After nearly a month off, the Selma City Council convened Monday night for a marathon meeting that clocked in at a robust four hours and 50 minutes.

The meeting covered the mayor’s response to the latest round of shootings and other city business ranging from cutting grass to buying books for a summer reading program.

After hearing from some concerned citizens, Mayor James Perkins Jr. addressed the council about the latest round of violence, which includes the Saturday shooting at Selma’s McDonald’s.

“I addressed the issue specific to the availability of guns I met with the (police) chief (Robert Green), the city attorney (Jimmy Nunn) and several other members of the staff today to address this issue and quite frankly when I left that meeting I was not very pleased, there are no easy answers,” Perkins said. “The Chief has been charged to go forward and develop a set of

recommendations and thoughts as it relates to this issue.”

The mayor spoke about the plan he introduced in a press conference earlier in the day with Green.

“Specifically an appeal to the community to help us to communicate with the families.

To make an appeal to mothers to disarm their children and sisters to help us disarm their brothers,” Perkins said. “And them come back and whatever portion does not work then the next step would be a very firm enforcement of the law.

We need to get these guns off the street.”

Councilwoman Nancy Sewell commended the mayor for his position and added she would like to look at all the ramifications, possibly to see if there is a need for a task force or a blue-ribbon committee.

Others spoke to the issue as well.

Janie Venter and Barbara Brown of the Crime Task Force came to the meeting to urge the council to continue to consider the purposed curfew.

“We need this curfew, we’ve got to do something to stop this crime,” Venter said. “We spent a lot of time and implemented all these (ideas) for you all to at least consider.”

Brown also spoke about the benefits of a curfew. She said that curfew laws can help officials hold parents responsible for the behavior of their children.

“It makes parents responsible, some of them have to pay a fine, some of them have to spend a weekend in jail,” she said. “It makes them responsible.”

Councilwoman Rita Sims Franklin assured the duo that the curfew wasn’t being put on the “back-burner.” She said there were some legal issues that had to be worked out.

“There are some things that won’t past the muster,” she said. “We’ve got to get something that constitutionally (is legal).”

Clyde Richardson addressed the council as well.

Richardson owns the Tornado Lounge, a nightclub on Alabama Avenue.

He claims to be the scapegoat for the series of shootings that have taken place on public property near his club.

Richardson complained to the council about the amount of police presence near his club hurting his business.

“My concern is equal application of the law,” Richardson said. “They are there to try and deter me.”

Council President George Evans instructed Richardson that it was not a city council issue, and told the club’s owner he should talk to the police and the mayor about his complaint.

“It’s only targeted to one establishment,” he said.

Perkins then offered a resolution to rearrange the budget to give $7,000 to the police overtime budget.

The line-item transfer moved the money from one section of the budget to another, and did not mean an increase in the budget.

Perkins then took the time to address the perception that the police department is understaffed.

“We’re not in that bad a of shape in terms of the number of officers,” Perkins said comparing Selma’s police force to other towns of similar size.

The mayor also criticized the media for allowing people to play politics with the issue.

He said reporting that the Selma Police Department is understaffed only serves to encourage criminals.

“Sometimes there are some things that just don’t need to go in the paper, and there’s a reason for that,” Perkins said. “They have thrown around the notion that the City of Selma doesn’t have adequate police protection. When you go out and announce that over and over and over, somebody’s going to believe it.

When that happens you’re actually creating a climate where the criminal feels he can do what he wants to do.”

In other items:

Fire Chief Henry Allen spoke to the council about an inequity of carry-over hours from one year to the next.

Apparently police officers are allowed to carry 32 more vacation hours over from year-to-year than firemen.

The city also resolved to follow the State Fire Inspector’s mandatory directive to fill another position for $24,500.

The council heard an audit update from a representative from Borland and Benefield and from the city auditor Bill Long.

Long told the council the audit for the last fiscal year should be ready by the middle of July.

Elizibeth Driggers addressed the council on the Riverfront Development and Water Avenue.

David Painter, of Kafra, spoke to the council about a trio of engineering issues facing the city.

Frank Hardy spoke to the council requesting support and funding for the second annual Defiant Run scheduled for September.

Members from the NYSP spoke requesting funds and support from the council for the youth sports programs going on at Wallace State.

The council heard from city attorney Jimmy Nunn who presented the Ward redistricting maps for their approval.

Nunn also discussed a trio of insurance re-imbursements totaling $2,617.87.

Nunn discussed the possibility of the sale of the restaurant at the city marina.

Sexton and Perkins sparred over the status of the general services investigation.

The smoke-free task force spoke about the status of the ordinance to make Selma’s businesses smoke free,

A request for $7,800 for a new bug sprayer to battle the summer mosquitoes.

Councilman Glenn Sexton asked for $1,000 from each members’ discretionary fund.

Several council members issued requests for more weed cutting and shrubbery trimming on public property in their respective wards.

Councilwoman Nancy Sewell sought $3,000 in funding for the Reading is Fun summer program.

Editor’s Note: Due to the length and hour the meeting finished, full details were not available at presstime.

Read Wednesday’s STJ for more reports from Monday night’s meeting.