At its first meeting, on Jan. 22, the newly constituted Abita Springs Town Council adopted the town’s budget for the 2019 calendar year.

In December, the previous council had postponed a vote on outgoing Mayor Greg Lemons’ proposed budget so that the new council could decide whether any changes were necessary, but the new body approved the budget with only minor alterations.

Major categories of the $5.98 million budget include $1.06 million for general operations, $2.18 million for utilities and $2 million for this year’s work on the town’s sewer rehabilitation project, which is expected to cost as much as $6 million in total and take several years to complete.

The only changes to Lemons’ budget were to eliminate a $50,000 line item that would have paid a professional firm to produce a master plan for the town’s future growth and $30,000 for an additional public parking lot in the town center.

Public and council sentiment has favored using an unpaid volunteer committee to plan the town’s future, and there were difficulties in obtaining the land owner's permission for the parking lot.

Councilman Ryan Murphy explained that although the budget was adopted without major changes, the new council is still exploring ways to reduce the cost of the town’s employee health insurance, which the previous council had identified as an area of concern. Murphy said that changes to the plan might be adopted in the coming months.

The council also filled several positions on town bodies.

Bryan Gowland and Eric Templet were appointed to the Planning and Zoning Commission. Gowland is a former mayor who has served in a number of town positions. Templet has a doctorate in business administration and has lived in Abita since 2006.

The two replace Jim Robertson, who was a charter member of the commission and served for four decades, and Keli Sanders, who served for 10 years.

Otto Dinkelacker was appointed to the Historic District Commission. Dinkelacker is an architect who has experience with historic renovations.

In other business, the council introduced two ordinances to amend the town’s historic district ordinances that were adopted in December. The amendments would eliminate the historic district commission’s ability to regulate paint colors and landscaping requirements. A public hearing and vote on the amendments will be held at the council’s Feb. 19 meeting.