The Town of Vidalia needs to take a firm stand with the owners of the departing Fruit of the Loom distribution center.

For too long — under a previous administration — the town allowed business matters to sort of linger around without being resolved, often to the detriment of the town’s own best interest and that of its residents.

After announcing in May its intention to shutter the Vidalia Apparel distribution center and vacate Dec. 31, the company is now hedging its bets a bit.

Now, rather than departing on Dec. 31, the company is lobbying to extend its stay until March 31. It appears the work done at the Vidalia location was not as easily absorbed into other facilities as the company initially believed.

As it turns out, however, the town’s new administration, working with Natchez Inc. and state economic development leaders already have a business prospect interested in relocating a new business to the facility.

Vidalia Mayor Buz Craft said this week he hoped to work out a deal to meet the needs of Vidalia Apparel and the prospective new business.

We hope he can manage to accomplish that goal.

He would be wise to insist any deal puts the town, along with the new prospective business, in the driver’s seat on the building’s future and when and how Fruit of the Loom departs.

Ideally, such a deal would be on a month-to-month basis, with an adequate lease payment coming back to the town, perhaps to be earmarked for economic development efforts or job retraining for the workers who will be unemployed when the company eventually closes.