During its meeting Monday afternoon, the Public Buildings Committee agreed to propose changes to the recent draft contract worked out by Selma city attorney Woodruff Jones.

The rental contract calls for people renting public buildings to provide their own liability insurance, which will cost just over $100, and removes previous language that required city employees to be on-site during private events.

The draft raised the security deposit required for renting a building to $500, which Selma Councilwoman Angela Benjamin, a member of the committee, felt was too much if renters were expected to pay for their own insurance.

Selma Councilwoman Miah Jackson, who has been working with the committee, noted that the $500 deposit was enough that the city would be able to repair any damage done to public buildings by renters.

The committee agreed that the rate would be kept at $100, but renters would be required to provide damage insurance along with liability insurance.

The committee also agreed to impose a $50 set-up and breakdown fee for renters planning to use city equipment, such as tables and chairs, but will keep current building rental rates in place.

The contract also called for specific events to employ off-duty Selma Police Department (SPD) officers and instructed that Lt. Natasha Fowlkes should be contacted to recruit officers for the job.

Committee members agreed that the language should be changed to exclude Fowlkes’ name because the contract will outlive Fowlkes’ tenure at the SPD.

The committee also agreed to move ahead with plans to bring at least three bids before the Selma City Council next week in regard to replacing air conditioning units at the Vaughan-Smitherman Museum.

Representatives from the museum have been requesting that the units be replaced quickly so that artifacts housed in the bulding don’t begin to deterioriate.

Selma Councilwoman Jannie Thomas, chair of the committee, also noted that she plans to call for volunteers to assist in cleaning up some of the city’s cemeteries, which she says are in extreme disrepair.

Thomas specifically mentioned Lorenzo Harrison Cemetery, which she says is overgrown and covered in trash and debris.