DAPHNE, Ala. — The Daphne City Council re-affirmed its stance Monday to withhold support for construction of an Interstate 10 service road on the north side of I-10.

Councilman August Palumbo made a motion to not support the request from the Baldwin County Commission — which sent a letter to the council requesting financial support in building the service road — and the council voted 6-1 in favor of that motion.

Council members Cathy Barnette, Palumbo, John Lake, Kelly Reese, Derek Boulware and Bailey Yelding voted in favor of re-affirming the council’s stance, while Councilman Ron Scott voted against re-affirming the position.

“I’m not in favor of putting $1 million towards a road that supports two Spanish Fort shopping centers,” Lake said. “The Daphne citizens (would pay) $52 per person to help the Spanish Fort business district.”

“If the council does reverse its action, I suggest we have the next council meeting at the Civic Center, because that is what it’s going to take to hold (all of the people who attend),” Palumbo said, also stating that he has not heard one resident opinion in favor of building the road.

The council voted against supporting the road at the April 18 council meeting, and city leaders took the same action Monday.

The proposed 4-mile road would affect Lake Forest and Timber Creek residents, and the proposed construction would include dredging Lake Forest Lake and using the sand and dirt for the road.

Many residents cited the potential environmental problems for the lake and the D’Olive Creek if that does happen.

“D’Olive Watershed is one of the most eroded soils (in the county),” said Chester McConnell, of Daphne, during the public participation section of the meeting. “We don’t need anymore development. This would just be a waste of tax payers’ money.”

“The overall project is ill-conceived and should not be funded,” said John Steadman, dean of the University of South Alabama College of Engineering. “The proposed road is in an environmentally sensitive area.”

Storm water erosion has been a major topic among Baldwin County residents and officials this year, and the county’s residents voted against a proposed amendment Nov. 2 to create a public corporation to build funds and fix storm water damage throughout the county, but the Baldwin County Watershed Coalition still seeks ways to manage storm water issues in the area, Barnette said.

Councilman Scott said he voted against the I-10 matter because he wanted to look at both sides of the argument before making a decision to not support the proposal.

“I don’t know whether the road should be built or not,” he said, but he acknowledged the high number of residents who came to the meeting to voice their opinion. “I think controversial issues bring out the best in the community.”

Scott motioned to amend the original motion made by Palumbo, hoping the council would not take any stance on the matter, but the motion to amend did not receive a “second” and it was dismissed under Robert’s Rules of Order, which is the procedural guidepost the council uses to run all formal governmental meetings.

“I want to thank the council for the re-affirmation,” Palumbo said. “I disparage that we even had to do this again.”

A finance-based work session is set for at 6:30 p.m. Nov. 29 at Daphne City Hall.