- People in the Decatur County community say they are fed up after a series of closed meetings.
- The Decatur County-Bainbridge Industrial Authority notes that all executive sessions are used to discuss ongoing legal agendas.
- Watch the story to hear more on why people are growing skeptical amid closed meetings held by the authority.
BROADCAST TRANSCRIPT:
WTXL reporter AJ Douglas was in the Bainbridge neighborhood asking the tough questions centered around a series of closed meetings that have people here feeling left out of local government.
"You're there for an hour just sitting there, “ said Decatur County neighbor Yvena Merritt.
Anyone attending public meetings has seen a woman with a tripod in hand ready to record almost every public meeting held at both the city and county levels.
Meetings held on the county level are not recorded so aside from local news publications Yvena Merritt is the only access to public meetings in real time.
"Sometimes it's a little challenging because I don't always want to go to these meetings. But I feel like I have to. I need to and I should,” said Merritt.
Last year the Decatur County- Bainbridge Industrial Authority began holding a series of executive sessions due to pending court battles in response to disputes involving primate company, Safer Human Medicine.
It's a project that has caused public outcry due to the approval without locals getting the opportunity to weigh in on whether they would agree to live alongside thousands of primates raised for medical research.
This led to six closed meetings in 2024, some going on for the entire duration of the normal public meeting.
The executive director of the industrial authority, Rick McCaskill, said: "Those opposed to Safer Human Medicine have filed several lawsuits. It takes substantial time for the attorneys to explain and answer follow-up questions. No action is taken in the executive session."
However, people in the community are still skeptical due to the little information provided.
"If it is something they have to do, how come they are seemingly the only board that does it? How regularly they do it [go into executive session]. It's every meeting,” according to Merritt.
Why call for an executive session on several occasions?
McCaskill stated “to consult the legal council about pending or potential litigation. At one meeting, also to discuss the acquisition of property."
Due to the closed meetings, some people in the community have grown indifferent toward attending meetings held by the industrial authority.
Merritt said people should still attend regular meetings.
"You don't know what you're going to miss. You don't want to be the last one to know something. It's a small town… We should know everything that goes on,” said Merritt.
The next meeting for the county's industrial authority will be held on January 16 at noon in city council chambers.
Meeting dates are posted in the local newspaper.
