By Terry Witt – Spotlight Senior Reporter
Levy County Commissioners have established a list of legislative priorities they plan to discuss with State Rep. Chuck Clemons and State Sen. Keith Perry at the Jan. 20 legislative delegation hearing in Bronson but the monkey lab property isn’t specifically mentioned.
The lawmakers will meet with residents and local elected officials beginning at 11 a.m. in the Levy County Commission meeting room at the Levy County Government Center on School Street behind the courthouse.
The priority list does mention that the board is interested in preventing the purchase of land in Florida by nations or organizations hostile to the United States government and possible discussion of the monkey lab might fall under that general category.
JOINN Laboratories, a China-based company from California with ties to the Chinese Communist Party, purchased 1,400 acres in Gulf Hammock last year for $5.5 million but county commission staff has indicated the company hasn’t applied for a permit to do any construction on the property.
County Coordinator Wilbur Dean last week said he has received information from someone he considers trustworthy that the monkey lab property is on the market for sale but he declined to identify his source. Spotlight hasn’t found any indications online that the land is for sale.
County Commission Chairman Matt Brooks said Gov. Ron DeSantis is advocating legislation to prevent purchases of land by foreign governments hostile to U.S. interests or organizations with ties to those hostile nations.
“That’s already a priority. We’ve been talking to all our representatives and they are aware of that,” Brooks said Wednesday. “If they sell the land (in Gulf Hammock) it would be a moot point.”
Brooks said he was planning to speak to the office of U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio this week and raise concerns about foreign nations or organizations hostile to U.S. interests buying or owning land in Florida.
Spotlight emailed Clemons’ office Thursday to ask if there was legislation being developed for the March session of the legislature dealing with situations like the JOINN Laboratories monkey lab property in Levy County, but a response hasn’t been received. A spokesman for Perry’s office said they are unaware of any legislation being developed at this point to prohibit hostile foreign nations or companies connected to those nations from buying land in Florida.
DeSantis announced on Jan. 10 he would be asking state lawmakers to ban China from making any farmland purchases in Florida, but his announcement gave no indication of whether the legislation would prevent land already owned by JOINN Laboratories’ in Gulf Hammock from being developed as a monkey quarantine facility as originally planned.
State politicians often make statements promising to take action on a particular issue, but with the March session of the Florida Legislature two months away, no one appears to have any confirmable information about what legislation, if any, will specifically address the Gulf Hammock purchase by JOINN Laboratories, or whether the land is actually being sold on the market as the Levy County Coordinator Wilbur Dean indicated.
Public Information Regarding Sale of Land for Monkey Lab
As a matter of public information for our Spotlight readers, L &T Cattle & Timber, LLC. a Crystal River, Florida company, sold the 1,400-acre monkey lab property in Gulf Hammock to JOINN Laboratories, CA Inc, a California company. The two managers of L&T Cattle and Timber, Steven D. Lamb and Justin Lamb, sold the property for $5.5 million. Dusty Calderon of Saunders Ralston Danzler Real Estate in Lakeland brokered the deal. The special warranty deed was recorded on Aug. 4, 2022, in Levy County Circuit Court.
The phone number for the real estate company is 407-459-7564; Email: info@svnsaunders.com
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Enterprise reporting by Terry Witt January 12, 2023: Posted January 12, 2023
