Posted on August 30, 2016
By Travis Morse, Register-News
Securing a deal for a new marina at the Ina Boat Launch could take anywhere from six months to two years, said Jonathon Hallberg, executive director of the Jefferson County Development Corporation.
Still, no firm time frame has been set and there are a lot of factors at play, Hallberg said.
“This fits into a regional and national plan for recreation in Southern Illinois,” Hallberg said of the marina.
A draft version of a marketing study for the project is now being reviewed by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the steward of the federal lands at the site. The study will eventually have to be approved by the Corps and the Jefferson County Board.
Corps officials — along with County Board members, consultants and others — toured the boat launch site Friday morning to examine the potential of the project.
“We’ve got a marvelous site here, a pre-engineered basin which takes millions of dollars off the price tag, and a great location right off the freeway, so there’s a lot of positive going on here,” said Bruce Lunde, a marina planning and design consultant.
In March, the County Board approved hiring Lunde-Williams to complete the marketing study for the proposed marina.
The Ina Boat Launch and the parcel directly north of it are owned by the federal government, under the authority of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. The two parcels total roughly 220 acres, with 77 acres being on land that has “potential for development activities,” according to a JCDC report.
The marketing study does indicate the marina has potential as a tourist draw, Hallberg said. Once the study is approved, the Corps would have to grant a lease to the county. The county would then secure a developer and arrange a sub-lease with them. A private firm would manage and operate the new marina, not the county.
“If the county wants a lease, they need to assist the Army Corps of Engineers in fulfilling their mission of creating more recreational and conservation opportunities on the lake and making this a better place to spend time, for the benefit of citizens,” Hallberg said.
A key factor is making sure a new marina won’t negatively impact the existing marina on Rend Lake, said Kevin Curran, operations manager for the Army Corps of Engineers.
“Our main goal is to provide additional opportunities for visitors to the lake, but in turn we want to make sure that there’s a big enough market to handle two marinas and other future development,” Curran said.
He added there does appear to be enough demand to warrant developing the Ina Boat Launch into a marina.
“When we get the final market study, we’ll find out if that is the case and then we’ll move forward with Jefferson County and see if we can get involved with a park and recreation lease with the county if they’re interested in continuing to move forward with this,” Curran said.
Source: Register-News
