Natchez aldermen wisely hit the “reset” button Tuesday on the development of the Broadway Street depot.

A year ago, the city entered into a deal that simultaneously declared the depot property as surplus as well as entered into an agreement with a handpicked developer to lease the site.

No sooner than the ink had dried on the agreement, citizens cried foul.

The deal was suspicious from the get-go, not because the developer did anything wrong, but because the terms of the arrangement seem to have been, at best, glossed over before the aldermen were asked to vote on it.

The city now needs to think through what it seeks to do with the depot.

The building needs to be put to a good, public use. It’s too beautiful of a building and sits in far too public of a place to continue to be vacant.

Hopefully, the city will begin taking requests for proposals soon.

At the end of the day, the original developer may still wind up with the best idea for the building. If so, great.

If someone else has a better idea, even better.

We applaud the city’s leadership for following through on its pledge to be open and transparent in its actions.

The trust that has been lost in the city’s direction over the last several years can quickly be rebuilt with slow, consistent efforts to right the wrongs of the past and forge a positive, and inclusive, direction for our future.