GoFundMe, Petition Launched In Fight Against Proposed $350M Resort In Northport

NORTHPORT, AL — A GoFundMe has been launched by grassroots organizers to cover legal expenses in their fight against a proposed $350 million lagoon-style resort proposed for an exclusively residential area in Northport.

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As Patch previously reported, the Northport City Council last Monday voted 4-1 to enter a public-private partnership agreement with Texas-based University Beach, LLC to move ahead with the controversial project, which is planned for just off of McFarland Boulevard in the area of Harper Road.

The proposed development, which evolved from an 11-acre, $20 million project to its current incarnation, received immediate backlash, with residents demanding more input than was given, along with expressing a long list of concerns ranging from traffic to environmental impacts and property values.

Organized by Northport resident Jack Roberts, a GoFundMe was launched on Sunday to help raise funds for a "legal fight to slow things down and allow for meaningful public input."

"Obviously, there's a lot of money behind this $350 million resort complex, " Roberts told Patch. "And, sadly, it's going to take a lot of money to explore legal options to halt it. So the concerned citizens in District 5 that I'm working with have set up this page to raise funds to do exactly that. This obviously wasn't the small, municipal, water park Northport voters were promised."

As Patch previously reported, the mixed-use facility would be constructed in two or more phases, with a water park that has a lazy river, a water slide tower with at least five slides, a kids zone with interactive water features, and an approximately 10-acre lagoon with a sand beach.

ALSO READ: COLUMN | The True And Terrible Saga Of The Northport 'Water Park'

The lagoon will be the central attraction and is expected to feature a beach club with at least 10,000 square feet of indoor restaurant and bar space and an outdoor concert stage and facility with at least 12,000 square feet of outdoor seating, residential lots, hotels, retail space, an event center, and parking and other infrastructure.

Roberts went on to echo the concerns of many who spoke out on the eve of the Council's vote on entering the partnership, saying that Northport voters weren't given ample to time to assess and judge the massive project on its own merits.

"So we feel we need competent legal expertise to help us understand exactly what the City Council is doing and look for avenues to stop this project before it does irreparable harm to our city," he told Patch. "And every dime this GoFundMe campaign raises will go directly to that goal."

As of the publication of this update, the online fundraising drive had raised $900 from 26 donors toward its goal of $100,000.

Click here to donate to the GoFundMe.

Also on the opposition front is a Change.org online petition launched by residents of the Flatwoods community, who oppose the proposed plans for rezoning and annexing 54 acres on Harper Road also referred to as the Shirley property.

"The proposal involves transforming this peaceful area into a commercial zone with a hotel and/or water park," the petition reads. "This is not only disruptive but also threatens to diminish our property values. Our quiet environment would be replaced by noise disturbances from increased traffic flow and visitors' activities. Furthermore, there is much concern that commercializing this land will be a threat to surrounding farms and cause pollution to Mill Creek."

Organizers for the petition insist the community is not against a water park but stand opposed to the proposed location.

"Any development should align with preserving our unique character and compliment our community," organizer Kellen McQueen wrote. "We propose using the land for subdivisions which will maintain harmony with existing residential areas while promoting growth. We call on the Northport City Council to reconsider the petition to rezone this land. Let us preserve Flatwoods' charm for future generations while ensuring sustainable growth that benefits all residents."

The petition was launched on Jan. 19 and has garnered 535 signatures toward its goal of 1,000.

Click here to sign the Change.org petition.

Council President Jeff Hogg, who has been the most vocal proponent for the project, has stood by the decision to move forward on the partnership agreement.

ALSO READ: Northport Councilwoman Explains Decision To Vote Against Water Park

Indeed, in a lengthy letter posted to social media and reportedly emailed to his supporters, Hogg once again took credit for the idea, tracing its origins back to early 2020.

"For weeks I have been telling people to not read, listen, or get sucked into the negative connotations floating around," Hogg said of the backlash. "However, at this point, it seems like others have taken false information and ran with it on social media as if it were true ... As like any other development, a majority of people nearby don't want it to happen. However, there are plenty of others that do want it to happen."

Here's a verbatim copy of Hogg's letter, wholly unedited other than for the sake of organization and clarity. All typos and grammatical errors were left for the sake of accuracy in the original letter.

From: Boss Hogg

Friends, I am going to speak from the heart and I hope you take the time to read the entire thing.

First of all, I love being your friend and a representative on the City Council. I try hard to be transparent and let you know what is going on (without breaking any laws) while also giving you some lighthearted humor along the way. For me, being on the council has never been about the role, it’s always been about the goal and I have been very open that I want Northport to thrive.

As all of you know the Water Park was an idea of mine from early 2020 and I have spent 4 years researching, traveling, studying, and analyzing so much data regarding such.

I continuously asked everyone to come to the Water Park presentation last night and I really appreciate the ones that showed up last night with open hearts to hear the presentation. For weeks I have been telling people to not read, listen, or get sucked into the negative connotations floating around. However, at this point, it seems like others have taken false information and ran with it on social media as if it were true.

Last night a presentation was made and the Council entered into a Public-Private Partnership with University Beach, LLC.

As like any other development, a majority of people nearby don’t want it to happen. However, there are plenty of others that do want it to happen.

In this job as City Council President you will make half happy and half upset. It sucks. I don’t know how else to say it without saying It Sucks! I never want to let anyone down. But I am not someone that will flop and pander to pressure and play political games. I have no problem making a decision if I feel it is the best overall for the City. I also have no problem admitting when I am wrong either. There have been a few times since I was first elected where I would probably make a different decision or research something a little more. In this instance, I feel like I know a lot about water parks, their operations, cost, maintenance, and longevity to sustain itself and we were fully prepared to build the nicest 20M dollar water park possible.

Since the first idea was floated in January 2020, a lot has changed within the economy, the cost of construction, staffing, etc. Newer municipal water parks are carrying a heftier price tag for admission to cover cost and the older ones are eventually raising prices in small increments (because people don’t like change) while subsidizing from their General Fund.

From the beginning I have never wanted to subsidize from our General Fund and our essential services. I wanted a Water Park that was self-sufficient. But the trend currently is showing that the admission cost was going to be higher than originally thought and no one wants to see anything fail at the expense of trying to keep cost down. Debt service is easy for the cost of construction. It’s the routine maintenance, staffing, and salaries that are driving the admission cost.

The closest thing to compare what I was originally trying to do was City of Cullman’s “Wild Water” Park. But do you know what the upcoming 2024 gate admission price will be?

$34.99 adult general admission and $29.99 kids admission

By now you should realize that I don’t make haste decisions. I study and review so much. But it’s easy to see that today’s dollar doesn’t stretch as far as it did 4 years ago. And its also easy to see that even municipal water parks are having to raise prices which puts them closer in the bracket of a private development. Unfortunately it’s the world we are living in.

It’s easy to say, we want a small water park that is affordable. However, sustainability in todays market is a must.

From what I can tell, Fayette has not raised their admission prices of $12 for 2024 but according to their recent profit/loss summary budget, the cost to operate is budgeted at $920,561.50 annually versus expected budgeted income of $545,000 which produces a NET LOSS of $375,000

Once again, I would not be doing you or our City right by adding additional cost strains to our budget just so everyone can have a cheaper admission price.

This is one part of the reason that when we were approached with this Public Private Partnership (PPP), I had to take off my own blinders and realize that my goal of a municipal owned Water Park was doable but at what expense to the City?

Do we build a great Water Park like Cullman and charge $12 like Fayette and lose money, or do we
charge $34.99 like Cullman to be self sufficient?

It has weighed heavily on my mind and heart.

As I have researched this PPP, I realized that our City could still have the same Water Park features along with an additional $330 Million Dollar investment around it.

I took out my personal feelings and was open minded to the idea because that’s what great leaders do. I want to be remembered as someone that gave his all to make our City better than we found it and have a lasting impression for our children and future generations to come.

I am reminded of a quote that says “Anyone can tell you the benefits of great leaders. Anyone can tell you what it looks like. They can tell you what leadership can do for you. They can tell you how to develop leadership, and there are a ton of books written on great leaders and leadership. But what you won't see, and what you will never see is about the cost of leadership, or the cost associated with leadership. If we truly want to be honest and upfront about leadership, you can't ignore the cost of leadership. Great leaders are willing to accept those costs, and I want to share, quickly, three of those things:

#1: You will have to make hard decisions that could negatively affect people that you care about.

#2: You will be disliked, despite your best attempts to do the best for the most.

#3: You will be misunderstood, and won't always have the opportunity to defend yourself.”

And just like those 3 items:

I had to make a hard decision. My vote hurt the feelings of people I care about.

I have been called many things on social media.

And this project is very misunderstood and there is no way to defend myself other than try and speak from the heart.

Here is a summary and notes of the PPP that was voted on last night:

• University Beach must develop a multi-use project with a capitalization of $350 Million Dollars upon completion of development
• Phase 1 construction plans to be submitted within 10 months from development agreement date
• Phase 1 must be complete within 30 months from the date that city issues building permits for phase 1 plans
• Developer to provide for a lien on the property to the City of Northport securing any cash invested by the City of Northport through the completion of Phase 1 Reversion provision in deed allowing the city to take back the 12 acres upon Developer default

Phase 1 Requirements:

• Water Park – 10-acre open water lagoon attraction, minimum 1,400 linear feet lazy river, kid's zone with interactive water features, accessible areas for disabled guests, slide tower with minimum of 5 slides, sand beach with cabanas and lounge seating, resort style landscape/hardscape, restrooms, changing facilities, and multiple food and beverage offerings
• Beach Club - 10,000 square foot indoor restaurant/bar space, 12,000 square foot outdoor seating facility, outdoor concert stage, rentable indoor/outdoor event space, sand beach with cabanas and lounge seating, and resort style landscape/hardscape Parking adequate to service phase 1
• Roads, drainage, and utilities sufficient for entire 77-acre site Minimum of 45 single family home sites - 64 planned

Phase 2 Requirements:

• Destination resort hotel with at least 130 rooms, public spaces, and a 3 meal restaurant with bar.
• Managed by qualified operator that city deems reasonable. Overall quality that is consistent with that of an upscale destination resort hotel.
• An event center with 10,000 square feet minimum of indoor conference and meeting space with additional outdoor event space fronting the water attraction.

City of Northport :

• Provide for the creation of a Cooperative Improvement District
• District to retain 50% of all sales tax generated for 30 years
• District to retain 50% of all hotel tax generated for 30 years
• Northport to contribute $20 Million Dollars towards a list of qualified public improvements
• (infrastructure)
• Northport to contribute +/-12 acres to the District for commercial development

Sometimes you have to see the forest through the trees and not be afraid of your own shadow.

That’s how we grow.

Some quick comparisons:

• Fayette (2.3M in 2013)
• 3 slides
• 300 foot lazy river
• Splash pad
• Snack Bar
• $12 admission

Cullman (29.1M in 2021)

• 7 slides
• Wave Pool
• Kids Zone
• Splash Pad
• Snack Bar
• $34.99 admission

Northport with PPP (20M by Northport & 330M from PPP)

• 5 slides (minimum)
• 10 acre lagoon (the lagoon itself is 10 times the entire size of Fayette’s Water Park)
• 1,400 foot lazy river (double the size of Universal Orlando and almost 5 times more than Fayette’s)
• Kids Zone
• Splash Pad
• Accessibility Areas and Water Wheelchairs
• Sand Beach
• Beach Club
• Restaurants
• Event Space
• 64 residential homes
• Dog Park
• Hotel w/ Rooftop Restaurant/Bar
• 2,000 seat amphitheater for live music
• Indoor Pickleball
• Beach Volleyball
• Kayaking
• Water Obstacle Course
• Surf Rider
• Nightly Light Shows
• $30 admission w/additional discounts for Northport residents

The following photos are the renderings of what this development will look like and also photos of what an actual inner-city lagoon really looks like.

So while yes, there are some upset, I hope you understand my reasonings for voting yes as we get so much more with no additional funding or risk to the City. I promise I am looking out for each of you.

I appreciate you all and seriously hope I have at least made you proud at one time or another.

Have a news tip or suggestion on how I can improve Tuscaloosa Patch? Maybe you're interested in having your business become one of the latest sponsors for Tuscaloosa Patch? Email all inquiries to me at ryan.phillips@patch.com