative reform effort rather than an immediate change to the Callahan Mud Lake petition process.

The resolution asks that the county distribute the adopted position to surrounding counties, state legislators representing Sawyer County and the Wisconsin Counties Association. The board scheduled further discussion of the Callahan Mud Lake petition and related land‑water committee work for a future meeting.