Monroe, Bibb border negotiations hit another roadblock

Negotiations over the yearslong border dispute between Monroe and Macon-Bibb counties have hit another snag.

Macon-Bibb County Commissioner Gary Bechtel said no agreement was reached during a May 23 mediation session between the two sides over the border dispute.

Macon-Bibb County has estimated that property taxes in the area, which includes Bass Pro Shops, are worth about $2 million annually to the county and its schools.

The mediation session, led by counsel for the Georgia Secretary of State’s Office, began in the morning and went into the afternoon.

“They came back in response to the things we had brought forward, and it was not deemed really acceptable in our eyes,” Bechtel said of the end of the session.

Bechtel said there was discussion between the counties about infrastructure, including a possible expansion of water service for Monroe County.

“Basically we talked about potential services that might be available to Monroe County that would allow them to reach a compromise where we didn’t lose the land that’s in question,” Bechtel said.

With no agreement reached, an evidentiary hearing with the Secretary of State’s Office for Bibb County is scheduled for July. Secretary of State Brian Kemp will likely will have to settle the dispute by deciding exactly where the county line should be drawn.

Monroe County Commission Chairman Greg Tapley declined to comment on the details of the session, citing pending litigation. He did confirm that the two sides were unable to come to an agreement.

Initially, the latest meeting was supposed to be a hearing that Kemp attended, but it was changed to a mediation, Tapley said.

“Definitely, there’s some frustration that it hasn’t been resolved” over the years, he said.

This story was originally published June 1, 2017 at 12:50 PM with the headline "Monroe, Bibb border negotiations hit another roadblock."