- Community members host a first of it's kind town hall meeting discuss the long terms impacts a primate facility poses on their home.
- Safer Human Medicine confirms the company still plans to make it's way to Bainbridge.
- Watch the story learn more about how the city is responding to a citizens legal complaint.
BROADCAST TRANSCRIPT:
Neighbors came together during a first of its kind town hall meeting.
The purpose? To spread a message that a primate breeding farm is not welcome in their city.
“Let's think about how this proposed monkey farm threatens to disrupt the peace and well being in our community,” said town hall speaker and Bainbridge resident, Latoria Green.
Green was one of the handful of speakers during Thursday night’s town hall meeting where city investors, farming advocates and a representative from PETA all shared their thoughts of what the potential impacts the incoming primate breeding farm poses on the community.
The goal? Get the community involved.
“Collective voices can make a big impact on the decisions that are going to be made,” said Green.
Other speakers like former Thomasville city manager, Steve Sykes who has over a decade of city management experience says the county would be breaking their own zoning laws by allowing an agricultural facility to come within the city limits.
“The development authority is created by the legislature and because of that they can immune themselves to local law.. Such as zoning law,” said Sykes.
Sykes tells me he;s calling on the county’s development authority to follow the same zoning laws as any other county resident.
In a statement from Safer Human medicine reads in part quote:
"Safer Human Medicine plans to move forward with the project and site location according to the agreements made with the Development Authority of Decatur County and the City of Bainbridge."
Currently the revenue bond for the land where the primate project was originally planned to be built is in the court system awaiting for a judge to determine the validity of the bond.
Another big topic of discussion was the announcement that the city of Bainbridge has responded to the recent citizen lawsuit by claiming immunity when it comes to the primate project.
Neighbors say the actions from the city are counter productive to past statements where the city has claimed not to support the breeding farm.
“It’s a shocker.. Especially knowing that at the meetings they’re kind of backtracking but then they do another thing when the public’s not looking,” according to Green.
To find a link to legal documents detailing the city’s response to neighbors legal complaints here.
