The Harpersville Town Council cleared the way for the destruction or police use of accumulated firearms at its regular Monday, May 5 meeting.

In the absence of Councilmember Shirley Middleton, who later arrived,

the council unanimously approved a resolution authorizing the chief of police of Harpersville to &uot;destroy any guns, firearms, or weapons which have been in the possession of the town for more than two years, and which in his opinion, are not of use or value to the Harpersville Police Department.&uot;

However, the resolution requires &uot;… the chief keep a record of inventory of all guns, firearms and weapons which are destroyed, and the date, time and place of the destruction.&uot;

The resolution further authorizes the chief to transfer for use by the Police Department any of the weapons &uot;which have been kept for more than two years and which have remained abandoned, unclaimed or forfeited in such manner as the chief of police may reasonably determine to be appropriate in the exercise of police powers of the town for use by the Police Department, all in the best interest of the citizens of the Town of Harpersville.&uot;

According to the resolution, the weapons are those which have been abandoned, forfeited or unclaimed and not subject to condemnation proceedings.

However, the resolution states the release, disbursement or sale of the firearms &uot;would be detrimental to the public safety and welfare and contrary to the promotion of law and order …&uot; and the Harpersville Police Department has &uot;a significant storage and space problem, particularly with regard to said guns, firearms and weapons.&uot;

The resolution further states that the Harpersville Police Department may have a need for a small number of weapons in exercising legitimate police functions for the town and that a period of two years is reasonable for the lawful owner of any of the weapons to make a claim for their return.

Mayor Gloria Tate announced that bid process had begun for a water project.

And councilmember Terry White asked for a financial report from the fire department.

He pointed out that the Fire Department was supposed to sell an old Bronco when it was given an old police car.

However, Tate reported that the Bronco had to be kept for a certain period of time before it could be sold