CAIRO — Grady County officials will consider their options after hearing a $14,000 pitch to design a recreational vehicle park and biking trail system near Tired Creek Lake.

A joint meeting of the Grady County Board of Commissioners and the Grady County Tired Creek Lake Authority was held Thursday morning to allow a senior project manager with Wood + Partners Inc. (WPI) to explain his concept for revising the original master plan for Tired Creek Lake.

Lake consultant Will Butler said the point of the plan proposed by WPI, a South Carolina-based land planning and landscape architecture firm with offices in Tallahassee, would be to make Tired Creek Lake more visible to outsiders.

“It would allow thousands, if not tens of thousands, of people to know that this lake exists,” Butler said.

WPI’s proposal to the county is to plan and design a trail system and RV park for $14,000. As part of that fee, WPI also will determine how much construction of those projects would cost.

All other costs, including actually engineering the project, would be left to the county.

Lake Authority member Chip Wells said he was not impressed with WPI’s price tag.

“I’m hearing that we’re struggling,” Wells said to his fellow county officials. “You guys can tell me: do we have a surplus of cash? I’m not hearing that.”

County Administrator Buddy Johnson said the county does has some money saved to spend on the lake project.

“We have a few thousands dollars in the lake budget that can be appropriated to this cause once it’s set in place,” he said.

Other local officials were more receptive to the concept.

Commissioner June Knight said she believes the trails could serve as a drawing factor for outdoor enthusiasts from Tallahassee — a belief which was echoed by Lake Authority member Laura Register.

“I think this is a real economic driver for the lake,” said Register, who added that well-developed trails could be used to attract potentially lucrative equestrian sports.

Butler said the proposed trail system, which would be designed in coordination with the Tallahassee Mountain Biking Association, would be within easy access to the general public and also can easily be moved later if the county’s plans for the lake change at some point.

“We’ve got plenty of dirt to do trails forever in and around whatever we want to do,” he said.

Johnson said WPI’s proposed RV park site near the Gainous Road boat landing was specifically selected to not disturb the view of the surrounding wood line while on the lake itself. In addition, Butler said the proposed site is already accessible by paved roads, has easy access to the nearby boat ramp and would be out of the way of nearby residents.

County officials have discussed the possibility of creating an RV park near Tired Creek Lake over the past several months as a relatively quick method of beginning to generate revenue. In addition to the direct revenue generated by renting out camping spaces, Butler said the county can also begin bringing in “incremental dollars” such as campers visiting local restaurants or purchasing groceries from nearby stores.

In order to get there, Butler said local officials will have to decide whether $14,000 is the right price to pay.

“We’re just trying to get the party started,” he said. “That’s really what’s going on. We’re trying to light the fire.”

Any recommendation on whether to move forward with the WPI proposal will be made by the Lake Authority. A special meeting has been tentatively scheduled for May 19 to further discuss the issue.

“The Lake Authority is in the lead and they’ll bring their recommendations through (lake director Mike Binion) to the Board of Commissioners and the Board of Commissioners will have the final say,” said commission Chairman Keith Moye.

If approved, the WPI planning process is expected to take six-to-eight weeks to complete.