GONZALES — Gonzales council members on Monday appointed the community's former city attorney to serve as its interim mayor.

Ryland Percy will fill in for Barney Arceneaux, who resigned to become executive director of the Louisiana Municipal Association. Percy's term runs until the end of the year, when Arceneaux' term would have ended.

Mayor Pro Tempore Kirk Boudreaux had been serving as interim mayor until Percy's appointment.

Arceneaux had served as Gonzales' mayor since 2009 and worked with the city to expand the parks and recreational facilities.

Percy retired in 2015 after 25 years as city attorney. He is the father of appellate court judge Katherine Tess Stromberg.