BREAKING: Jeff Hogg Steps Down from Northport City Council

Northport City Council President Jeff Hogg has resigned from office after eight years on the council and four as its president, he announced in a letter distributed Thursday afternoon.

"When I ran for office, it was never about the role, but always about the goal. My mission was to leave the City of Northport better than I found it, and I feel that I have done that," Hogg wrote. "But as in all things in life, each elected official at some point will have his or her curtain-call. Unfortunately, today is mine as I will be stepping down from the position of Council President and representative of District 5 on the Northport City Council."

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Hogg was a popular council member and president for years as a leader of its retail committee and a vocal supporter of vast commercial and residential growth in Northport, and often got credit for attracting new businesses to the city.

He also spearheaded plans to develop three separate recreational concepts in Northport simultaneously - a water park, a riverside sports complex and an "outdoor adventure" park.

That popularity suffered after a leaked email showed the depths of Hogg's allegiances to local property developers over his constituents and truly began to wane last year when the city was almost constantly embroiled in controversy.

There was the proposed sale of the Northport Community Center for commercial development, which was rushed through a vote after a meeting during which Hogg ordered city police to silence opponents of the sale. For all that controversy, the city backed out of the deal following months of "due diligence" and in a reversal of course, will invest in improving the community center.

There was the city's extremely messy and public spat with leadership at the Kentuck Arts Center, which ultimately led to the first-ever relocation of the Kentuck Festival of the Arts, which will now be held in Tuscaloosa's Snow Hinton Park.

And there was last month's headline-grabbing expansion of the Northport "water park" for which Hogg had long advocated, which has ballooned overnight into a $350 million "lagoon resort" meant to include more than 60 $800,000 townhomes, apartments and two different hotel properties.

Hogg and his fellow council members spent two hours ignoring opponents of that plan before suspending normal rules to approve partnering with Texas developers on the lagoon project on the same night the public learned of its new scope.

In the letter, Hogg said he and his family have been harassed and threatened because of his actions on the council, which he said also negatively impacted his business relationships and livelihood as his employer, the Fitts Agency, reportedly received calls about Hogg in his role as President.

"While the timing of this would never be right, I know the City will continue to thrive and reach its fullest potential," Hogg wrote. "I want to personally thank all of my supporters as you saw my vision and believed in me and my ambitions for the city of Northport. You have seen my dedication to you, my dedication to the City, my timely responses, my willingness to help, and have embraced my 'outside of the box thinking.'"

Hogg's letter to City Administrator Glenda Webb also included a three-page attachment, which was a bullet list of accomplishments Hogg said he was proud of during his eight years in office.

That list included massive population growth, adding thousands of new residences to the city, recruiting retailers including Harbor Freight, ALDI, Planet Fitness and many more, passing the Northport First tax sales plan and setting rules for using the revenue it generates and many more.

Hogg's resignation is also another chapter in a long history of dysfunction in Northport city government and comes after the 2022 resignation of former mayor Bobby Herndon.

The remaining council members will now have 60 days to appoint a new representative to represent District 5, although the last time they were tasked with appointing a new council person, they failed to agree and the matter was ultimately resolved by Governor Kay Ivey, who tapped Karl Wiggins for the role.

Councilwoman Christie Bobo, who serves as President Pro Tempore, will fill the vacant council president for the foreseeable future.

This is a breaking, developing story and will be updated, stay connected to the Tuscaloosa Thread for more as it becomes available.