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HomeMy Public PortalAbout1993_02_15 SPECIAL MEETING MINUTES OF THE LEESBURG TOWN COUNCIL FEBRUARY 15, 1993 A special meeting of the Leesburg Town Council was held on Saturday, February 15, 1993, at 8:00 a.m., in the first floor Executive Conference room, 25 West Market Street, Leesburg, Virginia. Notice having been delivered to all members of the Council prior thereto. The purpose of the workshop was to discuss the following topics: 1. Progress report on the Leesburg Municipal Airport. 2. Downtown business roundtable. The meeting was called to order by the Mayor. COUNCILMEMBERS PRESENT George F. Atwell Georgia W. Bange Ronald W. Blake Joseph R. Trocino Kristen C. Umstattd William F. Webb Mayor James E. Clem STAFF MEMBERS PRESENT Town Manager Steven C. Brown Assistant Town Manager Peter Stephenson Mayor Clem began the meeting by identifying the items on the agenda for discussion. He stated that not only will concentration be placed on the downtown but also at the shopping centers in Leesburg as well. There have been enough studies and now it is time for action. Mr. Stephenson addressed the Council with an update on the airport and its operations. Mayor Clem stated that he appreciates the work that is being done at the airport. Councilmember Atwell stated that he is very pleased with what is happening at the airport. He thanked everyone involved. Councilmember Umstattd stated that since the town has taken over the airport, it is the first time that she has not received a lot of complaints. Mr. Brown also expressed his appreciation to the people who work at the airport. Mayor Clem stated that numerous studies have been made regarding the situation downtown. We need to decide what types of businesses we want on main street and what steps should be taken to revitalize the downtown. We need to be mindful also that it is not just the downtown. Everything in Leesburg has to be addressed. We are going to be aggressive in soliciting businesses to fill the vacant buildings. Items for discussion are: · How many vacant stores do we have downtown. Mr. Brown stated that he will get this data for the Council. · Identify the landowners/building owners and square footage of the buildings. · What types of businesses are needed. · What can the building owners, banks and the town offer to help attract businesses. Ms. Umstattd stated that she would like to see Leesburg advertised as a town that is open until 9:00 p.m., every night including Sundays - or at least until 5:00 p.m. on Sundays. One thing that has been a detriment is too many ~nick knack~ stores. The population base cannot support that many. The town needs a more diverse shopping choice. A shoe store, a downtown general store - where band-aids and aspirin could be purch~sed. The main challenge that faces the town is whether we want to give up being a retail market for the folks who live around here and purely go for the tourist dollar in which case we need activities downtown that are reliable and go on every weekend. Mayor Clem asked the Council what it expects the downtown to be - tourists or a good cross-section. Mr. Trocino stated that tourists and/or retail are both acceptable solutions to downtown. If the Council chooses to interrupt the retail business, some strong and expensive medicine will be needed. The town needs a foundation - LRI or DBA that will generate people/foot traffic that will then support such things as a shoe store. We have to find a way to interrupt the process that is changing downtown Leesburg into something that it has not been before. The very nature of the core is changing. Some combination - support and strong entity that can apply master leasing abilities, treat the downtown as a single entity, bring despair and interest together and crack whips over some peoples heads so that they can run a place from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. Tom Galloway expressed concern with making the merchants stay open from 9 to 9. He suggested a downtown, redevelopment corporation. With this a stock offering could be done to raise a certain amount of money - up to $7.5 million. Have a board of directors for the redevelopment corporation and go out and find out which businesses this town would support. Then we could develop six businesses at one time -identify them, fund them, hire managers - each business would have a small board of directors who would work with the redevelopment corporation. The town has to support some resources. Sue Webb addressed the Council stating that the retail business as known 2-3-5 years ago no longer exists. It is a changing time. If the Council wants businesses in the downtown then the Council needs to hire someone to go out from an economic standpoint and actively solicit businesses for the downtown. It is not the rent - the landlords are willing to work with people. It is the traffic. Other communities are vying for the same tourist dollars. The local banks need to offer their support. Mr. Harvey Berger addressed the Council stating that Leesburg has a lot to offer to the general community that outsiders more readily see then the residents at this time. Traffic flow generators, starting with DMV and many other governmental moves have taken away the ability of any business to expose itseff to new traffic. The retail climate has dramatically changed. Leesburg needs a plan with concrete action and someone that is going to do it. Mr. Terry Holtzheimer addressed the Council stating that Leesburg doubled its supply of retail space in 1989. At the same time there has also been some absorption. There is more space leased now then there was four years ago. Retail sales in the county have continually declined. Many of the downtown businesses are now competing with the other shopping centers, i.e.,Battlefield, Virginia Square, etc. These shopping centers are now in direct competition with downtown. In the idea of not competing with the shopping centers - some businesses cluster and others spread. Those that cluster - the fact that you have one makes the second more viable, makes the third more viable still. These situations are worth pursuing. Entertainment - Leesburg has some of the finest restaurants in northern Virginia and the Washington area. It is becoming known as a restaurant center/entertainmentcenter. This is a big potential to build on. Another potentially successful use is the design fields - antiques and furnishings and art. Business services are another potential. The office market will come back again with the economy. Maintain the first floor spaces of the downtown buildings as retail or entertainment and not let them go to office uses. Rents and prices - Leesburg is a pricey place. Cutting the rates a lot is not going to be a real great benefit. Mr. Webb agreed that there is not enough traffic in downtown Leesburg to support retail businesses. Mr. Blake stated that a lot of positive statements have been presented at this meeting. Ms. Umstattd stated that the Town is also going to be dealing with outside influences in trying to decide what we do with our street-level shops/office buildings. There will be pressure from the professions to have those first level areas open to them. Mr. Trocino stated that the retail center for Leesburg has moved out of the downtown. That does not mean we can't have a viable downtown. We have to take care of all the businesses in town. There has to be a balance. Mayor Clem stated that many of the store fronts have not changed in years and many are not lit at night. We don't have the pedestrian traffic and we have to work to acquire this. Mayor Clem asked for information regarding the redevelopment corporation. He stated that the town needs some bank representation. Mr. Atwell stated that the town definitely needs a plan. The plan should include what the Town wants downtown Leesburg to be. We need someone to be in charge - take the plan, goals and objectives and implement them. Ms. Bange stated that she has heard a lot of positive comments this morning. She stated she visualizes Leesburg as being a "mix". We need to work very hard to keep the government center downtown. We need a positive attitude and we need to create an atmosphere that is conducive of bringing businesses back downtown. She stated that she would like to see the county and town work together and develop into an active solicitation for businesses. Mr. Louis Cable, representing Leesburg Renaissance, addressed the Council presenting his views and opinions -2- 2/15/93 on this subject. Mr. Chuck Thorntoo also presented his comments to the Council. The Council also heard from several local business owners, including Hugh Harmon with the CVB and Susan Home representing the Chamber of Commerce, Mr. Brown stated that the town is limited in its resources. The town has gone for four years with the same expenditures. The redirecting of staff is underway. The Council will meet in special session in the near future to discuss the position of Assistant Town Manager for Economic Development. On motion of, and duly seconded the meeting was adjourned. James E. Clem, Mayor -3- 2/15/93