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GREENSBORO — It was a much debated, carefully worded statement.

Thirty years after a Greensboro shooting — and four years after the issue first came before the City Council — the council said Tuesday night that it regretted the 1979 killings at Morningside Homes and pledged to help the city heal.

The council voted 5 to 4 to approve a statement of regret about the incident — one of the recommendations the city Humans Relations Commission made after studying the shootings and the 2006 Truth and Reconciliation Commission report about it.

Council members Mike Barber, Zack Matheny, Mary Rakestraw and Trudy Wade voted no.

Five people were killed and 10 were injured in November 1979 during a confrontation between Ku Klux Klan members and neo-Nazis and Communist Workers Party members.

Previous councils had voted to oppose the Truth and Reconciliation Commission process and not consider its recommendations.

On Tuesday, residents and human relations representatives urged the council members to address the issue.

“Acknowledge it and tell the world this won’t happen in Greensboro ever again,” said Randall Keeney, a minister.

The city attorney added language to the statement of regret to ensure that the council did not unknowingly create any legal liability for the city.

Others asked the city to stop dwelling on the shootings, which some said did not represent the current state of race relations in Greensboro.

“I will tell you what my generation is talking about,” Matheny said. “Look at our successes. Let us move on.”

In other action, the council voted to have the city staff explore options for trash disposal in the city.

The issue was raised after Councilman Mike Barber asked that the city consider dumping up to 50,000 tons of residential trash at the White Street Landfill, which was closed to household refuse in 2006.

Council members did not take Barber’s recommendation to consider expanding the use of the White Street Landfill. Last week, council members learned that the city could save $2.9 million a year by using the landfill instead of a transfer station that sends off the city’s trash.

Barber suggested that savings from using the landfill could go toward city libraries or a planned day center for homeless residents.

Residents near the landfill have been on the defensive in the past few weeks, protesting Barber’s recommendations.

Council members debated the issue at two meetings Tuesday. Some members were clear that they did not want to expand the landfill under any circumstances. But others, including Mayor Yvonne Johnson, argued that the city should explore the city’s trash options, including alternative technologies.

“That way we can get all the facts on the table and make the best decision,” Councilman Robbie Perkins said.

Other council members agreed with Perkins. They approved suggestions by Wade, who wanted the city to ask the state Department of Environment and Natural Resources to review potential health risks of the city landfill and another, abandoned landfill on Nealtown Road.

Contact Amanda Lehmert at 373-7075 or amanda.lehmert@news-record.com