DAPHNE — City Councilman Gus Palumbo stood quietly in the back of the Daphne High cafeteria during Monday night’s meeting to discuss proposed annexation plans.

From his vantage point, he could readily observe the audience and their reactions.

Despite the public’s overwhelmingly negative comments, Palumbo said he’s keeping an open mind.

“It’s true that most of the folks who spoke were not positive, but I’m not necessarily surprised,” he said.

He doesn’t believe that all of the affected citizens have been heard from yet, so he isn’t discouraged by the one meeting, Palumbo said.

“They all seemed to be from one neighborhood and were of a like mind. But I don’t think that is necessarily detrimental to the possibility of the annexation,” he said.

Additional public meetings may result in some different opinions, Palumbo said.

“I really think that as more information gets out, you’ll see more of a cross-section of folks come out and you’ll probably see more diverse opinions on it,” he said.

Council member Cathy Barnette said she’s taking a “wait and see” attitude about the annexation proposal.

“For one thing, we don’t yet know what this will cost the city, so I do think we have to move ahead cautiously until that’s determined,” Barnette said.

Barnette said she was “pretty surprised” by the negative comments at this week’s public meeting.

“I heard some mistrust there. I definitely think we need to build some bridges,” she said.

Additional public meetings may help address citizens’ concerns, Barnette said.

Providing answers to citizens’ questions is a priority, she said.

“They should be questioning and it is up to us to provide the answers,” Barnette said.

“I hope we can show these people that we can provide a lot of support, that it can be worthwhile to come into the city,” she said.

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