Organizers Refunding Donations To Northport Community Center GoFundMe

NORTHPORT, AL — Activists pushing to save the Northport Community Center say donations gathered through an online fundraising campaign for a potential legal battle over the issue will soon be refunded.

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As Patch previously reported, the Northport City Council on Monday voted to end its 180-day due diligence process with Beeker Property Group for the site, along with rescinding its Request for Proposal (RFP) in a pivot that will now see the city look into renovations to preserve the aged building.

"The community center building needs repairs," District 1 Councilwoman Christy Bobo told Patch on Monday. "The resolution we voted on will allow staff to explore funding sources for those repairs so that the city can once again use the Community Center building. "

This comes after months of protests and grassroots efforts on the part of a small but vocal group of community activists wanting to preserve the Community Center and its adjacent park.

During this time, Tuscaloosa-based attorney Cam Parsons of the Parsons Firm assisted in the effort by exploring legal options related to the sale of the municipal park to a private developer.

Indeed, some city leaders had previously hoped to see the property marketed and transformed into a new retail development, similar to a failed push in 2015 to see a Krispy Kreme doughnut shop secured for the property.

One of the most visible organizers — author and mother Sandy Barnidge — provided Patch with a statement Wednesday on behalf of the group, saying that following the decision by the council earlier in the week to rescind the RFP, organizers will now cease collecting donations for the legal fund on GoFundMe, which was launched in early August.

The GoFundMe set out with an ambitious goal of raising $100,000 for the effort, as Patch previously reported, and went on to raise a little over $12,000 before the donations were disabled.

"We are sincerely grateful for the community’s donations toward a legal fund in support of a potential lawsuit on behalf of the park," Barnidge said. "We will be refunding all donations as soon as possible to those donors whose names we know."

She went on to say that those who donated to the online fundraising campaign will receive a refund via GoFundMe in the coming days, while those who donated with checks will be contacted separately.

"We will also make every effort to return cash donations," she said. "It will take us some time to complete these refunds, and we appreciate your patience."

Click here for additional information about the "Save The Northport Park" GoFundMe campaign.

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