GULF SHORES, Ala. — Last Saturday morning, more than 150 citizens in the Craft Farms area of Gulf Shores showed up to meet with the mayor and other city officials in what was the first of several neighborhood meetings scheduled.

The meeting was for residents in an area north of the Intracoastal Waterway and east of Hwy 59.

“I thought it went well. We had a good turnout of citizens from all over the area,” said Gulf Shores Mayor Robert Craft. “We listened, got a lot of good input, and it certainly is encouraging to think that as we start trying to formulate a plan for the future, this many people were interested enough to meet with us and voice their comments.”

Craft said that he hopes that people will take advantage of the other five meetings to come and make known their neighborhood concerns and their vision for the future.

“If people will continue to come out and meet with us and tell us what their needs are, we will have a great, community-oriented plan for the future that will help our administration figure out how we get where we want to be,” Craft said.

Craft emphasized the importance of people coming to their neighborhood meetings, and stressed the fact that the city will not be there to talk, but to listen.