Future for Artists on the Bluff remains uncertain as Hoover council votes against sublease

The fate of the Artists on the Bluff facility in Bluff Park remains uncertain after the Hoover City Council turned down a proposed month-to-month sublease to the artist collective Monday night.

The council first voted 4-3 to authorize the mayor to lease the building, sometimes referred to as the old Bluff Park Elementary School, from the Hoover school board with the understanding that the city would be responsible for paying utilities for the property at 571 Park Ave in lieu of paying rent.

A second companion agreement would have subleased the building to the Artists on the Bluff group, a nonprofit that has been operating out of the building since 2011. The artist group would, in turn, pay the cost of utilities for the building instead of the city.

But the City Council voted 4-3 against the sublease to Artists on the Bluff.

Hoover schools Superintendent Kathy Murphy said Tuesday night she’s not quite sure what all the council votes mean yet, but she has informed the Artists on the Bluff group that it may have to cease operations at the old Bluff Park school if a solution can’t be worked out with the city.

An unwritten agreement between previous city and school system leaders and the artist collective called for the school board, which owns the building, to pay utility costs for it and the city to maintain it.

But Murphy said the school system can no longer afford to pay utility costs for that building, especially when the Artists on the Bluff group is charging artists rent to use it.

Murphy, city officials and the nonprofit artist group have been trying to work out a formal agreement that allows the artist group to stay there without the school system incurring costs.

But recent inspections of the building have complicated matters. City Administrator Allan Rice said the building is in need of numerous expensive repairs, including a new roof and renovation or replacement of the heating and air conditioning systems. Hoover fire Chief Clay Bentley said the building also needs adjustments to meet the city’s fire code.

In all, the repairs and maintenance on the building would cost between $1 million and $4 million, depending on how the building is used, Rice said.

Murphy said the school system does not have money it its capital budget for that facility. “We see much more pressing needs based on where our children are,” she said.

And some Hoover council members have said they are reluctant to lease a building that needs that much work done on it or to become the party responsible for making repairs.

Rice said the month-to-month lease agreements presented to the council Monday night were really designed as a temporary measure to keep the facility going while a long-term solution for the building is worked out.

But a majority of council members were not satisfied with what was presented to them. Councilmen John Lyda, Mike Shaw and John Greene voted against both leasing the facility from the school board and subleasing it to Artists on the Bluff, and Councilman Curt Posey joined them in voting against the sublease to the artist group.

Lyda said he doesn’t think the city needs to be in the landlord business or leasing a building that’s 100 or so years old. Also, the council hasn’t received a good cost estimate of what it will take to bring the building up to par, he said.

If the city wants to support the Artists on the Bluff group, perhaps a better way to do so would be to enter into a community service agreement whereby the city pays the group money to provide a service, much like the council does with other groups such as the Hoover Arts Alliance, Lyda said.

Posey said he favors the idea of helping out the school board by taking on the utility costs for the building and passing them on to Artists on the Bluff, but he doesn’t believe all parties are yet on the same page. The artist group has not been directly involved with the negotiations, and city officials don’t know yet whether the artist group really has enough revenue coming in to take care of the utility bills, Posey said.

Ron Jones, chairman of the artist group, said the group charges artists who rent space there $450 a month if they teach students there and $400 a month if they only use the facility as a working studio but don’t teach others. There are about 14 spaces to rent out, Jones said.

That would mean income ranging from $5,600 a month to $6,300 a month, depending on how many tenants teach. Utility costs at the facility ranged from about $5,800 a month before the Capers on Park Avenue restaurant started operating there to about $7,500 after the restaurant came, according to the school system’s chief financial officer, Tina Hancock. The restaurant closed this summer and began looking for another site to operate.

Posey said the Artists on the Bluff group needs to be involved in discussions before the council is asked to approve a sublease.

Also, there has been no mention about the other groups that use the building, such as the Hoover Historical Society and Learning to be the Light, a nonprofit that refurbishes computers and gives them to Hoover students from low-income families, Posey said. The city needs to be looking at subleases for all of them, he said.

Rice said Monday night’s vote by the council doesn’t force the mayor to lease the building from the school board; it only authorized him to execute the agreements. Since the companion agreement was not approved, it might be in the city’s best interest not to proceed with the lease from the school board, Rice said. City officials plan to consult with their attorney before proceeding, he said.

Posey said he hopes city officials will continue talks with the artist group and try to come back to the council with another sublease to consider in 30 days.

Murphy said she’s not sure what the next step is.

“I’ve done all I can do. I’ve said all I can say,” Murphy said. “I am very much supportive of the arts. This board is very much supportive of the arts. We have worked diligently to find a solution. On this day, we don’t have it.”

This article was updated at 8:45 p.m. on Tuesday, Sept. 12 with comments from Hoover schools Superintendent Kathy Murphy.