Georgia’s attempt to invalidate up to $300 million in revenue bonds for a massive monkey-breeding facility in the southwest corner of the state has been rejected by an appeals court, but the legal fight over the proposed project is far from over.
The state initially sought, and was granted, validation of the bonds to fund the construction and development of what has been billed as the largest monkey-breeding facility in the country.
Safer Human Medicine, the company behind the project, says it will house up to 30,000 monkeys and create more than 400 jobs in Bainbridge over the next decade, pumping hundreds of millions of dollars into the community. A company spokesperson said the project’s estimated economic impact over 10 years is $743 million and that construction is slated to begin in early 2025 with operations starting later in the year.
But the state and local government officials in Decatur County have walked back their initial support for the plan following a public outcry from some residents concerned about its impact on the community and surrounding environment.
The 1.75-million-square-foot facility would be built on about 200 acres of land in Bainbridge, near the Flint River.
In late January, weeks after the state asked a Decatur County judge to issue a bond validation order, state officials changed their minds and appealed the order. In the appeal, they said they had subsequently learned that aspects of the bond agreement were improperly “shrouded in secrecy” and certain requirements for the project had not been met.
The Georgia Court of Appeals dismissed the state’s case Oct. 31, saying the state can’t get what it wants in a trial court and then ask for the opposite result on appeal.
“Because the State petitioned the trial court for the bond validation, it cannot bring an appeal from the trial court’s order granting that petition,” the appeals court wrote in a three-page opinion.
The state has another chance to scuttle the bond agreement. It also asked the Decatur County judge in January to reconsider the bond validation or set aside the related order. The judge, Lawton C. Heard Jr., put that request on hold pending the state’s appeal.
South Georgia District Attorney Joseph Mulholland, who is representing the state in the case, said all options are being evaluated following the Court of Appeals decision, including a request for review by the Georgia Supreme Court. In the trial court, Heard also has yet to decide whether 11 Decatur County residents opposed to the bond agreement can intervene in the state’s case.
A separate federal lawsuit about the project is poised to move forward once the state’s appeal is over. Mulholland said he is thinking about trying to intervene in the federal case, filed in an Albany court in February by Safer Human Medicine against the Decatur County-Bainbridge Industrial Development Authority.
Safer Human Medicine argues the development authority lacked the power to revoke its approval of the bond agreement and that the project remains valid. The federal judge in that case stalled the project deadlines until the end of the case and halted case proceedings, pending resolution of the state’s appeal.
In a statement praising the Court of Appeals decision, Safer Human Medicine said it looked forward to “engaging with the local development authority on next steps.” It said the project’s economic development process involving local authorities was executed correctly.
“We want the citizens of Bainbridge and Decatur County to know that Safer Human Medicine is dedicated to offering good-paying jobs and positively contributing to the local economy,” the company said. “Our highest priority will be to ensure we operate a high-quality, safe and environmentally responsible facility.”
Four Bainbridge residents opposed to the monkey-breeding facility have sought to intervene in the federal case. They also lodged a separate lawsuit in the Decatur County Superior Court, alleging the local government entities involved in the bond agreement did not comply with the Georgia Open Meetings Act. That case, in which Human Safer Medicine has intervened, is also pending before Heard.
Pete Stephens, chairman of the Decatur County Board of Commissioners, told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution that members are opposed to the project, which is touted as necessary for advancing medical research.
“We do not want it to come,” Stephens said.
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