Northport City Council approves effort to keep Kentuck Festival of the Arts

Reconciliation seemed to be on the agenda Monday at the Northport City Council meeting, though not without vehemently expressed frustration over how the Kentuck Art Center had announced it was seeking changes.

Early in the evening, the hotly-debated proposal to sell the Northport Community Center and Heritage Park to Beeker Property Group for $1.1 million was rescinded, following a proposal by Councilor Christy Bobo.

More: Northport rescinds plan to sell community center site for $1.1 million

Later, the council moved to solidify its long-standing relationship with Kentuck. After 32 minutes of remarks from Ron Davis, city attorney, the council was presented and approved a much-shortened, revised version of an earlier 2024 contract offer, answering questions raised regarding the mid-October Kentuck Festival of the Arts, the nonprofit group's showpiece event, and largest fundraiser.

At a Nov. 16 Kentuck board of directors meeting, its 19 members voted to empower Kentuck staff, which works out of buildings at 503 Main Ave. in Northport, to begin seeking a new location for the festival, according to Amy Echols, Kentuck's executive director.

The debated earlier plan offered $68,000 per year, where it had been $80,000 in 2023, and would also have locked the group into a five-year contract, rather than its usual year-to-year. The agreement was contingent on a promise Kentuck would hold the festival in Northport, though without specified assurance that location would be the 7-acre Kentuck Park.

Kentuck also expressed concern about Northport's planned adjacent sports complex, fearing its still-in-process design might negatively affect the festival. There was also worry over a clause that either Northport or Kentuck could terminate the agreement with 30 days' notice.

More: Proposal package for the Northport City Council, regarding Kentuck

The festival requires year-around work, and about $137,000 in initial outlay, two of the reasons the center felt the need to get moving. Ordinarily, preparations for the next year begin shortly after each festival; the 2023 edition was held Oct. 14-15. After growing from roots in a 1971 downtown Northport heritage fair, the 52-year-old arts, music, kids' activities, craft demonstrations and more festival, which draws 20,000 visitors annually, blossomed in that park.

The amended offer presented Monday, and approved by the council, sought to make concessions to Kentuck's disagreements, bumping the funding back up to $80,000, offering guaranteed placement in Kentuck Park, and an agreement to stabilize the towering wall of dirt ― a strikingly visible change south of the park, where artist and VIP parking had been in earlier festivals — to prevent dust and erosion, at least 90 days before the 2024 festival.

Tera Tubbs, Northport city engineer, arranged to stockpile the 140,000 cubic yards of dirt from the city of Tuscaloosa and TCRIC (Tuscaloosa County Road Improvement Commission)'s ongoing work to extend McWright's Ferry Road, at a reduced cost. That mound represents a saving of from $1.6 to $2 million for Northport, Davis said, which will use it for the sports complex, planned to begin construction in spring 2024, with a possible 2025 opening.

"Dirt's expensive," Davis said, noting the mound will go higher, but will be stabilized, covered in mesh, so it grows no wider.

"Northport can't make Kentuck stay in Northport, but don't blame us (the City Council and staff) if you want to leave," Davis said, adding that the art center was born, raised and nurtured in Northport. It was named after the original Canetuck/Kentuck designation for the port city north of Tuscaloosa. In earliest days, river traffic was why the Druid City grew where it did, at the highest navigable point on the Black Warrior.

Davis also noted he'd been friends with many of Kentuck's major figures, including founder and first executive director Georgine Clarke. He quoted from the 2012 Tuscaloosa News obituary story for Clarke, one he said "warmed my heart," naming her as Kentuck's magician, mother and visionary. Davis included a copy of the story in the proposal package presented before the council, and said it would be available to read, along with the rest of the package, on the city's website Tuesday.

Clarke's maternal and visionary influence turned the corner of Fifth Street and Main Avenue, a space then covered in weeds, oil, auto parts and rundown sheds, into the year-round arts center. In addition to the festival, Kentuck hosts display spaces, working artists' studios, outreach programs, a gift shop, workshops and regular events such as the first Thursday Art Nights, and more.

Kentuck owns the building at 503 Main Ave., and its adjacent former post office, the Georgine Clarke Building. Kentuck rents its courtyard from the city of Northport, month to month.

Davis underlined remarks from that story, including quotes by Echols about a tussle with Clarke, one in which the founder prevailed. He quoted Echols from the story: "After the catfight was over, we realized that we were fighting for the same thing...." In the story, Echols continued " ... Kentuck's survival."

"I can tell you one thing, Amy Echols would not be trying to move Kentuck to Tuscaloosa if Georgine Clarke were alive today," Davis said.

"Georgine Clarke is rolling around in her grave. She was all about Northport."

Echols is also a friend, as are Kentuck board members, Davis added, and should be complimented for their hard work, including the recent successful festival. Northport's master plan, presented first in November, and including the sports complex, a 150-acre outdoor adventure and mountain biking park off Rose Boulevard, and a water park on the city's McFarland Boulevard acreage, would actually help Kentuck Park conditions, Davis said, including improving their parking and bathrooms.

Davis' proposal package also included emails from Echols, showing the Nov. 30 news release from Kentuck, and a Dec. 1 email sent to various Kentuck stakeholders, talking about some arts groups and supporters who've contacted the center about possibly housing the festival, including the cities of Trussville, Hoover and Bay Minette; Shelby County Arts Council; City Walk Birmingham, owned by ALDOT, managed by the BJCC; and Sloss Furnace Properties, developers of Birmingham's Pepper Place.

Echols reiterated in the email Kentuck's desire to stay in Tuscaloosa County, but shared the options anyway. It read in part: "Just know that Tuscaloosa is not the only place we would be welcomed to land!"

"That tells me they already know that they can land in Tuscaloosa," Davis said. "If your spouse wants to divorce you, there's nothing you can do about it; I'm sorry. I'm sorry. If they're determined to go to Tuscaloosa, there's nothing we can do."

He added Northport had indeed offered reduced funding initially, at least in part because of a legal action Kentuck took to protect its trademarked name.

"We weren't happy they spent money we gave them to sue a Northport business," Davis said, referring to the center's suit against Kentuck Nutrition, which changed its name days later to KenTu Nutrition. Kentuck dropped the legal action.

But, the attorney said, he realized the souring had gotten out of hand, and thus worked up the new contract proposal.

"Let's kiss and make up. Let's make this thing work .... We're ready to go to the marriage counselor. We're ready to go meet the preacher. We're ready to have date night," Davis said.

"We want this to work. We're going to do everything we can to keep the Kentuck Festival here."

Council President Jeff Hogg read the one-page resolution aloud, before the vote.

"All the issues have been taken care of line by line," Hogg said, adding "... at no time were we ever trying to kick Kentuck out."

The council voted unanimously to adopt the proposed contract change.

"Mr. Davis, that is a 5-0 vote," Hogg said. "I think that speaks volumes of where Northport is, in regards to Kentuck."

Reach Mark Hughes Cobb at mark.cobb@tuscaloosanews.com.

This article originally appeared on The Tuscaloosa News: Northport revises contract offer in bid to keep Kentuck arts festival