Kentuck Board Declines Northport's Invitation Ahead Of Tuscaloosa Council Meeting

NORTHPORT, AL — Kentuck Art Center officials have declined an invitation to meet with representatives from the Northport City Council ahead of a highly anticipated meeting of the Tuscaloosa City Council on Tuesday, where it is expected to consider a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the Northport-based nonprofit.

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As Patch previously reported, the details of what will be considered Tuesday have not been revealed, but the timing is worth noting, as this latest dustup comes amid a public spat between Kentuck and Northport regarding not only funding for the outside agency but also looming uncertainty for the longtime site of the Kentuck Festival of the Arts.

In a final Hail Mary attempt to get Kentuck officials back to the negotiating table before any action is taken by the Tuscaloosa City Council, Northport Council President Jeff Hogg on Monday sent a letter to Kentuck asking for a meeting.

"While I am not surprised [at Kentuck's Tuscaloosa City Council agenda item]," Hogg said in his letter Monday morning, "as this gesture has been threatened for years against the City of Northport, I do want to once again make it known that the City of Northport has never wavered in our intention of having a long-standing partnership of the festival at Kentuck Park ... I am requesting a meeting between the City of Northport and Kentuck prior to the Tuscaloosa Council meeting Tuesday evening in an effort for the festival to stay in Northport at Kentuck Park in the same area as it has for 52 years."

Tuscaloosa attorney Marland Hayes said on behalf of Kentuck in an email response to the City of Northport Monday evening that Kentuck appreciates the invitation to meet to strengthen its partnership with the City of Northport. However, he cited scheduling as the main factor for declining the invitation.

"The staff of Kentuck and the 19 volunteer members of its board of directors eagerly anticipate Kentuck continuing its role as a pillar of the Northport community," Hayes said. "Tomorrow is not going to work from a scheduling standpoint, but Kentuck looks forward to getting together with Council President Hogg soon to discuss 2024 and beyond. The staff of Kentuck will be in touch to arrange a meeting date."

Following news that Kentuck would not be meeting with Northport officials before Tuesday's meeting in Tuscaloosa, Hogg viewed the response from the nonprofit as nothing but disingenuous.

"If this was as important to Kentuck as it is to Northport citizens, they would make the time of at least a few representatives to meet," Hogg told Patch. "In my personal opinion, the reply was just lip service without saying anything at all. If 52 years of a partnership meant anything, you would think all parties would drop what they are doing to work together. But I guess Kentuck’s schedule is too full including tomorrow night at 6 p.m."

The fight over the future of the Kentuck Festival of the Arts in Northport has been building for some time, according to city officials, who have said Kentuck's intentions to move to the other side of the river date back to 2019 and the City of Tuscaloosa's purchase of the Tuscaloosa News building.

As Patch has reported at length, the former newspaper building is set to become the site of the Saban Discovery Center and Northport city leaders have speculated Kentuck could be the next local group to throw its support and resources behind the effort.

Still, spats over Kentuck have related to everything from its annual funding to the most recent dispute over the location of the Kentuck Festival of the Arts.

As Northport moves forward on a nearby youth sports tournament complex adjacent to the longtime site of the festival, talks broke down in recent months when Northport offered a five-year funding agreement with Kentuck — a length viewed by the Kentuck Board of Directors as simply untenable.

In response to the public back-and-forth over the aforementioned issues, the Northport City Council on Dec. 11 unanimously approved a resolution that included a one-year funding agreement with Kentuck Art Center that will see slightly increased funding for the nonprofit for the current fiscal year, as well as the Kentuck Festival of the Arts being secured for its longtime location for 2024.

The agreement was sent to Kentuck's Board of Directors, which met last week purportedly to consider the agreement but has since declined to release any public comment.

Amid the silence following the board meeting, Northport City Attorney Ron Davis on Friday notified local media of the Memorandum of Understanding set to be considered Tuesday by the Tuscaloosa City Council.

Northport officials say they remain in the dark as to what the MOU will entail.

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