The Selma City Council took a step toward solving a 136-year-old question of ownership Tuesday evening.
The council voted 4-1 to begin the process of selling an acre of land in Old Live Oak Cemetery to the United Daughters of the Confederacy for $60,000.
Four of the nine council members were not present at the meeting, including Council President Corey Bowie.
Ward 1 Councilmember Cecil Williamson, who led the meeting as council president pro tem, said the sale would not be official until the council drafts an ordinance, which would take a minimum of one month. Once drafted, the council would read the ordinance twice and make a final vote during the second reading.
The land includes a monument dedicated to Confederate Lt. Gen. Nathan Bedford Forest, unveiled in 2000 at the city-owned Vaughan-Smitherman Building. It was moved to Old Live Oak Cemetery after the momument was defaced with trash. Selma residents continued to protest the monument until March 2012, when the monument’s bust vanished.
After the March 2012 theft, construction immediately began on upgrades to the Forrest and Confederate monuments, but in August 2012, the council voted to halt construction work after questions were raised about who owned the property. The work stoppage resulted in a $375,000 lawsuit by construction company KTK Mining.
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