02/14/2026
Attention Stevenson Lake property owners:
Summary:
This is Mike from the Big Red Barn on the North side of the lake.
You probably got the letter about the “water level meeting” coming up. It has come to my attention that there is a Special Assessment District (SAD) as part of this meeting that could force us to give a blank check to the Isabella County Drain Commission. If it happens, it could cost us all a LOT of money in the future. Due to this concern, us Stevenson Lake Property owners are highly encouraged to attend the upcoming meeting so we can all be informed about our options:
Thursday, February 26th, 2026
10:00 a.m.
Isabella Council on Aging building
2200 S. Lincoln Rd.
Mt. Pleasant, Mi 48858
(This info. is in the letter you received)
Please spread the word to other Stevenson Lake property owners. Thanks.
For those interested in learning more of the “concern”, read the following in more detail (if you’d like the supporting doc’s let me know):
Carroll Dr., on the north side of the lake, used to be a dirt road, a muddy mess in the spring. The residents got together and created a special assessment district (SAD) to pave the road. An engineer determined the work involved for the project. The cost was set and shared by all Carroll Dr. property owners. They were then able to enjoy the benefits of a paved road and, because it was paved, it increased their property values when they sold. As this was not a thoroughfare but a dead-end street, property owners were the sole beneficiaries.
This is a classic example of what a special assessment district is designed to do and it is usually initiated by property owners themselves. The drain commissioner’s proposed SAD has none of these requisite characteristics.
The road project had specified parameters – It included what would happen, when it would happen and what the total cost would be. And the direct benefit was evident and proportional to all property owners.
The lake level hearing, which is really not about lake levels at all but rather creating a special assessment district, has NONE of these.
There IS NO PROJECT. Maintenance is not a project. It is a duty and responsibility of the county. Without a project, there are no parameters of what exactly will be done nor a timeline when it will be completed. Maintenance is something that goes into perpetuity so cannot be considered a project. Without a specified project, no cost has been or could be determined.
“In theory, the proportional share of the cost of the improvement defrayed by special assessment against the benefitted property will be generally offset by the increase in the property’s value once the improvement is in place. In other words, any public improvement that would increase the market value of a property could be considered a special benefit.”
A special assessment district MUST prove a special direct benefit that will increase property value for property owners. Unlike paving our road, this project, non-project, does not meet this requirement.
I've attached a number of relevant documents as well as three written testimonies that we have submitted. Included are some related to a Higgins Lake SAD which is a mirror image of what's happening at Stevenson Lake. I spoke at length to their lake assn. vice president who has been working on this for three years. The difference is that they submitted written testimony to the court. We are to submit testimony to the attorney who is representing the drain commissioner!
From EGLE, I obtained a copy of the recent dam survey conducted by an engineering firm that notes the status of the dam to be "satisfactory" which is the highest level. This means there is nothing urgent that needs to be done right now. It's also an attachment.
This is a lot to digest but we feel it's really important that we are educated as quickly as possible AND we all try to attend the hearing on Feb 26th at 10 am.
Thanks,
Fellow Stevenson Lake property owners Karen & Craigee
