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Notice of Lake District Fees and Membership

McDill Inland Lake Protection and Rehabilitation District under its bylaws of incorporation has the following criteria for membership: Membership in the Lake District shall be open to any individual, family, business, or organization, that (a) subscribes to the purposes of the Lake District and (b) owns or leases property within one mile of the lake for which the Lake District was incorporated. This includes all parcels that are waterfront and underwater in the McDill Pond 264 acre mapped area. The Lake District runs on an operational year of 10/1 to 9/30, with the current year assessed in the lake district fees.

Lake District fees for 2025 are $410 per year per parcel. A special assessment was added in August 2021 of $5314.41 for the dredging project. Members of the lake district were allowed to pay up front the full amount of the dredging project assessment by 8/30/21, or be subject to split of the payment on the property tax bill over 15 years including interest. At year 5 the loan for the dredging project will be refinanced at going interest rate, adjusting the final pay off. Residents with an outstanding balance during year 5 will be allowed to pay off their remainder balance at that time, or have their yearly payment rate adjusted based on going loan rates. We do not know at this time what the year 5 loan rate will be or what the final total payment amount will be for properties splitting the assessment over the 15 years since the loan rate will be adjusted at year 5. Currently properties that are assessed for the spread out 15 year payment pay an additional $422.33 on their lake district fee on their tax bill.

All members within the lake district are billed on their tax bill for the year the lake district fees and if applicable to their property the special dredging assessment if they elected not to pay the full amount up front. The assessment for the dredging project started in 2023 tax bills. Lake district fees are considered a tax and are not optional under state statutes to the membership of the lake district. The lake district is not responsible for settling of real estate transactions in regards to the assessments which should be handled between buyer and seller. The lake district also has the right to include new property that falls into the lake district’s article of incorporation if land is subdivided or sold off from former government ownership.

McDill Unsafe Ice Areas

The map is a compiled list of areas known to experience ice safety issues throughout the winter. Some areas are unsafe due to the river flow, others due to springs. Follow all DNR safety precautions when accessing the ice and keep monitoring for changing conditions. Ice depths vary throughout McDill during the winter, and no ice is safe ice, but the intent of the map is to help inform those accessing the ice where to avoid traveling.

Residential Fertilizer Restriction Passed at Annual Meeting

McDill Inland Lake Protection and Rehabilitation District at its annual meeting passed a Resident Fertilizer Restriction that goes into effect immediately for its 176 residents. The general fertilizer restriction replaces the lake district’s former phosphate free fertilizer restriction since all fertilizers now sold in Wisconsin are phosphate free.  The restriction limits residents to twice a year fertilizing their yards, unless a soil test proves the need for additional fertilizing.  There is no limit on the amount of application of weed killers or other pesticides for nuisance control.   A water study conducted by the WI DNR over two years found high amounts of nitrogen entering McDill during the winter months from groundwater and spring runoff.  Due to the sandier soils around McDill, it is an important first step to control the amount of nitrogen entering McDill starting with the yards that have the greatest impact on McDill Pond.  The restriction is to be self regulating, and currently does not have any fines for violations of the restriction.  McDill Pond is also participating in efforts to promote healthy shorelands and work with local municipalities to address the high nitrogen levels entering McDill pond from various sources to mitigate the excess weed and algae growth in McDill Pond.      A copy of the restriction is below for reference.

Fertilization Restriction

McDill Pond Plant Harvesting and Skimming maps

updated-harvest-map-122916 This is the updated revision completed by the Lake District and submitted to the Wisconsin DNR for use in 2017.  The harvesting map was updated to increase some areas on the southern half by the business 51 causeway, smooth out some corners for easier harvesting and connect one lane to another.  The skimming map will stay the same for 2017.  Skimming  is different than plant harvesting as it allows algae mats to be skimmed with the smaller harvester ONLY when the DNR is notified and approves 24 hours prior to skimming each time.  Please note the change in the cutting areas allowed vs previous years, as clear cutting is not allowed, and instead navigation channels will be cut.  Only 70% of the acreage of a waterbody may be harvested.