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Balsam Lake park district projects, budget hike outlined to Milltown board
Summary
During public comment at the June 9 Milltown board meeting, Terry Palmberg summarized the BLPRD draft 2026 budget proposing a $22,000 (6.7%) tax increase tied to a conservancy land purchase and landing-camera initiative and described required DNR water sampling for a Nano Bubbler trial.
Terry Palmberg, reporting during the public-comment period at the Town of Milltown’s June 9 meeting, outlined priorities and budget items the Balsam Lake Park & Recreation District (BLPRD) plans to present at its annual meeting. Palmberg said the draft 2026 budget proposes a $22,000 increase in tax appropriations — about 6.7% — bringing total revenues and expenses to $764,459, driven principally by two one-time initiatives: the purchase of conservancy land and installation of cameras at boat landings for user education and usage statistics.
Palmberg said BLPRD expects to maintain typical busy-hour staffing for monitored landings while trimming monitoring hours elsewhere, a scheduling change that reduces expenses by roughly $19,000. He reported no herbicide treatment is planned this season because curly-leaf pondweed covers less than 10 acres, below the district’s 25-acre treatment threshold; harvesting operations will cover about 116 acres starting in late May and run Monday–Wednesday to avoid busy weekends.
On enforcement and safety, Palmberg said Polk County was unable to hire additional shared lake-patrol staff for 2025, so one county deputy will continue shared duties; the Balsam Lake Water Patrol officer, Tommy Thompson, expects to provide additional patrol hours. Palmberg also described ongoing research into deploying cleaning-station cameras at Town Bay and the 46 landing for audio-based user training and measurement of use; he emphasized the initiative is intended for education, not for issuing tickets, and noted further work is required, including a land-use agreement with the Village of Balsam Lake.
Palmberg highlighted two infrastructure issues: a formal engineering report on the Village-owned dam lists options from approximately $48,000 in maintenance to about $1.4 million for full replacement, and Polk County Land & Water is working with a landowner on a remediation plan for phosphorus runoff into Otter Creek, which feeds Balsam Lake. He said the district is coordinating with the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources to determine an expanded water-quality sampling schedule required for potential Nano Bubbler approval and is obtaining bids for those samplings; depending on cost, the BLPRD may need a 2025 budget amendment before deploying the device.
Why it matters: the BLPRD proposals affect lake ecology, public access and local taxes. The board did not take action on BLPRD items during the meeting; Palmberg said the district will present the draft budget and initiatives at its annual meeting in July.
