CAIRO — Grady County officials are close to reaching an agreement with representatives from Leon County which will put an end to their ongoing legal disputes.

Buddy Johnson, Grady County administrator, met Monday with Leon County Administrator Vincent Long to discuss the terms of a memorandum of understanding.

Their meeting marked the first face-to-face encounter between the two county administrators.

When the two men are ready to move forward, the memorandum of understanding will be sent to both county boards of commissioners to be ratified, possibly by the end of the month.

The agreement will go into effect once it has been ratified by both county commissions.

Both counties have been involved in multiple ongoing legal battles for several years related to the Tired Creek Lake project.

Negotiations between the two governments have been ongoing since Dec. 21, when Johnson and Tired Creek Lake consultant Will Butler traveled to Leon County to meet with local representatives.

“Obviously there’s been conversations going on for years, but they hadn’t been going real well,” Johnson said. “That was the first conversation where everybody came together and said let’s find a solution.”

A draft memorandum of understanding was drawn up on April 30 to finally put an end to the disputes.

Butler addressed a joint session of the Grady County Lake Authority and the board of commissioners in May where he publicly stated that an agreement was in the works.

Johnson said once the memorandum of understanding is approved, it will allow investors to take a look at what Tired Creek Lake has to offer.

“It’s much more attractive for anyone wishing to do anything if you don’t have a legal issue going on,” the county administrator said.