Rend Lake water district to consider lease or cutbacks

BENTON, Ill. -- The Rend Lake Conservancy District will either lease its golf course, restaurant and hotel to an outside company or cut back resort operations, officials say.

A decision will be made at the board's Oct. 25 meeting, board member Larry Warren said Tuesday.

Conservancy district interim general manager Glenn Poshard told the board Monday that state law requires the recreational facilities that adjoin the 19,000-acre lake pay for themselves, not get subsidized by water fees, as they have in the past.

Rend Lake supplies water to 160,000 people in Southern Illinois.

Rend Lake's management came under scrutiny last year after its former general manager, Kevin Davis, was fired for allegedly mishandling nearly $500,000 in district funds, spending some of it on repairs to his pontoon boat, clothing and membership to an upscale club.

Last week, Illinois Auditor General William Holland released an audit that showed the district pumped $10 million into its recreational facilities from water fees over the past decade.

On Monday, Poshard laid out for board members a 36-point plan that he says, if followed, would get the district back on its feet and into compliance with state law.

It included separating recreational assets from the water fund and other cost-saving measures.

"We put in a lot of time on this plan, and I feel good about it," Poshard said. "But I don't envy [having to make] the board's decisions."