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The disputes around the Safer Human Medicine primate facility continue. District Attorney Joe Mulholland recently filed a motion to intervene in the ongoing lawsuit between Decatur County citizens and local government bodies. This is after having previously filed a separate motion to intervene in another lawsuit between the Bainbridge-Decatur County Industrial Development Authority and Safer Human Medicine on December 31 of last year. In the new motion, Mulholland argues that “the State seeks to intervene to argue and conclusively demonstrate that the Open Meetings Act is a requirement of the Bond Validation Order.”

The motion also argues that the Bond Validation Order, which the Court of Appeals had previously ruled in favor of SHM on, “only validates the documents as they exist at the time the order is issued.”

“Pursuant to Section 12.2 of the Project Agreement, as purportedly validated, the expired on its own terms on February 29, 2024,” the motion continues. “No action by the federal district court extended the deadlines in the Project Agreement because it requires consent of Defendants. And no action of the federal district court extended the deadline to issue the bonds because that is a power reserved for this Court under the Revenue Bond Law.”

Other arguments made by Mulholland include that the Industrial Development Authority “voted to withdraw its participation from the financing of SHM’s facility before the bonds were issued”; Mulholland also disputed the argument by SHM that the citizen plaintiffs have made an “impermissible attack” on the project’s bond validation order.

While the project remains in a state of legal limbo, local residents have not given up their opposition, holding a town hall meeting last Thursday, dubbed the “Monkeygate Expo”. Citizens packed into the Joe Sweet Community Center to discuss the project and ask the gathered panel questions.

“I’m encouraged by the large turnout that a growing number of citizens in the community are activated and asking very relevant questions concerning not only SHM, but the local government… all of whom were invited to attend,” resident Thom DaSilva told the Post-Searchlight. “Besides the two county commissioners that were in attendance and apologized for the part they played, no other local officials were there. That speaks volumes to the people and left them to ask multiple times, ‘Where are they and why are they not using their power to help constituents fight this atrocity?’”

A spokesperson for Safer Human Medicine released this statement in response to the recent developments: “Safer Human Medicine is excited to collaborate with the Development Authority to advance this project. Over the next ten years, our facility will create 400 new jobs and generate an impressive $743 million for the community. We will ensure this project benefits the local community, upholds the highest environmental and animal welfare standards, and supports vital medical research.”

The statement continued, saying, “Support for this project is growing, with many residents from Decatur County already expressing strong interest in job opportunities. We look forward to continuing our engagement with those job applicants and encourage people to check out our website (SaferHM.com) to learn more about employment opportunities with Safer Human Medicine. We will be updating the website as our project develops.”