The Cullman County Commission is pushing back against a recently introduced bill, co-sponsored by Alabama Senate Pro Tem Garlan Gudger (R-Cullman), which would allow a proposed resort — to be located on Smith Lake — to be annexed by a wet municipality, regardless of its location.

Current Alabama law requires either an adjacent boundary with a municipality or a local legislative act to annex property. SB322 — sponsored by Sen. Jabo Waggoner (R-Jefferson County) and co-sponsored by Gudger — would remove those requirements and allow a wet municipality to annex a community development district with a majority vote of both the city council and the district’s governing board.

Cullman County Commissioner Corey Freeman spoke out against SB322 in a social media post Monday, April 14. In the post, Freeman said the County Commission has had next to no involvement in discussions with Smith Lake Resort developer Jeff Tolbert other than a request for the commission to enter into a cooperative district agreement that would allow Tolbert to receive a $100 million bond for the project. Freeman also said he had been assured by Gudger that the city of Cullman had no plans to involve themselves in the project or to annex the resort once it is completed.

“Gudger has not been truthful about this at all and neither has the City. They are planning to annex Cold Springs/Lions Club area into cullman city taking away funding from OUR SCHOOL SYSTEM and our county all while leaving our citizens tax dollars to pay for county road maintenance ect. This is not right and it’s down right wrong,” Freeman said in his post.

Freeman was joined by the remaining members of the Cullman County Commission in passing a resolution formally opposing SB322 during its meeting Tuesday, April 15.

Prior to Tuesday’s meeting, Freeman told The Times that he believed at least some degree of planning had already been completed prior to the commission being invited to a meeting with Tolbert in October 2024.

“That’s when we learned what this was. We hadn’t heard about it, hadn’t been approached about it or anything. However, Jeff Tolbert had already been working with the city of Cullman and Garlan to get everything lined up,” Freeman said. “I can’t tell you 100% for certain that the city was trying to backdoor some deal or whatever, but that was the perception we had.”

During a phone call with The Times on Wednesday, April 17, Tolbert said that he had requested to meet with the commission in October 2024 after being approached by a bonding company he said presented him an option to reduce the interest rate for the development by roughly 50% if the property were to be declared a development district. He said Gudger had requested that members of the Cullman City Council and Cullman Economic Development Agency Director Dale Greer also be allowed to attend the meeting because the city had been receiving enquiries about development districts as well, and believed the information would be useful.

Tolbert said that he only approached Greer and Cullman City Mayor Woody Jacobs in March to discuss the potential options about annexation after commissioners Garry Marchman, Kelly Duke and Freeman directly expressed their intention to vote against declaring the property as a development district.

In a statement sent to The Times, Jacobs said that Tolbert had asked what the annexation process with the city of Cullman would entail, but that no formal request had been presented to the council. Jacobs added that before any such request were to be considered, the city would first thoroughly research the economic impact the project would have on Cullman County as a whole, including infrastructure needs and public safety.

Editor’s note: The previous paragraph has been updated to remove the word “privately” to more accurately describe Tolbert’s inquiries regarding the annexation process.

“The first step of any annexation is a request to the planning commission. That is when all the due diligent happens. The council has not, nor will not, consider any annexation until the planning commission reviews it and our research is complete,” Jacobs said in the statement. “I want to be clear that when we make important, long-term decisions, we do so with the sole factor being how it will impact all the citizens of Cullman County.

“That’s why it is important, moving forward, to understand and respect the fact that everyone/entity potentially impacted by this bill has an opinion and I know people want to voice those opinions, but we need to do so with order to maintain constructive dialogue over such a large issue.  No matter what happens outside of what the City Council, County Commission, State and I can control, one thing is certain- whether it’s today, ten, twenty or thirty years from now we will all need to be working together for all the citizens and their future.”

Tolbert also said he had been the one to draft the initial version of SB322 and presented it to Waggoner and Gudger because current law would prevent the city from annexing the property. He said he did so of his own accord and without any input or involvement from city of Cullman officials.

Freeman said that his biggest concern with the legislation was that if the resort were to be annexed, the county would lose newly generated revenue, while still being required to shoulder the added strains — infrastructure, emergency services, etc. — it would place on the surrounding area.

“The biggest thing is that the county would lose all revenue from sanitation fees, property taxes, everything that’s out there you would lose other than state sales tax. But, the county would have to maintain all of those roads and infrastructure,” Freeman said.

Freeman said that he had attempted to communicate these concerns to Gudger, but had not received a response in several months.

After Tuesday’s commission meeting, Cold Springs’ lifetime resident Alicia Shuford told The Times that she had never been in favor of the resort’s development, but that she believed if it is to be built, then the additional revenue should benefit surrounding community and the Cullman County School System.

Tolbert said that he understood these concerns and had attempted to find solutions with the commissioners to no avail.

Tolbert said that he had offered to have the resort provide funding to repave nearly six miles of roadway leading to the resort or have the Cullman County Road Department subcontract their services to the resort to do so. He also said that he had spoken to Cullman County Sheriff Matt Gentry about the amount of additional funding it would take to have a 24/7 law enforcement presence at the resort and had included the estimated $700,000 into the resort’s budgets.

During the commission meeting, Cold Springs resident Chris Cates questioned the timing of the bill’s filing so late in the legislative session — and within a window in which the majority of Cullman County lacks representation in the Alabama House to oppose the bill.

“It seems like this was orchestrated, like it was introduced at the perfect time,” Cates said.

“If it looks like it’s not on the up and up, that’s because it ain’t,” commissioner Garry Marchman replied.

In February, former District 11 Rep. Randall Shedd announced his resignation from the House to accept an offer to serve as Gudger’s director of constituent affairs. Former District 12 Rep. Corey Harbison served his last day Monday, April 14, after announcing in March, that he would be stepping away to spend more time with his family.

During a phone call with The Times on Tuesday, April 15, Harbison said he had only just read SB322 the previous weekend after it was introduced Wednesday, April 9 — several weeks after he informed House leaders when he would be stepping down. He said he would vocally oppose the bill on the House floor if still in office.

Both Republican primary candidates in the House District 11 race, Col. Don Fallin and Heath Allbright, have expressed their opposition against the bill as well.

“After careful review of Senate Bill 322, I want to express my strong opposition to this legislation. It fails to align with the values and needs of District 11’s citizens,” Allbright said in a prepared statement. “Instead of empowering developers or the government, we should focus on fostering economic growth in ways that honor local traditions, protect community autonomy, and ensure that every citizen has a voice in shaping our future.”

A statement released by Fallin states:

SB322 was given a favorable report by the Alabama Senate Fiscal Responsibility and Economic Development Committee Wednesday, April 16, with members of the commission present. During the meeting Gudger said the bill would only apply to the proposed development on Smith Lake and would hold no jurisdiction in other parts of the state. However, during a follow up phone call with The Times, Freeman said Gudger said the bill would be applicable to roughly 20 other locations during a meeting with the commissioners following the hearing.

Freeman said the commission would still be opposing the bill, but that the commissioners were planning to meet with Gudger during the next several days to draft amendments to the bill which could make the legislation more favorable to those opposing the bill.

Tolbert said that he was still hoping to find common ground with the commission regardless of the outcome of SB322 and was prepared to schedule another meeting with county officials but was hopeful that the legislation provided additional options for the future of the resort if he were to encounter continued roadblocks.

Gudger has not yet responded to The Times request for comment.