Tuesday’s meeting of the Selma City Council was called to order around 4 p.m., and hour earlier than usual, in order to carve out time for an executive session aimed at discussing ongoing legal issues.

Before council members broke off into a private room, they went about the routine of approving the night’s agenda, as well as the consent agenda and minutes for the previous meeting.

Within the consent agenda, the Selma City Council approved the following items:

• Award Frasier Ousley Construction a contract in the amount of $216,000 for expansion of the Selma Interpretive Center, with $100,000 to be paid through a Delta Regional Authority grant and the remainder coming via a grant match in the upcoming budget;

• Retire K9 Sammi to his handler, Selma Police Department (SPD) officer Justin Freine, for the amount of $1;

• Declare eight additional vehicles as surplus for the SPD, bringing the total to 34 surplus items;

• Purchase of seven fully-equipped patrol units with an aggregate cost of $209,661.41, as well as the refurbishing of a prisoner transport unit at a cost of $4,500 – $200,000 will come from funds allocated to the SPD by the council with the remainder being pulled from the fixed asset line item;

• Uniforms and other equipment for the SPD, with funds being pulled from the fixed asset line item;

• Create five part-time officer slots, which will be compensated using funds from vacant full-time slots;

• Contract with Advantage Concrete Contractors for $45,450 to replace the concrete in front of the Broad Street fire station – $31,000 will be transferred from clothing, $6,000 from fuel and the remainder from non-fixed assets;

• Contract with Chandler Seal Coating and Striping in the amount of $5,500 for striping 483 parking spaces downtown;

• Expending $7,500 to purchase a wood chipper, with the funds coming from the public works fuel line item;

• Maintain the building fees previously approved by the council;

• Contract with Tyus Construction for the demolition of the old Swift building on Water Ave. at no cost to the city;

• Repair air conditioning units a the Dallas Academy building at a cost of $4,500, with funding to be pulled from the public building maintenance line item;

The council also approved a motion to move forward on a Justice Assistance Grant (JAG) application to help cover SPD overtime costs, as well as additional funds for street striping in downtown.

After approving the consent agenda, the council departed for executive session and returned just under an hour later, much to the chagrin of multiple citizens who were under the impression that no action would be taken prior to the executive session.

On hand for the meeting was Denise Taylor, a representative from Keep Alabama Beautiful, which is an affiliate of the national Keep America Beautiful organization, who versed the council on the group’s work to fight litter across the state.

Taylor noted that, currently, there are 60 counties taking part in the program, for which the organization provides gloves and pick-up sticks, as well as garbage bags donated by Glad and work vests provided by the Alabama Department of Transportation (ALDOT).

“It’s a big job and it’s an ongoing job,” Taylor said.

Also present for the meeting was Selma City Schools Superintendent Dr. Avis Williams, who gave the council an update on various efforts moving forward in the city’s school system.

Williams started by praising the opening of the new Best Buy Teen Tech Center before talking about Attendance Awareness Month, which kicks off next week.

Williams said the initiative is aimed at keeping kids in school and educating them on the importance of doing so, with Williams noting that regular school attendance improves the local economy and public safety and leads to better outcomes for students.

Williams also noted that football and volleyball have gotten started at Selma High School, with the Saints squaring off against Southside High School this Friday, and season passes are available to anyone interested.

Williams also discussed the newly-minted STAR Academy, which she called a “school within a school” – the program is geared toward students lagging behind and roughly 80 have been identified as needing the program.

For his part, Selma City Councilman John Leashore praised Williams’ work.

“Your leadership is amazing,” Leashore said. “The city stands ready to assist you in any way.”