In 1997, the Town of Bristol and the Village of Pleasant Prairie entered into a formal Cooperative Agreement. The agreement was created to help guide cooperative interaction between the two municipalities that share common boundaries. During 2008, the town of Bristol filed a petition seeking incorporation for a part of the Town. Pleasant Prairie did not oppose the petition, as it was in accordance with the 1997 agreement. The State Review Board, however, turned the petition down, because the area included by Bristol was too large of an area to meet State standards.
Bristol followed the recommendation of the Review Board and reduced the size of the area for incorporation. After following the proper steps, Bristol received a certificate of incorporation as a Village for a nine square mile portion of the Town on December 1, 2009. Four weeks later, Bristol announced their intention to apply for permission hold a referendum to annex the remaining portion of the Town, approximately 23 additional square miles, into the Village of Bristol.
The area submitted by Bristol for annexation that was outlined on maps and legal documents included both property that is currently part of the Village of Pleasant Prairie and properties protected from incorporation by Bristol that are to become part of Pleasant Prairie according to the 1997 agreement. After unsuccessful attempts to correct this matter directly with Bristol, Pleasant Prairie recently sought legal action to protect Village interests. This February, a judge hearing the case denied Bristol's petition for an annexation referendum and requested that Bristol officials correct the legal description of the area to be included in an annexation referendum. Village Administrator Mike Pollocoff explained Pleasant Prairie's desired outcome, "We don't have a problem with the people of Bristol voting on whether or not to incorporate; we simply wish for Bristol to show good faith and abide by the 1997 agreement. We look forward to future talks with both the Town and Village of Bristol that will yield an equitable result for taxpayers of all three municipalities."