St. James Hotel manager Mark Peterson has asked the city council to credit him $20,000 to make last-minute renovations before the upcoming Bridge Crossing Jubilee.

The money would go toward heating and air conditioning repairs and other quick renovations and would be offset from the eventual purchase price.

We don’t have any issue with that proposal, but the city should still consider about what happens should the deal with Peterson not work out. Would the city owe him that money should he ultimately end up not buying the St. James? The city simply can’t afford to put that kind of money into the hotel.

As far that deal, the city has given Peterson until March 15 to see if he can find the financial backing to outright purchase the hotel for $1.5 million. Peterson has said he prefers this option rather than buying the hotel over the course of a decade, which was originally proposed.

We have written before why we think that’s the best deal for the city, Peterson and the citizens of Selma.

That decision will be a major one for downtown Selma and the entertainment district. Whether this deal works out or not will have ramifications for a long time to come.

In the meantime, Selma still has to host tens of thousands of visitors for next month’s Bridge Crossing Jubilee. We agree the St. James has to be in as good of shape as possible while hosting these guests. Air conditioning and heating are simply mandatory for the type of hotel the St. James is and wants to be.

It’s right to focus now on the Jubilee and making a great impression.

However, as soon as our visitors leave, it will be time to get back to business and finalize whether this sale will happen or not.