Established in 2002: Peppermill Lake District was established in early summer of 2002, by vote of the Jackson Town Board who responded to a petition signed by approximately 75% of the proposed lake district residents and property owners. Several public hearings were held to offer everyone an opportunity to state their opinions and register support or opposition. The agreement to pursue a Lake District was the result of two years of negotiation carried out by a group called the Peppermill Lake Joint Committee, which was a coalition between two voluntary lake associations, one of which was formed originally in opposition to the first. At the time the Joint Committee was formed, there were very significant and socially painful differences within the lake community with respect to how the lake should be managed and by whom. In fact prior to the formation of the Joint Committee, one of the two groups attempted to get approval for a lake district unilaterally.

What is a Lake District?: By Wisconsin State law, a lake district is a local unit of government, with the power to collect monies via the property tax system to carry out lake management programs. The principal power of the lake district derives from residents and property owners within the lake district boundaries, as their wishes are expressed at the Annual Meeting. The Annual Meeting is an event in which all residents and property owners have an opportunity to approve, amend or disapprove the annual budget and to elect the members of the lake district board. Importantly, property owners do not need be Wisconsin, town or county residents to vote at the Lake District Annual meeting, or to serve on the Lake District Board..

Annual Budget: The annual budget is subjected to a separate hearing (usually immediately before the annual meeting); this is a requirement of Wisconsin law. In addition to the Annual Meeting, the Lake District Board has the responsibility to carry out a program of lake management within the budget approved, but also to respond to changing events and the condition of the lake. At these meetings, only the board members have a vote, similar to a munincipal or town board.

Open Meeting Law: In keeping with state law, lake districts must follow all the rules for open meetings, including proper publication of meeting times, places and agendas, as well posting that information physically within the district boundaries. The board is required to hold at least four quarterly meetings, in addition to the Annual Meeting. Lake District members are mailed notices of these meetings and are urged to attend. At the Peppermill Lake District Board meetings, Lake District Members are encouraged to get involved and state their opinions, even though that is not required by Lake District Law. Unfortunately, citizen turnout at these meetings is best described as meager, with some meetings having no citizens attending at all.

Board of Commissioners: There are seven members of the Lake District Board—five are elected for staggered 3 year terms and one each is appointed to represent Jackson Township and Adams County, respectively. Each year, two of the five elected commissioners positions are open and chosen at the annual meeting. The current Peppermill Lake District Board of Commissioners is the same five persons originally elected at the first Annual Meeting in August of 2002, with the exception of Bob Hannan, who passed away in March of 2004 and was replaced by Larry Nelson.

Currently, the board appears to have the necessary experience and expertise to oversee lake management. Three of the board members are graduates of the Wisconsin Lakes Partnership Lake Leaders program, two have given several talks or workshops each at the Wisconsin Lakes Convention, one member has made presentations at two of the recent Lake Leaders Institute programs, and one member is on the board and an officer of the Wisconsin Association of Lakes. In addition, there is considerable experience with Peppermill Lake; five of the seven have been or remain officers in one or the other of the two voluntary lake groups, including three who have held the office of association president. We also have been fortunate in the two additional members appointed to represent the Jackson Town Board and Adams County. The Jackson Town representative resides on nearby Deep Lake and the representative of Adams County lives across from Parker Lake and is the current Chairman of the Adams County Board.

Board Actions: Over the course of the three years the district has been in place, the board has considered and passed over 25 motions, including hiring of contractors to treat Eurasian watermilfoil and to harvest aquatic plants, to join with Adams County in developing a Lake Management Plan, to join with Adams County in writing a Lake Classification Grant, to appoint a Lake Advisory Group to develop and oversee at Lake Management Plant, to adopt the current Lake Management Plan, to support construction of a Cell Tower in Jackson Township, to construct and place a new sign at the public landing, to expend funds to maintain the aerator systems, to approve our annual audit report, and many other minor actions. With the exception of one vote on a harvesting contractor, all actions have been unanimous and that vote was 6 in favor, one opposed. The board also appoints and receives reports from several standing committees, including an aquatic plant committee, a fisheries committee, a landing committee and a shoreland protection committee. These committees carry out more detailed study of issues, get citizen input and contact experts as well as contractors to identify actions.