Topfs have been Wonder Lake village presidents for a majority of its existence

In Wonder Lake’s 49 years of existence as a village, either Kate or Tony Topf has been the village’s president for more than half of them.

First, Kate was village president from 1991 through 1999. Then, Tony became village president in 2003, but decided not to run in the April 4 consolidated election.

The couple was recognized at the May 3 village board meeting with a Community Leadership Award. According to a nomination letter, that award recognizes their “very delicate and masterful balance between prioritizing community needs with strategic vision.”

“I have never seen in my lifetime, any two people so committed to promoting the village of Wonder Lake” as the Topfs have been, Trustee Dick Hilton said. He wrote much of the information included in the the award.

Kate Topf, 68, was appointed to the Wonder Lake Village Board in 1990. A year later, she was named village president and stayed in the role until 1999. Tony’s job planned to transfer him out of state, so Kate didn’t run for reelection.

His company changed plans. That same year, Tony was appointed as a Wonder Lake trustee and Kate was named to the village’s new planning and zoning committee.

“When I was appointed ... they knew if they appointed me, they were going to get Kate,” Tony Topf, 69, said.

Then, in 2003, the board president resigned. Tony was asked to take over the role and Kate left the planning committee.

“It didn’t seem appropriate” for the two of them to both have village roles, Kate Topf said.

Hilton’s letter included a long list of Wonder Lake’s changes while one of the two ran the city. It included annexing seven existing subdivisions, acquiring private water companies for the village services, developing the Stonewater subdivision, a plan to encourage Hancock Drive Business District annexation and many more.

“When I was appointed ... they knew if they appointed me, they were going to get Kate.”

—  Former Wonder Lake Village President Tony Topf

“Carefully managing trustee, community and developer insights they successfully plotted and executed a methodical and stable course through countless challenges,” the letter reads.

Now, the village is just shy of 5,000 residents, Kate Topf said. When she first started on the board, not only was Wonder Lake much smaller, but it also was much more informal. Documents were scattered at different offices or even at trustees’ homes, she said.

“I did a lot of work to centrally locate information. Not standardizing the office, but creating a more municipal structure than what we had,” she said.

There were three major parts of the job, both Topfs said: security through the police department, maintaining roads and ensuring parks for children.

The entire board’s goal within those three areas was “making it a wonderful place to live and grow your family,” Tony Topf said.

He didn’t want to retire until he felt someone could come along to pick up where he left off, Tony Topf said. He believes he found that in Dan Dycus, who was sworn in Wednesday as the new village president.

“It is a great transition here. For what will be happening with Wonder Lake in the next 10 or 20 years, Dan will carry the ball,” Tony Topf said.

The couple plans to spend their nights and free time with their children and grandchildren now, not going to multiple meetings each month.

Tony Topf said he’s not completely done with the village, however. He will be a “liaison” between the village and Stonewater’s developer, and is helping the village as it looks for a way to fix roads in the Wildwood subdivision in a way that is affordable for residents. The subdivision’s private roads “need to be upgraded so the village can take them on,” Topf said.

He also wants to continue encouraging subdivisions around the lake but not part of the village to consider annexation. The 2020 Census indicated there are a 10,000 people living around the lake, and Stonewater is expected to bring another 10,000 residents to the village over the next few decades.

“We are always planning and looking at ‘how do we do this’ so it is affordable and available at the same time? That is a nut to figure out,” Tony Topf said.