Yes, some windmills are also public buildings. In a polder the owner or the inhabitants were responsible for keeping the land and houses dry. The usual construct was to have a body (polderschap) that was taking on the task. The inhabitants paid for it and from the money one or more mills were built and a miller was employed.

This is the mill that used to keep the Teckopse polder dry, near the village of Kockengen. It is a mill of a type where the upper half which can turn to the wind is quite large. It was constructed of wood, because the miller needed to be able to turn it to the wind. Part of the millers income was also that he could live in our next to the mill. To that end usually the ground floor was a house, like it is here.