The Selma City Council unanimously agreed on a time line Tuesday night to make a decision on what to do with the historic St. James Hotel.

The city is reaching the end of a 90-day extension period of running the hotel, and council members are faced with a decision to sell it, hire another company to manage it for them or accept any of the other options that may be on the table.

Councilwoman Susan Keith made a motion Tuesday night to set Sept. 18 as the deadline to receive all proposals from prospective owners or management companies that are interested in the historic hotel.

“That’ll give us time to get settled and hear what we haven’t heard, and then get together and make a decision,” Keith said during Tuesday’s meeting.

Keith also asked for the 90-day extension’s deadline, which would be Sept. 23 a day after the next scheduled Selma City Council meeting, to be pushed back to Sept. 30.

“It was on June 23 that we got the extension, so we’re kind of close to the end on that,” Keith said. “What I’m going to propose is since we’re closing in so much, our next meeting is going to be Sept. 22, and that would mean the next day would be that deadline.”

Keith asked for the added days because she was concerned with the deadline being so close. Keith said she wanted to make sure the council had enough time to review the proposals and make the right decision.

The motion was approved with a unanimous vote from the council members in attendance, which included Keith, Corey Bowie, Greg Bjelke, Angela Benjamin, Sam Randolph, B.L. Tucker and Michael Johnson. Cecil Williamson and Bennie Ruth Crenshaw were absent for the meeting.

The city has run the hotel for the last six months after their contract with Strand Management was terminated in March.

When the city took over management, the staff was downsized.

The city intended to initially run the hotel for 90 days to allow time for the council to make a decision on the hotel.

The city extended its management period by 90 days in late June to allow more time to explore options.

Selma Mayor George Evans said there are several proposals on the table already. A company from Auburn has shown interest in the hotel as well as Wallace Community College Selma.

“I want what is best for the hotel, and I want what is best for the city,” Evans said in a previous interview with the Times-Journal.