> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.wbrindependent.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # Addis budget talks start Thursday, and a demolition price is still out - URL: https://www.wbrindependent.com/addis-budget-talks-start-thursday-and-a-demolition-price-is-still-out/ - Published: 2026-10-27T17:48:42.000Z - Updated: 2026-10-27T17:48:42.000Z - Description: The council's finance committee meets Oct. 29 at 5 p.m. A demolition deal, a bigger drainage job and the first road payment are already on the books. - Author: John Summers - Tags: Meeting Coverage ADDIS — The Addis Town Council's finance committee meets Thursday, Oct. 29, at 5 p.m. at the Addis Municipal Center, 7818 Highway 1 South. It's the council's first sit-down on next year's budget. Mayor David Toups set the date at the council's Oct. 13 meeting. He said he would send council members a preliminary budget beforehand, and asked them to tell him soon about any projects they want in it. Several spending decisions from that Oct. 13 meeting are still open. ## Demolition price not final The council picked contractor Lionel Collins to tear down two town-owned houses next to the municipal center, at 4032 Main Street and 7867 Fifth Street. The final price isn't set yet. The town wants the land for parking and room to grow the municipal center. It already owned the Main Street lot. In July, the council approved paying Charles H. David Sr. $50,000 cash for the Fifth Street house. The sale closed Aug. 11, and that night the council voted to seek demolition prices for both houses. [Addis scores fourth straight clean audit, closes on propertyThe Addis Town Council heard its 2025 audit came back clean for the fourth straight year, with a $2.1 million surplus. The town also closed on a $50,000 property purchase next to town hall and authorized the mayor to solicit demolition bids for two adjacent properties.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6a/51/6a511428-8a9f-41ee-af8a-da977e82f00e/content/images/icon/CwhsHtJB_400x400-f0a95115-3b2b-47d4-9049-2b9b4e45ac94.jpg)WBR IndependentJohn Summers![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6a/51/6a511428-8a9f-41ee-af8a-da977e82f00e/content/images/thumbnail/IMG_0873-renewed-1-cd6e16dd-be21-411c-8c34-bf5f3e58f496.jpg)](https://www.wbrindependent.com/addis-clean-audit-property-purchase-august-2026/) Town Attorney Karen Day White told the council then to check for asbestos because of the buildings' age. The town asked three contractors for quotes. Two sent them. The third, Nick Falcon, declined. Collins quoted $17,460 for one house and $9,360 for the other, $26,820 in all. That doesn't include asbestos. Steven Turner quoted $21,068 and $12,398, or $33,466\. He also had a Hammond company test both houses. Asbestos turned up in the siding and flooring of the Fifth Street house. The Main Street house tested clean. Turner added $10,925 for asbestos removal, bringing his total to $44,391\. He was not at the meeting. Collins was. He told the council he left asbestos off on purpose. Before quoting, he said, he asked whether he'd be paid back for testing if he didn't get the job. He said he was told to list asbestos as "to be determined." During the discussion, the council was reminded that the town was collecting quotes, not formal bids. The suggestion was to lock in Collins' demolition price and give him time to price the asbestos work, so the council could compare the two offers evenly. One council member said they would rather hire someone local. The council voted to accept Collins' demolition quote, let him price the asbestos work and finalize the contract when that number comes in. The vote also lets the mayor sign the contracts. That asbestos price will set the final total. Without it, the Fifth Street purchase and the demolition already add up to $76,820. ## Third culvert added on Harris Avenue The council also added to the Harris Avenue and Oily Ditch drainage project. The town was already replacing two culverts under Harris Avenue. Engineer Toby Fruge of Owen & White said a third crossing nearby, a single 24-inch pipe near the water tower, is too small. It carries about 25 cubic feet of water per second. About 49 flows to it in a 25-year storm. He recommended at least a 36-inch pipe. A council member pushed for 42 inches, saying 25-year storms come much more often now. The engineer said the bigger pipe would fit. He put the added cost at about $80,000, based on earlier bids. Crews will already have the road cut for the other two crossings, so he said it made sense to do all three at once. "Might as well do this at the same time to not have to do it twice and inconvenience everybody at two separate dates," he said. Toups said the work will go out as an addendum, an add-on to the project's bid, so the town can make sure it stays inside the budget. The council approved it. The work will be staged so no one gets blocked out of their driveway. ## First road payment The council approved the first payment on the 2026 road project: $167,320.61 on a $390,613.75 contract. The council awarded that contract and the Harris Avenue drainage contract Sept. 8\. [Addis awards road, drainage bids well under estimatesThe Addis Town Council awarded contracts for the 2026 Road Rehab Project and Harris Avenue Drainage Project at its September 8 meeting. Both came in well under engineer estimates as increased competition drove prices down. The council also heard police and public works reports.![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6a/51/6a511428-8a9f-41ee-af8a-da977e82f00e/content/images/icon/CwhsHtJB_400x400-91598996-e509-4b86-a76d-631c487913aa.jpg)WBR IndependentJohn Summers![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6a/51/6a511428-8a9f-41ee-af8a-da977e82f00e/content/images/thumbnail/IMG_1855-renewed-8ef98390-ccd3-4669-b735-300b76e77565.jpg)](https://www.wbrindependent.com/addis-council-road-drainage-contracts-sept-2026/) "They're moving pretty dog on quick," Toups said of the contractor. ## Smaller drainage grant Addis got a $20,000 Local Government Assistance Program grant for drainage work. Toups said he applied for the maximum, but the state cut the program's funding this year. ## Also from the Oct. 13 meeting - The council hired two probationary police officers. - Trick-or-treating in Addis is Saturday, Oct. 31, from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m., the same hours as the rest of the parish. - Rockin' on the Railroad wraps up its season Friday, Nov. 6, with Keith Frank and the Soileau Zydeco Band at 5:30 p.m. at Railroad Park, 4343 Harris Ave. - A new group, Trackside Friends, is taking over the Addis parade. The Addis Volunteer Fire Department's Ladies Auxiliary used to run it, but that group is no longer active. The parade is Saturday, Jan. 30, at 1 p.m. Organizers need volunteers and floats. The council's next regular meeting is Tuesday, Nov. 10.