Hearings to be set in years-long Monroe-Bibb border dispute

As the years-long boundary dispute between Monroe and Bibb counties continues, a series of hearings is being planned by the Georgia Secretary of State's Office.

A spokesman for Secretary of State Brian Kemp said Kemp hopes to have the matter resolved by the end of 2016.

Last month, Kemp was ordered to establish a true boundary line using the law and evidence, according to Fulton County Superior Court Judge Kelly Ellerbe's order filed Jan. 5.

The boundary dispute includes part of Bass Pro Shop as well as homes along the disputed border -- and the tax proceeds that would come from them.

Virgil Adams, who has represented Macon-Bibb County in the dispute, said he has been waiting for word from Kemp's office about the procedure Kemp expects to follow to determine the boundary.

Adams said he assumes Kemp will follow the same procedure he proposed in the past, which was "basically to hold an evidentiary hearing to let both sides present whatever they want to present," Adams said. "Whatever additional evidence we have, we will present that to him."

Monroe County Commission Chairman Mike Bilderback said he hasn't heard anything from Kemp's office in months.

"We haven't had any correspondence or any indication as to what his intentions are," Bilderback said. "Ideally, we'd like (Kemp) to just record the plat and this be over ... but that's probably hoping for too much."

Bilderback said there's no time frame for resolving the issue, so Kemp "pretty much has an indefinite amount of time to have the hearings and take more evidence."

Neither Monroe County nor Bibb County currently are spending money to resolve the issue, Bilderback said.

"We want people to know loud and clear, we will see this through," Bilderback said. "We'll defend the case and do whatever we have to do."

To contact writer Laura Corley, call 744-4334 or follow her on Twitter @Lauraecor.

This story was originally published February 9, 2016 at 6:40 PM with the headline "Hearings to be set in years-long Monroe-Bibb border dispute ."