PRINEVILLE — The language may change but it appears the intent will stay the same as the Prineville City Council has scheduled a May 10 decision on the wording of a resolution establishing a “holiday plaza” in a courtyard near City Hall.

The council met Tuesday but couldn’t decide whether to include the word “Christmas” in the language of a resolution that would establish a public space to display a Nativity scene and secular symbols during December.

Mayor Betty Roppe and councilors Gordon Gillespie and Steve Uffelman said they would like to see the word “Christmas” removed from the resolution. That change, they said, would still allow for the display of a Nativity scene and would keep the city safe from litigation.

“If we eliminate (the word Christmas) then the ACLU wouldn’t have grounds to stand on,” Uffleman said. “Ultimately, we just want to display the Nativity. The words, what is or isn’t in it, are irrelevant as long as it allows us to do what we want to do.”

Councilors Jason Beebe, Gail Merritt and Dean Noyes each said they felt inclined to leave Christmas in the resolution after hearing overwhelming citizen support for the city’s Nativity scene at council meetings.

The “holiday plaza” is the council’s response to a complaint the city received in December from the Freedom From Religion Foundation, a national nonprofit group dedicated to the separation of church and state.

The group said one of its members living in Prineville questioned the constitutionality of a Nativity scene displayed at the entrance to City Hall.

According to the resolution, “The City of Prineville will sponsor an annual Christmas display to be located at the plaza west of City Hall. Such display shall include a Nativity Scene and secular items. The City of Prineville may accept voluntary monetary donations, labor or physical items to support this event and may include at City’s sole discretion, displays fully sponsored by other organizations, which are determined by the city to be related to the Christmas holiday season.”

The council debated the wording of the document after David Fidanque, executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Oregon, said Monday that he saw potential legal problems with the way the city is establishing the holiday zone.

With councilors locked in a 3-3 tie on which draft of the resolution to approve, City Manager Steve Forrester suggested the council wait until May 10 to vote as Councilor Jack Seley, who was absent Tuesday, would be in attendance to break the tie.

Fidanque said he would withhold comment until the city moves forward with a final resolution but said he didn’t believe removing the word “Christmas” would fix the problems the ACLU sees in the document.

Fidanque said he had reached out via e-mail to City Attorney Carl Dutli and hoped to discuss the matter with the city.