After years-long dispute, Lakewood ends water agreement with Turnberry Golf Club, but legal fight goes on

After years of ongoing disputes and lawsuits from both sides, Lakewood has ended an agreement with Turnberry Golf Club that required Turnberry to provide free water irrigation to the village-owned RedTail Golf Club.

“We believe it’s time to divorce ourselves from this water transfer agreement,” Village President David Stavropoulos said.

Village officials terminated the agreement last week in a 6-0 vote. The 25-year agreement was set to be in effect until June 24, 2030. According to legal documents, the agreement was created in 2005 and codified in a 2009 easement, mandating Turnberry to supply RedTail’s water irrigation needs, including maintenance of the pumps.

“The village has made arrangements to be sure that its operations continue relative to RedTail, notwithstanding the litigation that has been filed against the village to terminate that agreement [due] to issues of the water being on and off the last couple of seasons,” Stavropoulos said at last week’s Village Board meeting. “It felt that the village didn’t have much of a choice but to pursue other options.”

Turnberry owner Sonny Oberoi, who purchased the golf course in 2016, requested in 2022 that the village pay to pump the water and seek reimbursement from Turnberry, rather than have Turnberry pay for the water transmission. In turn, the village petitioned for a restraining order against Turnberry, requiring compliance with the easement terms. The village dropped the lawsuit against Turnberry over the water agreement Tuesday.

“Hopefully, this is a good thing for everybody,” said David Stieper, the attorney representing Turnberry.

Turnberry and the village have been at odds for years over a series of fines levied against the golf club totaling more than $70,000 dating back to 2021. That resulted in Turnberry filing a petition in McHenry County court requesting to be removed from the village entirely. That case is ongoing.

RedTail Golf Club also is going through renovations, which has resulted in separate legal woes for Lakewood. The village filed a lawsuit against Laub Construction last month, asserting that the construction company breached its contract by failing to prepare plans and provide adequate construction. Lakewood is asking for more than $50,000 in damages, according to court documents.

In turn, Laub Construction filed a lawsuit alleging that the village owes the construction company and its subcontractors more than $800,000 for their work on the clubhouse and cart-storage building.

The village paused construction on the maintenance building after updated projections showed that the village would go about $460,000 over budget for the total $3.9 million project if it were to be constructed now. The maintenance building will be built in the “second phase,” but a timeline on that is undetermined, Village Manager Jean Heckman said at a board meeting in November.

Lakewood officials and attorney Scott Puma did not comment.

Construction is ongoing on the inside of the clubhouse, Stavropoulos said. Village officials expect the project to be completed at the end of August or the beginning of September, he said at last week’s meeting.