Ward 1 Alderman Michael Mayfield said the Vicksburg Board of Mayor and Aldermen is willing to work with representatives from the Mulberry and its lessee, Jacques’ nightclub, to make the nightclub safer and more secure for its patrons and for businesses and residents in the area.

In response to a July 5 shooting incident in the Mulberry parking lot adjacent to Jacques’, the board on July 10 approved a resolution giving the Mulberry and Jacques’ 10 days to develop an acceptable plan to improve security and safety at the night club or the city would seek an injunction declaring the club a public nuisance and close it.

The board Monday approved a resolution declaring Jacques’ a public nuisance.

But Mayfield, whose ward includes Jacques’ and the Mulberry, said the city wants to work with both businesses to allow Jacques’ to remain open with the proper safeguards in place.

“We’re extending an olive branch for them to get this business operational and in order because you can’t continue to allow these kinds of incidents to happen without taking some kind of action,” he said.

He said the board is charged with the safety of the community “and (Jacques’) had some serious problems that hopefully they can work through and move forward.”

But as the city’s governing body, Mayfield said, the board has to take steps to preserve the safety of the community, “and this is not the first time we’ve had to do this (take action) with those type facilities.”

In the past, city officials have had to take action after disturbances to close nightclubs such as LD’s, the Klondyke and Jacques’ when the business was at a different location. In each instance, the businesses were closed until the owners developed a safety and security plan approved by the city before being allowed to reopen.

“We do what we’re supposed to do and we try to follow the letter of the law because you’re talking somebody’s safety here,” Mayfield said. “I don’t want to ever be blamed for not doing what was right, not just for these businesses but even more so I don’t want to be blamed for allowing somebody to be put in a predicament where they can lose their life.

“That’s just one of those situations where we have to try to work together and work through it, or the city has to do what it has to do,” he added. “There’s no in-between there; There’s no gray area. It’s either/or.”

The July 5 shooting incident is the second incident in the area around the Mulberry and Jacques’.

Four security guards were wounded in a May 5 shooting in the Jacques’ parking lot. Warrants have been issued in that case.