The Big Cedar Lake Protection and Rehabilitation District (PRD) will be holding elections at their annual meeting on Wednesday, August 24, 2022, starting at 4:30 pm. For those looking only to vote on the budget and PRD commissioner election, you will be able to cast ballots between 5:30 pm and 7:30 pm that evening.
Current commissioner and POA member Dave Baldus has indicated that he is going to run for re-election to his PRD position. That is the only seat up for election this year. At this moment, there are no announced candidates opposing Dave. However, as in the past, there is always a possibility another candidate will declare in the weeks ahead or ask to be nominated from the floor. You will also be able to vote on important capital expenditure and tax levy items as well. We encourage you to attend.
Note there will be a new location for this meeting: Slinger High School Performing Arts Center, 209 Polk Street, Slinger, Wisconsin
This new location has better parking and is air-conditioned, thus alleviating some of the challenges with prior meetings at the West Bend Town Hall.
Why is the PRD election so important?
Big Cedar Lake is in a unique situation in that it is bounded by both the Town of West Bend and the Town of Polk. As such, both townships have some level of control over activities around the Lake. The Lake itself, however, is managed by the seven-member PRD board.
Of those seven members, only five are actually elected by Big Cedar Lake residents living in the PRD district. Two Commissioners are appointed to their positions, one by the Washington County Board (Keith Stephan) and one appointed by the Town of West Bend Board (Troy Zagel) per Wisconsin statute. These two statutory positions provide representation on the PRD for both County Residents and Town of West Bend residents.
What this means is that the five commissioner positions elected by Big Cedar Lake PRD residents are of critical importance for members of the Big Cedar Lake Property Owners Association. As noted above, one of those positions is up for election this year. We understand that Big Cedar Lake residents have differing views on how the lake should be maintained and regulated by the PRD. Regardless of where you stand on these issues, the PRD is of vital importance due to the different governmental bodies that have regulatory authority on and around the lake. We encourage you to make plans to attend the August 24thmeeting, as voting is done only in person and not by proxy.