Northport Approves New Funding Agreement For Kentuck Following Spat Over Festival

NORTHPORT, AL — The Northport City Council on Tuesday unanimously approved a resolution that includes a new 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.

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Tempers were still hot on Monday, though, which comes after a bitter public battle between the two entities and their supporters, with Kentuck publicly teasing the possibility that its Board of Directors was considering finding a new location for the annual festival after talks broke down over a long-term funding agreement with the city.

"We can work around Kentuck, we can make Kentuck happen if they want to stay," City Attorney Ron Davis said Monday night during a presentation lasting more than half an hour. "But I can't hold a gun to their head and make them stay."

Davis voiced particular issues with how Kentuck, in recent weeks, has handled the public discussion over the issue, along with what he said was an unwillingness to be open in communications with the city and, instead, turning around to paint the city in an unfavorable light to tip the scales of the public narrative in the nonprofit's favor.

Specifically, Davis mentioned a press release issued by Kentuck that blasted the city, despite agreeing to allow Davis to gather information and get back to Kentuck leadership by Monday night's meeting.

For Davis, the press release was "full of hooey."

"In November, they can't wait 10 days? I promised I would get them an answer by tonight," Davis said. "If they had not been planning to leave, they can wait 10 days. If they tell you they can come up with a new spot in 10 days, they've been looking for a long time."

However, Davis was quick to tell the community not to blame the City of Tuscaloosa, going on to explain that it was confirmed to Northport officials that Kentuck approached the City of Tuscaloosa. Not the other way around. He also cited the recent spat between Kentuck Art Center and a local business — Kentu Nutrition.

"None of this makes any sense if you're trying to stay in Northport," Davis said. "In 2019, the City of Tuscaloosa purchased the Tuscaloosa News building [for the Saban Discovery Center]. [Kentuck Executive Director] Amy Echols from that day forward has been trying to move Kentuck to Tuscaloosa. If your spouse wants to divorce you, there's nothing you can do about it and if they are determined to go to Tuscaloosa, there's nothing we can do about it."

Kentuck Art Center's Board of Directors will now consider the new agreement for approval and implementation. Kentuck officials declined to comment publicly on the new funding agreement, but the board is set to host its next meeting on Tuesday.

ALSO READ: Northport Responds To Spat Over Kentuck With Timeline Of Negotiations

Perhaps the biggest revelation from the new agreement approved Monday evening shows that Northport will continue to make the traditional festival site available to Kentuck in 2024 at no cost, with all of the amenities and the overall footprint unchanged.

Patrons at the 2023 festival no doubt noticed the mountain of red dirt on the periphery of the festival location, as Northport moves forward on work for its Rive Run Park youth sports tournament development. As Patch previously reported, the new sportsplex is set to be the centerpiece for the city's Northport Shore development, which will encompass River Run Park, Kentuck Park, Warrior Baseball, and Northport's Levee Trail.

To that end, Northport told Kentuck the $1.6 million mound of dirt will remain in the same location and will be stabilized to prevent dust and erosion at least 90 days before the 2024 Festival.

"We cleaned it up and it wasn't a problem," City Attorney Ron Davis said of the dirt.

In terms of funding, Northport has committed to providing the same level or more of in-kind support for the festival, after the city says it contributed approximately $77,000 of staffing and equipment from Public Works, IT, police, fire rescue, engineering, administrative, finance, legal, and utilities.

Outside agency funding has also been a source of contention over the years and most recently came to a head when news broke that Kentuck was considering finding a new location for the festival.

The new funding agreement will see Kentuck's annual funding total $80,000 for 2023-2024 fiscal year, thanks to a one-time $5,000 special appropriation on top of the $75,000 the city has committed in each of the last two fiscal years.

"[Kentuck Board Chair] Bobby [Bragg] said we would like $100,000, but just $80,000 would be fine and we've done that," Davis said. "They've thrown all these people under the bus, through the mud ... and [the council is] going to give them more money. We want to save this marriage."

Indeed, annual funding has been something of a sore spot for officials during negotiations over a new contract, with some council members pointing out that the current amount allocated for Kentuck is substantially higher than the $37,500 in annual funding provided by Northport in 2018.

Any additional funding will surely be needed, though, after Kentuck earlier on Monday announced a $20,000 donation campaign under the name "Rise Above It." These funds will be used to expand programming and purchase needed technology, supplies and equipment.

Northport says it will also continue to provide the same level or more of free public parking adjacent to the Kentuck Arts Center throughout 2024, which will come at no cost to Kentuck.

Looking ahead, city officials hope to meet with representatives of Kentuck sometime in the fall of 2024 to discuss a new agreement for the 2025 Kentuck Festival of the Arts to return to the same location.

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