Magnolia Springs is gearing up for a jam-packed holiday season, as announced at the town council meeting for November.

The Christmas festivities will begin with a pancakebreakfast with Santa next weekend, and if everything goes as planned the Magnolia Springs Kiwanis club hopes to bring back an old tradition.

Magnolia Springs, in years past, was the home to a large Christmas parade, but the parade route was a waterway instead of a highway. The Kiwanis announced plans Tuesday to bring the Christmas boat parade back to Magnolia Springs, which will take place on the Magnolia River Dec. 10 beginning at 5 p.m.

The Kiwanis have already raised $3,000 in sponsorships from 30 sponsors, which they hope will offset the cost of the T-shirts the group is planning to order.

The parade is open to anyone who wishes to participate, but the Kiwanis are asking for everyone interested in participating to register beforehand, and be prepared to head toward the starting line by 4 p.m. before the parade.

The Kiwanis is also hoping to find someone to portray Santa during the boat parade, and also hopes that at least one choir will join the boat parade and sing to those gathered on the shores as the boats idle by.

A representative from the Kiwanis asked the council to support a boat parade and also made another suggestion as to how the town could gain more community involvement while spreading extra holiday cheer.

To coincide with the boat parade, it was suggested that the town council, in possible cooperation with the Kiwanis Club, hold a Christmas tree lighting ceremony following the boat parade.

The original idea involved the town, or the Kiwanis, acquiring a low-cost or free large Christmas tree to decorate for the event. After deliberation, one of the town council members suggested an existing tree on town property be used if the tree was not too tall to decorate.

The Kiwanis plans to ask the children at the three local schools to create decorations for the tree. The club also plans to donate all money raised by the boat parade to the three schools in the area.

In other town news, the council is still working on their final grant proposal to send to BP. The council has agreed upon the “wish list” of projects it hopes the grant will cover, but the estimates for the town’s plans exceed the amount expected from BP. The council agreed the most important project on the wish list is a dredging project, which is estimated to cost between $40,000 and $50,000. The dredging project is necessary because the sediment is being moved downstream, which will eventually lead to a myriad of problems with a much higher price tag to fix.

The other projects on the town’s wish list include a wetlands and river access boardwalk project with a floating dock to allow better access to the Magnolia River, which is estimated to cost more than $140,000. The remainder of the money will also be spent on improvement projects, which will either allow better access to the waterways or improve the waterways themselves.

The town council was able to prioritize the projects on the wish list, and plans to ask BP to approve the projects, at an amount of slightly more than $220,000, to be used until the money runs out. Because the estimates for the projects could fluctuate before the projects are completed, the town council said if more money is needed on any projects the possibility of the town pitching in would be discussed as needed.

The town was also presented with an audit for the fiscal year that just ended. According to auditor Matt Taylor, Magnolia Springs is flourishing, adding almost $50,000 to their general fund account each year.

The council also voted to reappoint councilman Ken Laurendine as the town’s representative to the South Baldwin Chamber of Commerce.

The town allocated $500 to the United Way of Baldwin County and $200 to the Magnolia Springs Kiwanis Club. The $700 expense is $150 more than was budgeted, but council members voted it through anyway. One councilman said this early in the fiscal year, he didn’t feel bad going $150 over budget.

The next town council meeting was scheduled to be Dec. 28 at 5 p.m., but due to the holidays the council opted to change the meeting date to Dec. 21.