HomeMy Public PortalAboutTOL PR 2010-06-29 Loudoun Hills
Town of Leesburg
News Release
For Immediate Release
Contact:
Kathleen Leidich, AICP
Assistant to the Town Manager
kleidich@leesburgva.gov
703-771-2709
Town of Leesburg Launches Community Outreach Effort with
Loudoun Hills Neighborhood
Community Enhancement Team tasked with creating partnerships to address
quality of life issues throughout Leesburg
Leesburg, VA (June 29, 2010) -
On June 17, 2010, the Town of
Leesburg’s Community
Enhancement Team (CET)
partnered with the Loudoun
Hills neighborhood in northeast
Leesburg to celebrate the end
of school, the beginning of
summer, and a renewed
partnership between the
community and the Town.
Since January, the Community
Enhancement Team has been
working with the Loudoun Hills
HOA leadership and Millenium Management, the neighborhood’s property management
company, to address a number of issues in the neighborhood, including bulk trash pickup, the
condition of the playground, parking, street lights, and traffic control. The community cookout
and gathering served as the first public introduction of the CET to the community residents.
“First and foremost, we are building a working relationship with the neighborhood,” explained
Kathy Leidich, who serves as the chair of the CET. “That relationship depends on having open
lines of communication. Providing the residents with information about Town programs and
procedures is important, particularly in a neighborhood with high resident turnover, but it is
not enough. Town staff need to understand the problems from the residents’ perspective and
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in order to get that, the residents need to be willing to call us and tell us what’s happening in
the community. This type of event is great way to foster good relations between the residents
and staff, in a low-key way.”
Staff from a number of Town
departments were on hand at the
June 17 community event to provide
information about Town programs
and services, including the Recreation
Outreach to Community Kids (ROCK)
program, the Community Policing
program, code enforcement and
public transportation. In addition,
members of Explorer Post 1091, led
by Master Police Officer Chris
Tidmore, provided information about
neighborhood crime prevention.
McGruff the Crime Dog even made a
special appearance.
“About four months ago, after we raised some concerns with the Town over snow removal and
bulk trash pickup, we were invited to a meeting with Town staff. I’m not sure what I was
expecting, but there were about 15 Town staff there, including the Deputy Town Manager and
three department directors. I was shocked that the Town took the concerns of a neighborhood
of only 130 units so seriously. Since then, the response and effort by individual staff members
has been just great,” said John Ecker, president of the Loudoun Hills Homeowners Association.
“A lot of good things have been happening. Now, we are looking ahead to future opportunities
to partner with the Town to resolve some long-term problems, like refurbishing our
playground.”
The Community Enhancement Team was formed a number of years ago as a way to address
quality of life issues in neighborhoods across the Town and includes staff from the Parks &
Recreation, Public Works, Police and Planning & Zoning Departments. Issues that the CET
tackles range from abandoned properties, high grass and excessive occupancy to inoperable
vehicles, street light outages and trash accumulation. The goal of the team is to address issues
while still minor, before they pose a serious threat to the health, safety and welfare of the
Town’s residents.
“Before we formed the CET, we often found that staff from different departments were aware
of the same problem and trying to resolve it independently. Having the CET in place enabled us
to approach problems in an interdisciplinary manner,” said John Wells, Town Manager. “Now
we are taking the CET one step further and actively engaging the community to solve problems
together.”
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Using the success with the Loudoun Hills neighborhood as a model, CET members have
attended a number of other Leesburg HOA meetings in recent months. The team plans to
continue to increase outreach efforts, including a new page on the Town’s website. For
additional information about the CET or to invite a CET member to a neighborhood or HOA
meeting, please contact Kathy Leidich at kleidich@leesburgva.gov or 703-771-2709.
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