Nightclub owners had an opportunity to share their input Thursday on a city ordinance that would require them to install security cameras.

Selma City Council President Corey Bowie hosted a planning meeting for club owners, which gave them the floor for an open discussion with Selma Police Chief William Riley and city attorney Jimmy Nunn.

“One thing we can take away from this meeting is that we did have an opportunity to engage with the two [club owners] that did show up,” Bowie said. “Anything that we bring forth that is going to affect them, we try to meet with them to get their input.”

Only two clubs were represented at the meeting, but both of them seemed to be behind the ordinance.

“I’m all for it because we do have a lot of people standing outside drinking, and this will help the violence and help the police by catching them and getting tag numbers to identify them,” said Carvin Thomas, manager of the Grown and Sexy Club.

While there weren’t any specific problems club owners and managers had with the ordinance, Bowie said their input will be beneficial to the council.

“The two clubs that did show up gave some vital information and what we can do from this point on is take the information that they discussed and put it in the ordinance and move forward with it,” Bowie said.

If passed by the council, the ordinance will go into effect Feb. 1, 2016.

“This is a way for us to make our clubs safer so patrons can come in and feel safe,” Riley said during the open discussion. “Now, we can’t stop [crime] 100 percent, but we can sure put things in place so when somebody acts like a fool we can have them identified. I think this is something good, and it should go a long way in keeping everybody safe.”

Riley did address an issue he had with the ordinance, which didn’t specify how many cameras were required in each room.

Bowie said language would be added to make sure every room that is used for club activity will be under surveillance by at least two cameras. The ordinance also requires them to be capable of recording and storing video images for at least 30 days.

“It will make business better. It won’t run people away,” Thomas said. “It will make more people come by feeling safer and making them want to come by cutting down on the violence.”

Once installed, the cameras will be a great benefit to helping the police department catch people responsible for crimes and cut down on incidents altogether.

“I guarantee once these cameras go up, you’ll see a total drop off of about 60 to 70 percent of calls for service for anything dealing with a fight or foolishness,” Riley said.