CAIRO — Tired Creek Lake consultant Will Butler addressed a joint session of the Grady County Lake Authority and the county board of commissioners on Wednesday, providing insight into his scope of work and information on the next steps he believes should be taken for the project.

After several meetings with officials from Leon County, Florida which Butler described as productive, a draft memorandum of understanding was drawn up between the two counties on April 30 to put an end to their constant legal disputes.

Butler said if the memorandum is approved it will allow developers to finally see what Tired Creek Lake has to offer.

“To make it happen, we have to clear that runway,” he said. “You can’t land a plane when there’s all sorts of planes sitting on the tarmac lobby.”

Butler, who runs a real estate asset management and development company based in Tallahassee, was tasked by Grady County two years ago to help guide the Tired Creek Lake project.

In his own words, Butler says he has handled previous development projects around lakes and other water bodies and is currently working on a 450-acre tract for the City of Tallahassee.

“I’m not an attorney, but it’s not my first rodeo either,” he said. “I’ve dealt with the (U.S. Army Corps of Engineers) many, many times and I’ve read permit after permit after permit.”

When Butler was first contacted by Grady County to appear before them two years ago he had never heard of Tired Creek Lake and was under the impression that he was only there to provide insight.

“I didn’t realize I was being interviewed,” he said.

Instead, Butler quickly became tasked with finding ways to put the lake into a position where it would be more attractive for development.

Speaking candidly, Butler said that’s a difficult job.

“It’s a tough sell,” he said. “As beautiful as this lake is, we have to sell the region. We have to sell something bigger than just the water.”

In order to do that, Butler said county officials have to understand what they have at their disposal, including understanding all of the physical attributes of the surrounding region.

“That impacts significantly the costs of development, which impacts what a developer is willing to pay or negotiate to pay for a piece of property,” he said.

The completed Tired Creek Lake is beautiful, Butler said, and Grady County is a beautiful county too, “but it’s not on the front and center of most developers’ radars.”

When developers look at the basic demographic breakdown of Grady County, including the number of people in the county and how they are disbursed throughout the region in relation to the lake, it quickly becomes less attractive real estate.

“We don’t pop off the map for those guys,” Butler said.

Butler personally reached out to anywhere between 50 to 60 different entities in Georgia, Florida and Alabama to gauge interest in the lake project but did not receive any responses.

In investigating the lack of interest in developing around the lake, Butler determined that the real estate market at the time was too robust.

“Anybody who was capable financially and/or experience-wise was busy with other projects that I would label as lower-hanging fruit,” he said.

Additionally, there were numerous legal constraints, mostly concerning neighboring Leon County in Florida, that were attempting to stop or stall the project from going forward.

The troubles with Leon County have a long history, Butler said, but it ultimately boils down to a lack of communication and trust on both sides.

More importantly, the continued legal quagmires were scaring off potential developers.

“You’re trying to get (developers) interested and you’ve got a neighboring county that’s fussing and fighting and bringing the federal government in,” Butler said. “Why do (they) want to go up there and get in the middle of that?”

Having worked with Leon County in the past, Butler said he had some credibility to lend to the negotiations between the two governments, bringing along Grady County Administrator Buddy Johnson for several in-person meetings.

“You don’t want just hired guns to go in and cut your deal,” Butler said. “I wanted that county to see this county man-to-man, woman-to-woman, face-to-face.”

The meetings were a success, and while the memorandum of understanding still has to be ratified by both county commissions, Butler said the deal makes sense for everyone.

All Leon County wants is data on the quantity and quality of water coming out of the lake —  information Grady County already collects with the help of the University of Georgia.

“(It’s) a huge change in attitude,” said Commissioner Ray Prince. “They actually want to work together with us now instead of against us.”

Butler said the partnership with Leon County has the opportunity to grow in other areas as well, such as sharing specialized lake equipment or improving regional transportation.

It’s a relationship that will serve Grady County well, Butler said, because many of the lake’s potential consumers will likely come from the more populous Leon County. 

“I’m getting calls and inquiries right now from folks in Leon County going ‘when are you going to get that lake done?” Butler said.

Commissioner Keith Moye pointed out that while negotiating with Leon County was outside of Butler’s original scope of work, he did not charge any additional fees.

Butler said that if he didn’t work with officials in Tallahassee it could have ended up costing Grady County a small fortune.

Typically, government entities will retain lobbyists to negotiate on their behalf, which Butler said can be pricey and inefficient.

“They tend to start at the top and negotiate with the commissioners and work down, which takes longer,” he said. “I started with staff because I know them.”

Instead of feeling as if they were being lobbied, Butler said the Leon County officials felt at ease negotiating with him.

Moreover, both Johnson and Prince said the negotiations were completed at a much quicker pace than they would have been otherwise.

“It took five months,” Johnson said. “If you try to service this out you’re looking at three years — maybe, if you’re lucky.”

Johnson and the commissioners thanked Butler for his willingness to take on the additional responsibility.

Butler said that he did what he thought was necessary to ensure the success of the Tired Creek Lake project, a goal he said he truly believes in.

“I’m not doing this because I need the gig,” he said. “I’m doing this because I really want to see this happen.”