Staples Lake district seeks to add 19 Polk County riparian parcels; public hearing set for June 18

Pat Brown, lakeshore technician with the Barron County Soil and Water Conservation Department, briefed the board on a proposal to expand the Staples Lake Protection and Rehab District to include 19 riparian parcels that lie in Polk County.

Brown said the Staples Lake district was formed in 1976 and historically included only the Barron County portion of the lake. The Lake District has initiated a legal process to attach the 19 Polk County riparian parcels to the district so that all riparian owners around the lake would be in a single political subdivision for lake management and grant eligibility.

Brown told supervisors that the Lake District sent registered-mail notifications to the 19 affected property owners; as of his report, 16 of 19 return receipts had been received. A Lake District meeting held about two weeks earlier drew four of the affected property owners, and those attendees indicated they were in favor of inclusion. Brown said the Polk County administrator sent a letter stating no objection to the expansion. The Lake District has published notice for a public hearing scheduled for Wednesday, June 18, at 6 p.m. in the county auditorium.

County staff and supervisors clarified the procedural reasons Barron County is holding the hearing: under the governing statutory process the county with the larger equalized value hosts the hearing and makes the initial determination. If the Lake District committee determines inclusion is necessary and beneficial, that committee will forward a resolution to the county board, which may vote on the matter (the committee and board process can extend up to statutory time limits, including a period of up to six months in which actions may be taken).

Brown explained the Staples Lake district currently collects a flat fee (reported at $150 annually per property) rather than a mill rate on assessed value; he said inclusion of the Polk County parcels would not change the county’s tax levy and that Polk County would collect the $150 fee for parcels in its jurisdiction and forward it to the Staples Lake district. Brown said the expansion is intended to unify lake management across the full riparian community, improve eligibility for some grants and projects, and address ecological and community issues that cross the county line.

Supervisors in the discussion included Supervisor Rogers, Supervisor Heller, Supervisor Bob Anderson and Supervisor Gore, who asked about the process, tax impact and eligibility to serve on the Lake District’s governing board. Brown confirmed that once included the Polk County property owners would be eligible to serve as Lake District commissioners.

No formal county board action was taken at the briefing; the item was listed for discussion and a future public hearing.

Notes: The transcript references review by county corporation counsel and correspondence from the Polk County administrator; those documents were described in the briefing but were not read into the record in full.