{"id":3313,"date":"2025-02-24T14:00:10","date_gmt":"2025-02-24T14:00:10","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/rvparkiq.com\/industry-insights\/?p=3313"},"modified":"2025-04-23T15:24:37","modified_gmt":"2025-04-23T15:24:37","slug":"gadsden-city-council-oks-new-fee-schedule-for-renovated-noccalula-falls-campground-in-gadsden-al","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/rvparkiq.com\/industry-insights\/gadsden-city-council-oks-new-fee-schedule-for-renovated-noccalula-falls-campground-in-gadsden-al\/","title":{"rendered":"Gadsden City Council OKs New Fee Schedule for Renovated Noccalula Falls Campground in Gadsden, AL"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><!-- VideographyWP Plugin Message: Automatic video embedding prevented by plugin options. --><br \/>\n<figure style=\"width: 655px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.gadsdentimes.com\/gcdn\/authoring\/authoring-images\/2025\/02\/20\/NTGT\/79310157007-falls.jpg?width=660&amp;height=495&amp;fit=crop&amp;format=pjpg&amp;auto=webp\" alt=\"\" width=\"655\" height=\"491\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Noccalula Falls Campground<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: medium;\"><span style=\"color: #222222;\"><span style=\"font-family: Lato, Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;\">New pricing will be in place when the renovated campground at Noccalula Falls Park reopens for business on March 17.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: medium;\"><span style=\"color: #222222;\"><span style=\"font-family: Lato, Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;\">The Gadsden City Council adopted the schedule, which officials say brings the campground into line with the others nearby, at its Feb. 18 meeting.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: medium;\"><span style=\"color: #222222;\"><span style=\"font-family: Lato, Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;\">Standard hookups are $65 a night and premium pull-throughs are $75 (12% lodging tax and nightly surcharges of $1.50 and $5 will be added per stay, plus there\u2019s a non refundable $10 reservation fee).<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: medium;\"><span style=\"color: #222222;\"><span style=\"font-family: Lato, Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;\">Those fees are for four people per site; there\u2019s a $5 per night charge for each additional person. There\u2019s a 10% discount for military personnel, senior citizens and AARP and Good Sam members.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: medium;\"><span style=\"color: #222222;\"><span style=\"font-family: Lato, Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;\">A two-night minimum stay is required on weekends and a three-night minimum stay on holidays. There\u2019s a maximum 28 days per stay.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: medium;\"><span style=\"color: #222222;\"><span style=\"font-family: Lato, Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;\">Cabins at the campground are $150 per night with a $125 cleaning fee (plus the lodging tax and surcharges), with a minimum two-night rental.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: medium;\"><span style=\"color: #222222;\"><span style=\"font-family: Lato, Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;\">The more than $11 million renovation project at the campground began in January 2024 and is nearing completion.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: medium;\"><span style=\"color: #222222;\"><span style=\"font-family: Lato, Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;\">It includes:<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"font-size: medium;\"><span style=\"color: #222222;\"><span style=\"font-family: Lato, Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;\">Realignment and expansion of the internal roadway network, to include decorative roadway lighting<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-size: medium;\"><span style=\"color: #222222;\"><span style=\"font-family: Lato, Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;\">New utility services throughout the campground<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-size: medium;\"><span style=\"color: #222222;\"><span style=\"font-family: Lato, Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;\">Reconstruction\/realignment of the individual RV parking spots with improved space and amenities<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-size: medium;\"><span style=\"color: #222222;\"><span style=\"font-family: Lato, Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;\">Renovation of both bath houses<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-size: medium;\"><span style=\"color: #222222;\"><span style=\"font-family: Lato, Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;\">Construction of a new zero-entry (long, gradual, sloping entry) swimming pool with an adjacent large pavilion<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-size: medium;\"><span style=\"color: #222222;\"><span style=\"font-family: Lato, Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;\">Conversion of the existing administrative office to a rentable cabin<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-size: medium;\"><span style=\"color: #222222;\"><span style=\"font-family: Lato, Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;\">Construction of a new administrative office<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-size: medium;\"><span style=\"color: #222222;\"><span style=\"font-family: Lato, Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;\">Reconstruction\/resurfacing of the lower parking lot (between Noccalula Road and the campground entrance)<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-size: medium;\"><span style=\"color: #222222;\"><span style=\"font-family: Lato, Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;\">A new Fire Station No. 5, which will include a police precinct, is nearing completion next door to the campground<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: medium;\"><span style=\"color: #222222;\"><span style=\"font-family: Lato, Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;\">Mayor Craig Ford, discussing the new fee schedule during the pre-council work session (it was approved on its first reading following a unanimous consent vote), said, \u201cWe knew we were going to do this when we renovated the campground.\u201d<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: medium;\"><span style=\"color: #222222;\"><span style=\"font-family: Lato, Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;\">He said given that rental fees at Noccalula Falls will be exempt from sales taxes, \u201cWe\u2019re going to come out even\u201d with Tillison Bend Campground, which was recently annexed into the city, and River Rocks Landing.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: medium;\"><span style=\"color: #222222;\"><span style=\"font-family: Lato, Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;\">Council member Chris Robinson, whose district includes Noccalula Falls, mentioned complaints he\u2019s received \u2014 which have also been circulating on social media \u2014 about the lack of primitive or tent camping at the renovated campground.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: medium;\"><span style=\"color: #222222;\"><span style=\"font-family: Lato, Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;\">Ford said he\u2019d also fielded those complaints, and that primitive camping and yerts (portable round tents) are in the works for 20 additional acres adjoining the campground, which the city purchased in November 2024.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #222222;\">\u201c<span style=\"font-size: medium;\"><span style=\"font-family: Lato, Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;\">But right now, that\u2019s not what we\u2019re marketing for,\u201d he said. \u201cThat\u2019s not how we renovated this campground. We\u2019re going for very large motor home sites, a state-of-the-art, cream-of-the cream campground.\u201d<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: medium;\"><span style=\"color: #222222;\"><span style=\"font-family: Lato, Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;\">Ford said Goodwyn Mills Cawood, the city\u2019s consultant on the project, had indicated that it would be difficult to mix the two types of camping \u201cnext to each other, you\u2019ve got to separate them.\u201d<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: medium;\"><span style=\"color: #222222;\"><span style=\"font-family: Lato, Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;\">There are also concerns about the homeless who, because the camping rates at Noccalula Falls have traditionally been cheaper on average, set up tents there and \u201cuse electricity for their stuff,\u201d Ford said, \u201cand it was kind of a dangerous situation.\u201d<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: medium;\"><span style=\"color: #222222;\"><span style=\"font-family: Lato, Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;\">The mayor said he knows people from surrounding counties are used to visiting the falls on the weekends for such camping, and Robinson observed that even Gadsden residents who live nearby have enjoyed \u201c(getting) over in the woods with a fire going, chicken on the grill, laying back and chilling out, and feeling like they were somewhere else.\u201d<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: medium;\"><span style=\"color: #222222;\"><span style=\"font-family: Lato, Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;\">However, Ford said he thinks the renovated facility \u201cwill attract people from Alaska and Canada with million-dollar motor homes.\u201d<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: medium;\"><span style=\"color: #222222;\"><span style=\"font-family: Lato, Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;\">Robinson added, \u201cIt\u2019s going to be different because a lot of people aren\u2019t used to that. They\u2019re going to think we overdid it, but we really didn\u2019t over do it. We\u2019re trying to do what the rest of the country is doing and attract tourism dollars.\u201d<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: medium;\"><span style=\"color: #222222;\"><span style=\"font-family: Lato, Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;\">In other action, the council:<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"font-size: medium;\"><span style=\"color: #222222;\"><span style=\"font-family: Lato, Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;\">Approved an agreement with Prince Metal Stamping to abate construction-related transaction taxes and non-educational property taxes for 10 years on a planned addition to its facility near the Northeast Alabama Regional Airport; the capital investment will total up to $5.5 million, Ford said, and the city should lose only about $140,000 in tax revenue over the decade while an additional $120,000 is generated for schools, plus 340 jobs will be preserved<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-size: medium;\"><span style=\"color: #222222;\"><span style=\"font-family: Lato, Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;\">Approved a $159,751 agreement with CDG Inc. for construction, engineering and inspection for sidewalk improvements on Chestnut Street between Sixth and Seventh streets, and extending from Chestnut to Broad Street along Sixth Street, funded by a 2024 ALDOT Transportation Alternative Program grant<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-size: medium;\"><span style=\"color: #222222;\"><span style=\"font-family: Lato, Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;\">Authorized agreements with Volkert Inc. for a transit study and to develop the 2050 long-range transportation plan for the Gadsden-Etowah Metropolitan Planning Organization<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-size: medium;\"><span style=\"color: #222222;\"><span style=\"font-family: Lato, Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;\">Approved a settlement in a case brought by Investment Property Unlimited against the city, involving \u201ca negligence action arising out of a nuisance abatement,\u201d according to City Attorney Lee Roberts<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-size: medium;\"><span style=\"color: #222222;\"><span style=\"font-family: Lato, Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;\">Finalized the purchase of land at 2510 Rainbow Drive for a \u201cWelcome to Gadsden\u201d sign<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.gadsdentimes.com\/story\/news\/2025\/02\/24\/new-fee-schedule-approved-for-noccalula-falls-campground\/79309140007\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><strong><span style=\"font-size: medium;\"><span style=\"color: #222222;\"><span style=\"font-family: Lato, Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;\">Source<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>New pricing will be in place when the renovated campground at Noccalula Falls Park reopens for business on March 17. The Gadsden City Council adopted the schedule, which officials say brings the campground into line with the others nearby, at its Feb. 18 meeting. Standard hookups are $65 a night and premium pull-throughs are $75 (12% lodging tax and nightly surcharges of $1.50 and $5 will be added per stay, plus there\u2019s a non refundable $10 reservation fee). Those fees are for four people per site; there\u2019s a $5 per&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":3314,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[23],"tags":[],"gutentor_comment":0,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/rvparkiq.com\/industry-insights\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3313"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/rvparkiq.com\/industry-insights\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/rvparkiq.com\/industry-insights\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rvparkiq.com\/industry-insights\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/8"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rvparkiq.com\/industry-insights\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3313"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/rvparkiq.com\/industry-insights\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3313\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3315,"href":"https:\/\/rvparkiq.com\/industry-insights\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3313\/revisions\/3315"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rvparkiq.com\/industry-insights\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3314"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/rvparkiq.com\/industry-insights\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3313"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rvparkiq.com\/industry-insights\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3313"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rvparkiq.com\/industry-insights\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3313"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}