Northport Mayor-Elect, Council Spar Over Park Agenda Item

NORTHPORT, AL. — Northport Mayor-Elect Bobby Herndon urged the Northport City Council to delay a vote on several agenda items Friday to allow for additional consideration by the incoming council members and administration after they are sworn in next week.

None of the ordinances of a permanent nature listed on Friday's special called meeting agenda were set for a vote and were all initially presented for their first readings. However, talk from Council President and District 2 Councilman Jay Logan turned to possibly suspending council rules to allow for votes after the first readings of each item had been completed.

Click here to subscribe to our daily email newsletters and breaking news alerts delivered to your inbox and mobile devices for free. You can also support local journalism by donating as little as $5 a month to become a supporting member or by downloading our free Patch mobile app.

The primary point of debate centered on the Council entering into negotiations to finalize land or lease purchases for the proposed O.S. Harvey Park on 10th Street in District 2 — a project with a $525,000 allocation in the last fiscal year budget, with plans calling for a splash pad, basketball courts, a parking pavilion and new playground equipment.

Herndon focused specifically on the O.S. Harvey Park item, saying that incoming District 2 Councilman Woodrow Washington had expressed his desire for more input and discussion on the matter. Washington defeated the outgoing council president in August during the city's municipal elections.

" We have a new Council and administration coming in Monday and they are going to be having to fulfill any obligations you guys reach today," Herndon said. "This new Council and administration is not inept, it's not lazy, and if these are good projects they will take them and go with them. But I don’t see the rush to get these items done today."

The mayor-elect then conceded that a first reading of the various items wouldn't do any harm, so long as action was not taken before the new council members could further understand the project and how they will approach it as a unified body.

"To go ahead and vote for some of these things would just be disrespecting the new Council coming in," Herndon said of the measure and other agenda items initially marked for first readings Friday.

Council President Logan and District 5 Councilman Jeff Hogg both asked the mayor-elect about why he chose the Friday before being sworn in to bring up his concerns, with both pointing out that discussions for O.S. Harvey Park have been in the works for the last several months.

"What’s the reason you want to discuss it?" Logan asked. "To stop it?

Logan, who multiple times took responsibility for the project's timetable, also said the primary reason for the delay in getting the item on the agenda was due to negotiations with property owners and other administrative hang-ups.

Washington was called up and addressed the Council, stressing that his only reasoning for wanting to delay the vote was simply to allow for more input on a large-scale project from citizens in his district. His opposition wasn't with the proposed park itself, he said.

"For me, it's mainly just because when I campaigned, people wanted to have a voice in that park and one of the things I told them is I want to give them the opportunity to have a voice," Washington told Patch following Friday's meeting. "If we have a meeting and they show up, it's good. If they don’t, it is what it is. But we should at least know the other options and if that’s the best fit, then the park will be that."

Former District 1 Councilman Tony Roberts was also in attendance at Friday's meeting to speak in favor of moving forward on talks for O.S. Harvey Park and cautioned council members against getting wrapped up in politics as they make their last actions together as a governing body.

"In Northport, we can’t go beyond 30 days without people meeting at Buddy's talking at the damn table at breakfast over there about what’s wrong," Roberts said in an impassioned plea to the Council. "This money has been allocated for more than a year and half ... no one has a problem with it."

Roberts then asked his former colleagues to "stop being Northport," and take action on the negotiations for the park. He also underscored the notion that the only action taken Friday would be a first reading of the ordinance, which would not be put before a Council vote, and allow for the next City Council to still have control over the project before it ever truly gets off the ground.

"To delay this, as far as I’m concerned, is nothing more than politics, which people in Northport hate," Roberts said. "We talk about change, but the only thing that doesn’t change is the people that want to run this city. It’s the same old politics."

Later in the meeting and following the initial debate, Logan once again brought up the O.S. Harvey Park measure, which he said would set the wheels in motion for providing a design and cost of the project to the incoming City Council.

Moving for his colleagues to take action, Logan then said, if passed, the next steps in the park project would then be up to the current council members. After some discussion, Hogg seconded the motion to suspend the rules, but the measure failed to garner unanimous Council support when District 3's John Hinton voted against suspending the rules.

Herndon, along with the City Council, will be sworn in at 5:30 p.m. Monday at Northport City Hall.

Follow Patch here for updates or on Facebook and Twitter.