The Mercer County Industrial Development Authority board on Friday agreed to talk with businessman James E. Winner Jr. about possibly settling a financial dispute through arbitration.

The five-member board unanimously agreed to let its solicitors try to set up ground rules for having the dispute settled through binding arbitration.

The dispute has been broiling for months.

MCIDA has said Winner Development LLC is overdue on more than $31,000 in fees MCIDA charged for work it did preparing a $7 million grant application. Winner said he wanted the so-called stadium-fund grant to develop the former Westinghouse Electric Corp. plant in Sharon.

In February, Winner dropped attempts to secure the grant, saying he would forge ahead with plans to turn the mostly abandoned plant into a multi-tenant industrial complex.

Winner has said he's paid about $13,000 in fees to MCIDA and he believes the bill is paid in full.

Last month, MCIDA said it would give Winner 20 days to pay the full $31,000 he owes or he could face a suit.

The MCIDA board's Friday decision didn't call for going directly to arbitration if the two sides agree to the ground rules, but it sent a clear signal the board is willing to settle the controversy out of court.

Winner didn't attend MCIDA's meeting at the Hickory Veterans of Foreign Wars Post in Hermitage. But his attorney, John Hornbostel, presented the board with a proposal to settle the dispute through binding arbitration.

Winner's proposal called for each side to pick a lawyer, both sides to agree to a third lawyer and to have the three lawyers resolve the disagreement.

After listening to Hornbostel's proposal, MCIDA's board adjourned to discuss the matter in executive session for 35 minutes. After a short public discussion, the board agreed to explore arbitration.

Charles "Chuck'' Bestwick cautioned Hornbostel not to take anything for granted. "You're suggesting something,'' Bestwick said. "We're taking a look at your suggestion.''

When the board was behind closed doors, Hornbostel distributed a four-page letter written by Winner and left copies for board members who took time to read it before resuming the meeting.

In the letter, Winner again blamed Bestwick for stymieing the grant-application process. In the past Winner has blamed MCIDA and Bestwick for having bitter feelings about him.

Bestwick did not comment during the meeting on Winner's remarks. Previously, Bestwick said neither he nor MCIDA has any ill feelings toward Winner, that he supported and hoped Winner's project would succeed, and that any fees MCIDA charged Winner were the same as those charged to every company seeking funds through the agency.