Every couple years or so, Lake Owen residents will take paddle boards and canoes from the Lake Owen Dam downstream on the Long Lake Branch to the Drummond Mill Pond. The 2020 photo below Lake Owen residents on the headwaters just above the Mill Pond. For those who are not aware, the Wisconsin Department of Transportation is going to repave U.S. 63 in a couple years. When they repave, the Wisconsin DOT needs to repair or remove the existing dam. The DOT is proposing two options concerning the dam. One option is to remove the Mill Pond Dam when they repave Highway 63 and replace it with a bridge over the Long Lake Branch. Instead of a lake you would eventually have a valley with a creek flowing under a bridge. The other option is to keep the Mill Pond Dam with its lake if Drummond Township will 1) assume ownership of the dam, 2) assume future liabilities for repairs or failures in the dam, and 3) pay $513,193 to repair and rebuild the current dam.
The Drummond Town Board is looking for input from the public on which option to select at the next Annual Town Meeting of Electors on Tuesday, April 19, 2022 starting at the 6:30 p.m. at the Drummond Civic Center, 52540 Front Ave., Drummond, Wisconsin. At this meeting on April 19, 2022 the Electors as well as others can personally address the Town Board, ask questions, and express their thoughts on which option should be taken. For those people who cannot attend in person and wish to share their thoughts, Chairman Royden Bloom says you can either email him at bloomfrg@cheqnet.net or email the Town Clerk Andy Tuttle at drummondtown@cheqnet.net
Drummond Dam Update. Lake Owen resident Jon Nymo attended the Drummond Annual Town meeting on Tuesday evening, April 19, 2022. Approximately 50 people were in attendance and Jim Crandall monitored the discussion. A lengthy discussion entailed but no final decision was arrived at. A raised hand vote was taken and the vote was 38-10 in favor of the Town Board to continue pursuing the issue with the Wisconsin Department of Transportation. The cost was estimated not to exceed $600,000 if the Town of Drummond were to construct and maintain control of the dam over a 20 year timeframe. A key issue is obtaining liability insurance. A meeting is scheduled for May 4th at the Drummond Town Hall with the Wisconsin Department of Transportation.
