11/01/2026
Some of the most emotional lake conversations weren’t about the water.
I was only 27 when I became Lyon Township Treasurer. In those days, I collected township taxes from my home.
I had two young sons, and my husband worked out of town during the week. I wasn’t comfortable having strangers coming into our home. During my tenure, the township established an office where I could collect taxes, and I was glad to have that separation between my work and my family.
But some parts of serving your community are harder to separate from your personal life.
I was also the liaison for the township parks. At the time, Lyon Township was struggling to clear the road ends for public use. There could be as many as four docks at a road end. At our two public parks, Sam-O-Set and Phoenix, there were six or seven.
When dock owners refused to remove them, I had to hire people to pull them out. I’d come back the next day and find a dock back in the water in front of the park.
It was uncomfortable. I lived near these people. Some of them were my friends.
At one point, I was at the park with my young sons when a dock owner approached me and threatened me.
That experience has stayed with me. Carrying out my township responsibilities had become personal, and my children were standing right there.
Today, the disagreements involve septic tanks and short-term rentals. When I see those conversations become heated, I remember what it felt like to be a young township official trying to do her job in the same community where she was raising her children.
I understand the anxiety that can come with those responsibilities. You go home after a meeting, but the disagreement doesn’t necessarily stay at township hall. It can affect your neighbors, your family, and friendships you’ve had for years.
I believe a township board has a responsibility to regulate. Without rules and consistent enforcement, things can get out of hand. Those decisions can be difficult, especially when they involve people you know and care about.
We should be able to question decisions and disagree with one another. We should also be able to serve our community without being threatened.
When the meeting is over, we’re still neighbors.
**The people pictured are fictional and do not depict current or former Lyon Township board members.**
