Ward 4 councilmember Angela Benjamin said she was concerned about the late arrival of the information from Bjelke and the society, as well as the discrepancy of what the city has believed to be the estimate for stabilizing the building and what those opposed to the demolition have provided.

“There is a big, gaping hole between $44,000 and $1 million, even if the estimates are not for the same work,” Benjamin said. “In the next week, we are going to grant the appeal or not grant the appeal and those who are on the side of preservation, they have a big job in the next several days to show something new that would say that saving the façade is doable; and not only doable, but here’s how it is going to be paid for. Here’s who is going to take the risk.”

Nancy Bennett, who is a member of the Selma-Dallas County Historical Preservation Society, said her group is willing to find the money to pay for the façade of the building to be stabilized, but are not in a position to purchase the building from Bolton.

Bennett said the group now is focused on protecting Selma’s streetscape, by working to ensure the building’s façade is stabilized and protected.

“We don’t have the finances to purchase the building and stabilize the façade and continue with our other projects as well,” Bennett said following Tuesday’s meeting. “We do have the finances to stabilize the façade. The streetscape is what we are most worried about.”

While Bennett said Bolton deserves much of the criticism for the building’s current condition, she and her group place plenty of blame on others, including the city.

“The city has not upheld its own ordinances, codes and laws,” Bennett said. “Because they allowed the building to get in this condition.

“The city, the First Baptist Church [who gave the building to Bolton’s Sunrise Selma organization in April 2009] and Mr. Bolton are all responsible,” Bennett continued. “Because the Baptists did nothing when they owned it to stabilize it or stop it deteriorating and neither did Mr. Bolton.”