Crow Wing County approves Kimball Lake petition to allow flexible per-property assessment

The Crow Wing County Board of Commissioners voted on Nov. 12 to authorize the Kimball Lake Improvement District (LID) to change its annual assessment calculation from a fixed $200 per eligible property to a flexible, budget-driven approach for future years.

Jessica, a Land Services staff member who presented the petition, told the board the district was created in 2018 with a $200 assessment cap and submitted a petition with 70 verified signatures out of 103 eligible properties (about 67.9 percent) asking for authority to use a new calculation. Under the requested change, the LID would set a budget each year and divide the amount by eligible property owners; the LID must still send ballots and have the membership approve the assessment at its annual meeting.

Resident Daniel (Dan) Yavner, who gave his Pequot Lakes address, voiced two concerns during public comment. “My concern on that is, what if the lake is not infected? They are building this war chest, so to speak,” Yavner said, asking how excess funds would be restricted and whether assessments could be prorated by property value rather than charged flat-per-lot. He added that a $200 assessment on top of his county taxes represented a substantial surcharge for some owners.

Thomas Hanson, vice president of the Kimball LID, said the district has generally stayed within the $200 cap but recent surges in treatment costs and more frequent outbreaks of milfoil have drained reserves. “We’re looking out two, three years,” Hanson said. “We have to look that far because what we assess at our meeting in 2026, we don’t get that money until 2027. So we’re asking to have the ability to go above $200 if needed to fund treatments like milfoil or starry stonewort response.”

County staff and the county administrator clarified the limits of county authority: the county approves or denies an LID petition and the model under which the LID is established (fixed assessment, flexible assessment or levy authority), but it does not set yearly assessment amounts for the LID. Staff said the county reviews annual LID reports and budgets to confirm allowed uses of funds and to check fund balances, but the membership vote and LID board set the specific assessment amount each year.

After closing the public hearing, the board voted on a motion to adopt the flexible-assessment option for Kimball Lake. The motion passed on a roll-call vote with four ayes and one no (Commissioner Coring opposed).

What’s next: The Kimball LID will prepare and certify a budget and proposed assessment under the new calculation and must send ballots and hold the required membership vote at its annual meeting. The county will continue to review the LID’s annual reports and budgets when they are filed.

Authorities referenced in the meeting included state statute governing LID formation and assessment models (not specified in the petition), and the Kimball Lake Improvement District petition filed with Crow Wing County.