Our long national nightmare is over.

Well, that might be a little bit of an exaggeration, but Tuesday marked a very good day for the city of Selma.

With the news of Strand Management taking over day-to-day operations of the iconic St. James Hotel, the city of Selma can now go about its business of being … well … being a city and not a hotel company.

Ever since the debacle of the agreement with Gourmet Services came to an ugly end, the city of Selma has maintained hands-on management of the historic downtown Selma hotel which it owns.

From day one, we called on the city to quickly find a management company — or buyer — for the hotel, noting that city government is ill-equipped to run any business, much less that of a hotel.

So, now that the city has handed over control, it is time for Strand Management and the city to quickly find the time and finances to get the St. James in shape to sell.

The city should find a way to quickly divest itself of hotel ownership and find a company worthy of owning this downtown gem.