By Justin Averette
The Selma Times-Journal

The Selma City Council voted Tuesday to split the city’s lodging tax evenly for one year between the YMCA of Selma and Dallas County and a fund being set aside to one day hopefully restore the Brown YMCA.

Every council member present voted for the contract extension after another proposal to continue the current contract another three years was voted down.

Greg Bjelke, Susan Keith and Cecil Williamson supported the failed motion to continue giving the YMCA of Selma and Dallas County, also known as the Walker-Johnson YMCA, $1.50 of the fee and the Brown YMCA 50 cents for another 36 months. Angela Benjamin, Bennie Ruth Crenshaw, Michael Johnson and Sam Randolph voted down that motion.

Council president Corey Bowie abstained and cited a letter from the Alabama League of Municipalities that advised he not vote given his past service on the YMCA board and his current status as ex-officio board member. B.L. Tucker was absent from Tuesday’s meeting.

Benjamin, who made the motion to spilt the fee, said she recommended the extension she thought had the best chance of passing.

“I offered what I thought would pass this panel. I offered a recommendation from our hearty, hearty talks,” Benjamin said.

Williamson, who made the motion to extend the current contract three years, said the one-year extension was the “best we can do under the circumstances.”

“We’ll come back here in a year and perhaps the new city council will be more supportive of the Y,” Williamson said.

Crenshaw agreed the issue would come up again in a year.

“I think this city will always support the Y,” Crenshaw said. “I think it’s a year right now. Next year, it will be same thing. I don’t think the city will let the Y down.”

Randolph said splitting the lodging fee between the Walker-Johnson and Brown YMCA was fair and that he would always be willing to revisit the issue should the need arise.

“We have to be fair about this. I love the YMCA. Don’t say I dislike the Y,” Randolph said. “I know y’all still need money. Nobody up here wants to just cut y’all off. If this causes a financial hardship, come back to us. I would be willing to give the YMCA the whole thing if I see it’s about to close down, but I don’t think it’s going to come to that.”

Johnson repeated what he said at last week’s council meeting — that the city could not financially support the YMCA indefinitely.

“My problem is we can’t continue to carry the YMCA,” Johnson said, referencing needs in law enforcement and public works. “I know this money you are getting at the Y isn’t going to solve the problems, but it [would] help.”

However, Keith said the lodging free didn’t operate like sales or another city tax. In exchange for the $2 fee, hotel guests were able to use the YMCA as any member could — for work, class or swim.

“The people who have paid that have gotten something in return,” Keith said.

The initial idea for the fee actually came from the Y board, who asked the city council to help them pay down debt. The idea came from a similar fee used to shore up YMCAs in Greenville and Eufaula.

“It was the Y board members who did the work, who researched to help the Y,” Keith said. “[They] asked the city to partner with them in a way that would not cost the city council.”

The discussion also came back to the Brown YMCA and its status. Johnson said he’s disappointed that nothing has been done to save the Brown building.

Johnson said he and a team of volunteers were told by the YMCA they couldn’t do work on the building because of potential liability. The building is in bad shape, with a leaky roof and other damage from years of neglect.

“Nobody has said what they want to do to save the Brown YMCA,” Johnson said.

YMCA board members have said they struggle to keep the Walker-Johnson YMCA afloat and don’t have the financial resources to fix the Brown building.

Under the terms of contract between the city and the YMCA, the city council had the option to buy the building for $1, keeping it or transferring to a nonprofit organization. Bjelke said he wanted to see the Brown YMCA saved but that it shouldn’t come at the cost of hurting the city’s operating Y.

“Everything is going good there. If it’s not broken, don’t fix it,” Bjelke said.

Williamson said he too hopes the building is saved one day and reminded the council that they had the past three years to take over ownership of the building but never did.

“If we are so concerned about the building, we need to take some initiative and do something about it,” Williamson said.