HomeMy Public PortalAbout2021_tcmin0323 COUNCIL MEETING March 23, 2021
Council Chamber, 25 West Market Street, 7:00 p.m. Mayor Kelly Burk presiding.
Council Members Present: Ara Bagdasarian, Zach Cummings, Suzanne Fox,Vice Mayor
Marty Martinez, Kari Nacy, Neil Steinberg and Mayor Kelly Burk.
Council Members Absent: None.
Staff Present: Town Manager Kaj Dentler, Town Attorney Christopher Spera, Deputy
Town Manager Keith Markel, Director of Finance and Administration Clark Case,
Director of Utilities Amy Wyks, Director of Public Works and Capital Projects Renee
LaFollette, Director of Human Resources Josh Didawick(WebEx), Director of Plan
Review Bill Ackman (WebEx), Chief of Police Greg Brown, Director of Economic
Development Russell Seymour, Director of Parks and Recreation Rich Williams, Director
of Thomas Balch Library Alexandra Gressitt(WebEx), Director of Planning and Zoning
Susan Berry Hill(WebEx), Director of Information Technology Jakub Jedrzejczak, Airport
Director Scott Coffman(WebEx), Emergency Management Coordinator Joe Dame
(WebEx), Deputy Director and Treasurer of Finance and Administrative Services Lisa
Haley, Zoning Administrator Mike Watkins, Management and Budget Officer Jason
Cournoyer, Senior Budget Analyst Cole Fazenbaker and Clerk of Council Eileen Boeing.
AGENDA ITEMS
1. CALL TO ORDER
2. INVOCATION was given by Council Member Steinberg.
3. SALUTE TO THE FLAG was led by Vice Mayor Martinez.
4. ROLL CALL All Council Members present.
5. MINUTES
a. Work Session Minutes of March 8, 2021
MOTION 2021-057
On a motion by Vice Mayor Martinez, seconded by Council Member Cummings, the
minutes of the Work Session of March 8, 2021, were moved for approval.
The motion was approved by the following vote:
Aye: Bagdasarian, Cummings, Fox, Vice Mayor Martinez, Nacy, Steinberg and
Mayor Burk
Nay: None
Vote: 7-0
b. Regular Session Minutes of March 9, 2021
MOTION2021-058
On a motion by Vice Mayor Martinez, seconded by Council Member Steinberg, the
minutes of the Regular Session of March 9, 2021, were moved for approval.
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COUNCIL MEETING March 23, 2021
The motion was approved by the following vote:
Aye: Bagdasarian, Cummings, Fox, Vice Mayor Martinez, Nacy, Steinberg and
Mayor Burk
Nay: None
Vote: 7-0
6. ADOPTING THE MEETING AGENDA
MOTION2021-059
On a motion by Vice Mayor Martinez, seconded by Council Member Bagdasarian, the
meeting agenda was moved for approval.
Mayor Burk requested items 14.d. —Motion to approve the Wek of the Young Child
Proclamation and 14.e. —Motion to approve the Condemning Hate Crimes against the
Asian American and Pacific Islander Community Proclamation be moved to section 8 to
be proclaimed with the Keep Leesburg Beautiful Proclamation.
MOTION2021-060
On a motion by Mayor Burk, seconded by Vice Mayor Martinez, the following was proposed:
Moving items 14.d. —Motion to approve the Week of the Young Child Proclamation and 14.e.
—Motion to approve the Condemning Hate Crimes against the Asian American and Pacific
Islander Community Proclamation be moved to section 8 on the agenda.
The motion was approved by the following vote:
Aye: Bagdasarian, Cummings, Fox, Nacy, Steinberg, Vice Mayor Martinez and Mayor
Burk
Nay: None
Vote: 7-0
The original motion to adopt the meeting agenda with items 14.d. & 14.e. moved to section 8
was approved by the following vote:
Aye: Bagdasarian, Cummings, Fox, Nacy, Steinberg, Vice Mayor Martinez and Mayor
Burk
Nay: None
Vote: 7-0
7. CERTIFICATES OF RECOGNITION
a. None.
8. PRESENTATION OF PROCLAMATIONS
a. Keep Leesburg Beautiful.
Mayor Burk read the proclamation for Keep Leesburg Beautiful.
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COUNCIL MEETING March 23, 2021
b. Motion to approve the Week of the Young Child Proclamation
MOTION 2021-061
On a motion by Vice Mayor Martinez, seconded by Council Member Cummings, the
following was proposed:
I move to approve the Week of the Young Child Proclamation to be proclaimed at the
March 23, 2021, Town Council Meeting.
The motion was approved by the following vote:
Aye: Bagdasarian, Cummings, Fox, Vice Mayor Martinez, Nacy, Steinberg and
Mayor Burk
Nay: None
Vote: 7-0
Mayor Burk read the proclamation for the Week of the Young Child.
c. Motion to approve the Condemning Hate Crimes against the Asian
American and Pacific Islander Community Proclamation
MOTION 2021-062
On a motion by Vice Mayor Martinez, seconded by Council Member Nacy, the
following was proposed:
I move to approve the Condemning Hate Crimes against the Asian American and
Pacific Islander Community Proclamation to be proclaimed at the March 23, 2021, Town
Council Meeting.
The motion was approved by the following vote:
Aye: Bagdasarian, Cummings, Fox, Vice Mayor Martinez, Nacy, Steinberg and
Mayor Burk
Nay: None
Vote: 7-0
Mayor Burk read the proclamation for Condemning Hate Crimes against the
Asian American and Pacific Islander Community.
9. PRESENTATIONS
a. Commission on Public Art(COPA)Annual Report
Ms. Donna Torraca and Ms. Elizabeth Ransom presented Council with the
annual report for the Commission on Public Art(COPA). Council, Ms. Torraca
and Ms. Ransom discussed the COPA activities and initiatives.
10. REGIONAL COM: IISSION REPORTS
Mayor Burk reported on the Coalition of Loudoun Towns (COLT)meeting,
the Northern Virginia Transportation Authority(NVTA)meeting and the Virginia
Municipal League (VML)Executive Committee meeting.
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COUNCIL MEETING March 23, 2021
11. PETITIONERS
The Petitioner's Section was opened at 7:28 p.m.
There were no petitioners.
The Petitioner's Section was closed at 7:29 p.m.
12. APPROVAL OF THE CONSENT AGENDA
MOTION2021-063
On a motion by Vice Mayor Martinez, seconded by Council Member Bagdasarian, the
following consent agenda was proposed:
a. Ferric Chloride Chemical Tank Replacement at Water Pollution Control
Facility
RESOLUTION2021-046
Approving a Task Order for the Replacement of Two Ferric Chloride
Chemical Tanks at the Water Pollution Control Facility to FJlndustrial,
LLC in the Amount of$158,045
b. Awarding a Continuing Services Contract for Professional Airport Planning,
Engineering, and Architectural Services for the Leesburg Executive Airport
RESOLUTION2021-047
Awarding a Continuing Services Contract for Professional Airport Planning,
Engineering, and Architectural Services for the Leesburg Executive Airport to
Talbert&Bright&Kane, Inc.
c. Creative Community Partnership Grant
RESOLUTION2021-048
Authorization to Apply for the Creative Community Partnership Grant
through the Virginia Commission for the Arts and Providing for the
Distribution of the Grant Funding and Town Matching Funds to Certain
Independent Art Organizations
The Consent Agenda was approved by the following vote:
Aye: Bagdasarian, Cummings, Fox, Vice Mayor Martinez, Nacy, Steinberg, and
Mayor Burk
Nay: None
Vote: 7-0
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COUNCIL MEETING March 23, 2021
13. PUBLIC HEARINGS
a. TLOA-2020-0005 Fueling Station with Accessory Convenience Store Zoning
Text Amendment
The Public Hearing was opened at 7:31 p.m.
Mr.Michael Watkins presented Council with a Zoning Ordinance text
amendment for Fueling Stations with Accessory Convenience Store. Council and
staff discussed the proposed amendments.
Public Speakers:
There were no public speakers.
The public hearing was closed at 7:39 p.m.
MOTION
On a motion by Council Member Nag, seconded by Council Member Fox, the
following was proposed:
ORDINANCE
Amending the Town of Leesburg Zoning Ordinance Article 8 to Include New Use
Standards for Fueling Station with Accessory Convenience Store
Council and staff discussed the proposed amendment. Council Member
Steinberg offered a friendly amendment to the motion to limit the canopy height at
17'3". After further discussion the amendment was modified to state that the
canopy height would follow what was approved by Loudoun County.
Council Member Cummings asked to divide the question to address the
canopy height separately from the remaining text amendments.
ORDINANCE 2021-0-007
Amending the Town of Leesburg Zoning Ordinance Article 8 to Include New Use
Standards for Fueling Station with Accessory Convenience Store without the canopy
height
The motion was approved by the following vote:
Aye: Bagdasarian, Cummings, Fox, Vice Mayor Martinez, Nacy, Steinberg, and
Mayor Burk
Nay: None
Vote: 7-0
ORDINANCE 2021-0-007
Amending the Town of Leesburg Zoning Ordinance Article 8 to Include New Use
Standards for Fueling Station with Accessory Convenience Store with the canopy
height to be the same as what is approved by Loudoun County
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COUNCIL MEETING March 23, 2021
The motion was approved by the following vote:
Aye: Bagdasarian, Fox, Vice Mayor Martinez, Nacy, Steinberg, and Mayor Burk
Nay: Cummings
Vote: 6-1
b. 2021 Tax Rate and Fees
The Public Hearing was opened at 7:50 p.m.
Mr. Cole Fazenbaker presented to Council the proposed tax rate and fees for
2021.
Public Speakers:
James Robberstad, 419 Mosby Drive. Spoke to Council in support of
mitigation efforts regarding flooding and erosion caused by the Town branch to be,
included and accelerated where possible in the CIP. Mr. Robberstad also inquired
about a flyer distributed in his neighborhood regarding clean-up efforts to the creek
by the Town.
The public hearing was closed at 8:02 p.m.
Council and staff discussed the request to include$37,000 in the Fiscal Year
2022 budget for holiday decorations and the impact on the proposed tax rate. Mr.
Dentler advised Council that$37,000 could be funded out of the fiscal year 2021
budget using vacancy savings which would result in the proposed tax rate remaining
unchanged at 18.4 .
MOTION2021-064
On a motion by Council Member Fox, seconded by Council Member Nacy, the
following was proposed:
To use$37,000 from the Fiscal Year 2021 vacancy savings to pay for holiday
decorations.
Council and staff discussed the impact of including it in the Fiscal Year 2022
budget versus using the vacancy savings from Fiscal Year 2021.
The motion was approved by the following vote:
Aye: Bagdasarian, Cummings, Fox, Vice Mayor Martinez, Nacy, Steinberg, and
Mayor Burk
Nay: None
Vote: 7-0
MOTION2021-065
On a motion by Vice Mayor Martinez, seconded by Council Member Steinberg, the
following was proposed:
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COUNCIL MEETING March 23, 2021
ORDINANCE 2021-0-008
Setting the Real Taxable Property Rate and the Tax Rate for Certain Personal
Property for Tax Year 2021;Amending Appendix B-Fee Schedule, Section 20-22
The proposed tax rate is 18.4(G.
The motion was approved by the following roll call vote:
Fox—aye, Steinberg—aye, Cummings—aye, Vice Mayor Martinez—aye,
Bagdasarian—aye, Nacy—aye, and Mayor Burk—aye.
Vote: 7-0
14. RESOLUTIONS /ORDINANCES /MOTIONS
a. Fiscal Year 2022-2027 Capital Improvements Program(CIP)
Mayor Burk asked Ms. Renee LaFollette to provide an overview of
the flyer that was sent to affected residents regarding the creek clean up. Ms.
LaFollette noted that crews will be going in to clear brush and fallen trees out
of the stream channel to help clean the channel but noted that the work has
been delayed. Ms. LaFollette did not have a specific date as to when the
work was scheduled to be performed but would fmd out.
MOTION 2021-066
On a motion by Vice Mayor Martinez, seconded by Council Member
Cummings, the following was proposed:
RESOLUTION2021-049
Adopting the Fiscal Year 2022-2027 Capital Improvements Program in the
amount of$210,12Z600
Council and staff discussed the timing of the projects in the CIP.
The motion was approved by the following vote:
Aye: Bagdasarian, Cummings, Fox, Vice Mayor Martinez, Nacy, Steinberg and
Mayor Burk
Nay: None
Vote: 7-0
b. Adoption of the Fiscal Year 2022 Budget
MOTION 2021-067
On a motion by Vice Mayor Martinez, seconded by Council Member Fox, the
following was proposed:
ORDINANCE 2021-0-009
Adopting the Budget for Fiscal Year 2022;Making Appropriations for Fiscal
Year 2022 for the General Fund, Utilities Fund, Capital Projects Fund, and
Northern Virginia Transportation Authority(NVTA)Fund;Establishing a
Revenue Stabilization Reserve in the General Fund;Authorizing
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COUNCIL MEETING March 23, 2021
Amendments to the Budget and Supplemental Appropriations by Council
Resolution;and Authorizing and Directing the Town Manager to Take All
Steps Necessary and Prudent to Effectuate the Implementation of the
Ordinance
The motion was approved by the following vote:
Aye: Bagdasarian, Cummings, Fox, Vice Mayor Martinez, Nacy, Steinberg and
Mayor Burk
Nay: None
Vote: 7-0
c. Motion to Approve the Armenian Genocide Remembrance Day
Proclamation
MOTION 2021-068
On a motion by Council Member Bagdasarian, seconded by Council Member
Nacy, the following was proposed:
I move to approve the Armenian Genocide Remembrance Day Proclamation
to be proclaimed at the April 13, 2021, Town Council Meeting.
The motion was approved by the following vote:
Aye: Bagdasarian, Cummings, Fox, Vice Mayor Martinez, Nacy, Steinberg and
Mayor Burk
Nay: None
Vote: 7-0
15. UNFINISHED BUSINESS
a. None.
16. NEW BUSINESS
a. None.
17. COUNCIL DISCLOSURES AND COMMENTS /ADDITIONS TO
FUTURE MEETINGS
Council Member Fox wished everyone a Happy Easter.
Council Member Steinberg disclosed he had a meeting with Mr. Peter Burnett
regarding the Liberty Street parking lot. Mr. Steinberg wished everyone a Happy Passover.
Council Member Cummings disclosed he had a meeting with Ms. Jennifer Lassiter
Smith of INMED to discuss the INMED School Paxton project.
Council Member Nacy wished a happy spring break to the seniors.
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COUNCIL MEETING March 23, 2021
Council Member Bagdasarian disclosed he met with Ms. Jennifer Lassiter Smith on
the INMED conference call. Mr. Bagdasarian invited Council Members to participate in
an online training on Wednesday, March 24, on active shootings during COVID in which
he was to be a speaker. Mr. Bagdasarian noted he would forward the invite to Council.
Vice Mayor Martinez disclosed he corresponded three times via email with Ms.
Jennifer Lassiter Smith regarding INMED.
18. MAYOR DISCLOSURES AND COMMENTS /ADDITIONS TO FUTURE
MEETINGS
Mayor Burk disclosed she had a phone conversation with Mr. Mike
McLister. Mayor Burk welcomed All Smiles Dentistry to Leesburg. Mayor Burk
noted that Ms. Cate Magennis Wyatt, Chair of the Northern Virginia Regional Park
Authority walked the path at Lawson Road to show them what had been done to
stop flooding further downstream. Mayor Burk stated she met with Ms. Stacy
Metcalf who is the new Executive Director of Morven Park. Mayor Burk thanked
Girl Scout Troop 230 for inviting her to their meeting for a discussion on how to be
a woman leader in this day and age. Mayor Burk noted she along with five others
received a proclamation from Loudoun County Board Supervisor Kristen Umstattd
for Women's History Month. Mayor Burk noted she also received a proclamation
from the Board of Supervisors as a whole. Mayor Burk noted that she attended the
capping off ceremony for the courthouse and signed one of the beams and made a
111 few remarks at the ceremony. Mayor Burk said she and Leesburg Police Chief
Greg Brown attended a meeting with Loudoun County Board of Supervisors Chair
Phyllis Randall regarding homeless services that are available in the County.
19. TOWN MANAGER COMMENTS
a. None.
20. CLOSED SESSION
a. Land Acquisition
MOTION2021-069
On a motion by Mayor Burk, seconded by Council Member Steinberg, the
following was proposed:
I move pursuant to Section'2.2-3711(A)(3)of the Code of Virginia, that the
Leesburg Town Council convene in a closed meeting for the purpose of
discussion and receiving information regarding the potential acquisition of real
properties for a public purpose.
The motion was approved by the following vote:
Aye: Bagdasarian, Cummings, Fox, Vice Mayor Martinez, Nacy, Steinberg and
Mayor Burk
Nay: None
Vote: 7-0
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COUNCIL MEETING March 23, 2021
Council went into a Closed Session at 8:23 p.m.
Council reconvened into an Open Session at 9:02 p.m.
MOTION2021-070
On a motion made by Mayor Burk, the following was proposed:
In accordance with Section§2.2-3712 of the Code of Virginia, I move that
Council certify to the best of each member's knowledge, only public business
matters lawfully exempted from open meeting requirements under Virginia
Freedom of Information Act and such public business matters for the purpose
identified in the motion by which the closed meeting was convened were heard,
discussed or considered in the meeting by Council. (ROLL CALL VOTE)
The motion was approved by the following roll call vote:
Council Member Fox—aye, Council Member Steinberg—aye, Council Member
Cummings—aye, Vice Mayor Martinez—aye, Council Member Bagdasarian—
aye, Council Member Nacy—aye, and Mayor Burk—aye
Vote: 7-0
21. ADJOURNMENT
On a motion by Vice Mayor Martinez, seconded by Council Member Nacy, the meeting was
adjourned at 9::03 p.m.
Kell urk, or
Town of Leesburg
ATTEST:
4941.67
Clerk of Council
2021 tcmin0323
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March 23,2021 —Town Council Meeting
(Note: This is a transcript prepared by a Town contractor based on the video of the meeting. It
may not be entirely accurate.For greater accuracy,we encourage you to review the video of the
meeting that is on the Town's Web site—www.leesburova.00v or refer to the approved Council
meeting minutes. Council meeting videos are retained for three calendar years after a meeting
per Library of Virginia Records Retention guidelines.)
Mayor Kelly Burk:Third meeting of the Leesburg Town Council to order. If anyone in the room needs
hearing assistance please see the Clerk. I want to remind everybody to speak into your mics as we're
masked it's difficult to hear us. Make sure that you're really speaking directly into your mic. Council
Member Steinberg will be giving the invocation followed by Vice Mayor Martinez to lead us in the pledge
of allegiance. Council Member Steinberg.
Council Member Neil Steinberg:Thank you.This invitation time is the time we set aside for reflection
as we prepare to do our work and service to the Town and its residents. Nothing can be more sobering
today than the loss of the 10 lives yesterday at the shooting in Colorado and that coming on the heels
of the loss of eight other lives in the city of Atlanta. Unfortunately, this is a scene that has become all
too commonplace in our country.
Today we have representatives from government organizations who tell us that now is not the time to
have a discussion about sensible weapons control and assault weapons bans or indeed any other sort
of sensible gun legislation and to do so, it would be political grandstanding, but from my,where I sit, if
this isn't the time I don't know when is.This evening as we contemplate our sober thoughts,some may
offer their thoughts and prayers to the families of the victims but we've done that before. Maybe we
should try something else.A moment of silence, please.
Council Member Steinberg: Thank you.
Mayor Burk:Vice Mayor.
Vice Mayor Fernando"Marty" Martinez: Please join me in saying the pledge of allegiance.
Council Members: I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America,and to the republic
for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible,with liberty and justice for all.
Mayor Burk:Thank you. Let the record reflect that all members of Council are here tonight.We do not
need a motion to electronically participate. I need a motion to accept the work session minutes of March
8th,2021 moved by Vice Mayor Martinez, seconded-
Council Member Zach Cummings: Second.
Mayor Burk: -by Council Member Cummings.All in favor indicate by saying Aye.
Council Members:Aye.
Mayor Burk: Opposed?That's 7-0.Regular session meetings of March 9th,2021.Vice Mayor Martinez
moves. Second?
Council Member Steinberg: Second.
Mayor Burk: Seconded by Council Member Steinberg.All in favor indicate by saying Aye.
Council Members:Aye.
Mayor Burk: Opposed? That's 7-0. I need a motion to adopt the meeting's agenda. Moved by Vice
Mayor Martinez.
Page 1 March 23,2021
Council Member Ara Bagdasarian: Second.
Mayor Burk: Seconded by Council Member Bagdasarian. I'll take turns. Before we vote on it, I need to
make a motion to move proclamations 14D and E from the resolutions and ordinance and motion
section to the presentation of proclamations. I will make that motion and seconded by Vice Mayor
Martinez.We are just voting on the motion at this point.All in favor indicate by saying'Aye.
Council Members:Aye.
Mayor Burk: Opposed?That passes 7-0. Now,we're voting on the agenda. Do I have a motion? No, I
do have a motion. Mr. Martinez and Council Member Bagdasarian.All in favor indicate by saying Aye.
Council Members: Aye.
Mayor Burk: Opposed?That passes 7-0.We do not have certificates of recognition tonight but we do
have three proclamations. One, Keep Leesburg Beautiful. I will read it for the record. It says,Whereas
the Town of Leesburg is committed to an environmental stewardship and maintaining the aesthetic
appearance of the Town's road,corridors and public places,and whereas many volunteers come forth
each April to collect trash from roadside, stream areas and common areas throughout the Town, and
whereas many volunteers place stickers on storm drains reminding everyone that whatever goes in the
drain ends up in the Chesapeake Bay thus extending the positive impact of our cleanup activities far
beyond the Town.
Whereas the Town Council appreciates the fine work of the Town staff to keep the Town's roadways,
right-of-ways, and parks clean and attractive year-round. Therefore proclaimed by the Mayor and the
Council of the Town of Leesburg, Virginia, hereby proclaim April 2021 as Keep Leesburg Beautiful
month.We encourage all residents, businesses, youth groups, churches, and service organizations to
participate in Keep Leesburg Beautiful by organizing cleanup and beautiful activities proclaimed this
23rd day of May 2021.
I need those [chuckles] [inaudible] okay, and I need a motion for the Week of the Child, April 10th
through 16th
Vice Mayor Martinez: So moved.
Mayor Burk: So moved by Vice Mayor Martinez.Second?
Council Member Cummings: Second.
Mayor Burk: Second by Council Member Cummings. I will read it and then ask for a vote. This is the
Week of the Young Child,April 10th through the 16th.Whereas the National Association for the Education
of Young Children celebrates the 50th anniversary of the Week of the Young Child which is April 10th
through 16th, 2021. Whereas high-quality early childhood programs provide important benefits to
children, families, our State and the national economy, and whereas a high-quality early childhood
education depends on talented early childhood educators who ensure that children supported by
families have the early experience they need for a strong foundation.
Whereas we recognize Akhil Govil,the owner of The Goddard School located in the Town of Leesburg
to receive this proclamation,and we support all child care facilities that promote and inspire exceptional
early childhood experiences for our youngest citizens. Therefore, the Mayor and the Council of the
Town of Leesburg, in Virginia hereby proclaim April 10th through the 16th, 2021 as the Week of the
Young Child and does hereby support the complex, valuable, essential, and demanding work of the
early childhood educators while encouraging all community partners to work together to make good
investments in early childhood health and development, proclaimed this 23rd day of March 2021.
I have a motion by Mr. Martinez,seconded by Mr. Cummings.All in favor indicate by saying Aye.
Council Members:Aye.
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Mayor Burk:Opposed?That passes 7-0.The next item I need a motion is for Condemning Hate Crimes
against the Asian Community and the Pacific Island Community, March 23rd. Moved by Mr. Martinez,
seconded by Ms. Nacy. I will read it and again ask for the vote after that. Condemning the hate crimes
against the Asian American and Pacific Islander communities.Whereas the Asian American and Pacific
Island communities have made significant contributions to our nation today and throughout history.
Whereas despite increasing the acts of intolerance,the Asian American and Pacific Island communities
has many well-known and highly regarded individuals that have made a positive impact on our nation,
including Yo-Yo Ma,a Chinese American classical musician and performer,Tammy Duckworth,a Thai
American Army veteran and United States Senator, I M Pei,Chinese American architect,Jerry Yang,a
Taiwanese American co-founder of Yahoo and a tech investor,Joyce Chen,a Chinese American chef-
restaurateur and author Kalpana Chawla, an Indian American astronaut and engineer. Whereas
Leesburg has a strong Asian American and Pacific Island community that includes many small business
owners of Asian descent such as Grandmaster Choi of the US Taekwondo Martial Arts Academy,the
Wang family of the China King restaurant, Ming and Shaun Donovan of Jasmine restaurant,Anita and
Frank Henry of Rouge Spa and Ad Barnes of the Leesburg Jeweler.
Whereas the Leesburg Town Council disavows and denounces all acts of hate against all citizens,
including the Asian American and Pacific Islanders community,therefore proclaimed the Mayor and the
Council of the Town of Leesburg,Virginia stand with our Leesburg Asian American and Pacific Islander
community against any and all acts of hate and/or violence.We condemn the acts of horrors directed
at the Asian American and Pacific Islander community in Georgia and anywhere in the United States of
America, proclaimed this 23rd day of March 2021. This was moved by Vice Mayor Martinez, Council
Member Nacy seconded.All in favor indicate by saying Aye.
Council Members:Aye
Mayor Burk: Opposed?All right.Then these have to go, okay. Let me give these back to you so you
can pass them down to Miss Nacy.All right,that now takes us to our presentation.The presentation is
from the Commission of Public Arts, COPA's annual report. Co-chair Donna Torraca and Elizabeth
Ransom will be presenting.Welcome, ladies.
Donna Torraca: Thank you, Mayor and Council Members,for the opportunity to present the value of
public art in a post-pandemic recovery.My name is Donna Torraca and I'm the Chair for the Commission
on Public Art. Elizabeth Ransom, the co-chair, will also be presenting to you tonight and Rita Sartori,
president of Friends of Leesburg Public Arts is providing technical assistance.
The pandemic made it challenging at first but our team stayed positive and kept the wheels moving
forward.With the help of FOLPA, and teamwork,we have been able to bring you all the art you see in
Town today and we have a lot more planned. As my friend and former COPA member, K.D. Kidder,
reminded me the earth without art is just'eh'. Here's Elizabeth to give you some information about the
benefits of public art.
Elizabeth Ransom: Public art has many benefits including directly supporting your work on the Town
Plan.The plan's first principle--
Mayor Burk: Excuse me, Elizabeth,could you move closer to the mic?Sorry to interrupt you, but--
Elizabeth Ransom: Can you hear me now?
Mayor Burk:There you go.Thank you.
Elizabeth Ransom:The plan's first principle is Town character and authenticity and public art is directly
connected with that. It helps Leesburg meet the goal of providing a high-quality brand and a sense of
place. We were thrilled that during the Town Plan process, Leesburg residents asked specifically for
public art that celebrates Leesburg as a community. Even in the time of the ancient Greeks, sawy
leaders knew that public art projects would pay off. Pericles persuaded leaders of Athens to invest in
Page 31 March 23, 2021
the Parthenon. It was very expensive, and they just been through a war,just like we've been through a
very expensive and taxing pandemic.
Pericles knew that it would have the power to attract visitors. He understood that public art can inspire,
define a sense of place, and strengthen the economy.The same is true today in the US, and research
shows that art travelers are the best kind of travelers.They're the perfect tourists,they stay longer and
they spend more than others.They spend over$47 on art events,and they spend an additional$30 on
things like parking, and retail bringing more money to local businesses.
Demand for the arts is expected to be very high after the pandemic. People are really anxious to get
out of their houses and enjoy the arts. According to a national study, over 90% intend to return to
consuming arts post-pandemic.Last year, I mentioned that in Virginia,the arts contribute 3.5%of GDP,
and then,for example,there's the growing experience economy.78%of millennia's prefer to spend on
live experiences and cultural events even more than material possessions. 72% of them hope to
increase this spending in the year ahead.I'll leave you with this young lover of the arts,who Leah Kosin
captured enjoying our love work sculpture.
Donna Torraca:What did we accomplish in 2020?Well,we collaborated with Economic Development,
Visit Loudoun and Parks and Rec focusing on the arts and cultural district. I'll talk a little bit more about
that later, but our first big task was to update the logo and I wanted to share.We have labels with the
logo for each of you. New sculptures were installed in the spring of 2020 in the Arts Park and continue
to be very popular since they provided a safe way to view public art during the pandemic.
Later this year,we will conduct a vote for your favorite sculpture with the community and the artists will
be awarded a monetary prize.We're also preparing a new call to artists for the 2022 sculptures in our
Arts Park. By the way, one of the sculptures that you see on the screen will be highlighted on the new
Drew Barrymore Show in the coming months.
Our virtual public art tour project was another way we adapted in 2020. Leah Kosin, staff liaison,
recorded videos of different commission members talking about public art in Leesburg.We talked about
the bicycle mural in the Town Hall, Gale Waldron's mural in Lassiter Way, the sculpture in the skate
park, and other sites. She shared the videos on the Town's social media channels to remind the
community about all the public art we have in Leesburg. Then she loaded these onto the tours on the
Tour Leesburg app.
What's the plan for 2021?With revisions to the Town Plan underway,this is the perfect opportunity for
COPA to continue to work with staff and Council regarding the vision for public art which Town Council
adopted in March of 2019 and added into the Town planning documents.Staff has done a tremendous
job on the Town Plan and we're very excited to see so much of our vision already incorporated.
We have two new murals coming in Leesburg in 2021. The much anticipated King Street Bridge mural
will begin in April and will be finished by June. This new mural on Liberty Street which was created by
Sagetopia will begin this spring.Arts districts bring economic opportunities to an area and we wanted
to put a spotlight on ours. Rebranding of the arts and cultural district will be a large focus for 2021.The
map you see here outlines the district,the dots represent poles and areas identified by COPA and Town
staff for banners and will alert travelers when they enter the district.
This is a sample of what the new banner is going to look like.We're working with Dominion, Economic
Development, Parks and Rec and Public Works to install the banners to help define the arts and cultural
district.Our timeline at this point is March,early April to order the banners. Installation in April-May and
a marketing launch in May to June.While things are improving,we acknowledge that we are still--need
to be cautious concerning the pandemic.
We have begun collaboration with the Diversity, Economic Development and the Thomas Balch Library
Commissions on various projects and hope to work with other commissions to develop a scavenger
hunt to help promote art and other wonderful things Leesburg has to offer.The Commission and FOLPA
are finalizing a call to artists for the alley niche and project and we hope to have designs for your review
later this year.The example you see above is only for the illustrative purposes.
Page 41 March 23, 2021
The Commission continues to work on a mural for the Harrison Street wall and we hope to bring a
design to Council for approval soon.The Public Works building on Russell Branch Parkway is a project
staff has suggested to COPA. If funding can be secured,we would like to put a call out for this project
by the end of the year.Then let's not forget that public art comes in many forms and we plan to promote
and support all forms of art in Leesburg. We'd like to see more pop-up art in parks and around Town
and provide interactive art projects for the community and the future. Of course, we have our great
desire for performing arts center.
How can you help?Realizing this is a particularly difficult budget year,there are still ways Town Council
can help. We would love Council support with outreach regarding the launch of the arts and cultural
district. We'd like to work with Council and staff to further refine the draft Town Plan as it reflects the
potential for public art in the community.As you are all well aware,murals right now are only placed on
public buildings and COPA would welcome the opportunity to work with Council and staff to develop a
process for murals on private buildings.
On behalf of the Commission and FOLPA, I want to thank you for the opportunity this evening and we
look forward to all the coming year has to offer and we're happy to answer any questions.
Mayor Burk: Thank you very much for your report. It's amazing what you've been able to accomplish
in such a short period of time and during such a difficult time so thank you very much. Are there any
questions that anyone has?Yes, Ms. Fox.
Council Member Suzanne Fox: Thanks for your report. I love the new logo and you're going to be
putting this on the banners. Where exactly, how many banners and where will they be going?There
was an item brought forward for discussion that we might want to consider some signage for the arts
and cultural district. Now,the banners might help with that.Where exactly would they go?
Donna Torraca:Well,the map that we had, I actually had some of these printed out for you because I
only had it on the slides.
Mayor Burk: Donna, could you wait to get back to the mic?
Donna Torraca: Sorry.
Mayor Burk: Because no one can hear you.
Donna Torraca:We did have them printed on the slide but they are hard to read.The map that you're
getting will show, we have poles that we have been approved from Dominion, and then poles that the
Town has approved._Right now,we have 14 poles identified. There are ten more that we would like to
get.They are Dominion poles. If that doesn't come to fruition, then we're going to have a plan B, and
we'll be back to talk to you about that with perhaps smaller banners that would be placed on strategically
located businesses around the Town.
Council Member Fox:Thank you.
Mayor Burk: Mr.Steinberg.
Council Member Steinberg:Actually,this might be for the Town Manager. I wonder,do we have time
to talk a Parthenon into the budget this evening? No. Thank you. Nice presentation, Donna.
[unintelligible]Thanks.
Mayor Burk: Mr. Cummings.
Council Member Cummings: Thank you. I just wanted to say thank you to Donna and to the
Commission of Public Arts. Thanks for all you do. It's incredible. Your synthesis with the Economic
Development Commission has been really great. I look forward to seeing more from you all as we go
throughout this year.
Page 51 March 23, 2021
Mayor Burk: Mr. Bagdasarian.
Council Member Bagdasarian:Thank you, Donna and Elizabeth, I appreciate it.Just a comment and
a quick question.You're absolutely right about the impact of art with Economic Development.As I walk
around the Town, this is our habitat and art enhances that habitat, makes it more enjoyable, it attracts
people. One thing I do want to commend you on is your collaboration. In fact, the creation of arts and
cultural district was a result of a collaboration with the Economic Development Commission and COPA
10 years ago this month, it was actually approved by Town Council. That is fantastic. Continue that,
please.
Then a question. I know this came up at-- is in the process but what is the process for public art if
somebody has a proposal for art?How would they go about introducing that?
Donna Torraca: Well, we have been discussing that and we hope to adopt some guidelines at our
COPA meeting in April. Basically, if folks have an idea for art on a public building, they can bring the
suggestion to us, and depending on where it is,we'll work with staff and make sure that it's something
that staff feels that is a doable experience.Then they will bring in their proposal and their budget and
talk to us about it. If we're good to go with it then we would bring it to you for approval.
We also, if anything is in the historic district, it would go to BAR, not for approval of the artwork itself,
that's the agreement that was established a few years ago, but to give them the opportunity in case
they feel that it would not be a good location in the historic district.Then also,we would take it to zoning
and make sure that we're okay there.
Council Member Bagdasarian: Thank you. I know a number of folks have been inspired by the art
that exists and they have some ideas. I appreciate that.Thank you.
Mayor Burk: Ms. Nacy.
Council Member Kari Nacy: Thank you. I just had a quick comment and wanted to say excellent
presentation. I love the idea of the Public Works mural. Hopefully, we can make that happen. That
would bring something to that side of Town that we don't really have yet.That's exciting. Excellent job.
Thank you.
Mayor Burk:Vice Mayor.
Vice Mayor Martinez:Well, [unintelligible]. Hopefully, this will help understanding me. One, I am so
excited to see how COPA has evolved from the first time we brought this Commission to life. I really
appreciate all the work that you guys have done and all the battles you've had to fight to make progress.
It's been a challenge I know and I'm really proud of that.We cannot also forget FOLPA,The Friends of
Leesburg Public Art have been instrumental in helping us fund some projects that we otherwise would
not have been able to do. Just like the Friends of Thomas Balch Library, they have been a critical
support for COPA. I really want to thank that whole group for their help.
I do think one of the things I had a vision of, and I think I've mentioned this to you, was Lassiter Way
and being a focal point,for instance, local art,some crafts,and other things that we could do.We could
even do a little street acting or do other things and try to, on a regular basis use Lassiter Way as a
venue for local artists and other people to show what they're doing along with what other people want
to use it for. I think that's a great place to work with the local businesses and try to promote some more
art.
I also want to say that my wife and I keep driving by the Liberty parking lot just to look at the mural, and
I think it's phenomenal. Even though I love what's there, I would love to see it different. Not that I want
that gone, but maybe if we could find other buildings we could use to do that that are more visible to the
public because to see that art, we have to drive to it instead of passing it and noticing it as part of the
Leesburg infrastructure. That's where I think COPA is slowly becoming-- is not just a Public Art
Commission but more of a being a mainstay in what is developing in Leesburg. You've come a long
way and I'm really excited and proud of what you guys have been able to do.Thank you.
Page 61 March 23, 2021
Mayor Burk: Thank you.Appreciate all your hard work and we look forward to more murals and more
art.Thank you very much.
Donna Torraca:Thank you.
Mayor Burk:All right.That takes us to our regional commission reports.Does anybody have a regional
commission report at this point? I have a couple.On the 10th,the Coalition of Leesburg Towns listened
to a presentation from the County on the changes they're making to the zoning ordinances. It's quite
extensive and it was a very interesting presentation. Northern Virginia Transportation Authority had a
very short meeting on the 11th and it was to move some funds for--Well, it was a regular meeting but
they moved funds for Fairfax and Prince William projects to get those completed.
Then on the 18th,Virginia Municipal League Executive Committee met,we discussed finances and what
situation they're in, and we also discussed the convention that is going to be in Leesburg. They are
hoping that it will be live but they haven't made their final decision yet.We need to keep wearing our
masks and keep people safe so that in October, we can all be free and be able to associate at the
convention that will be here in Leesburg.
Petitioners. Petitioners is the next section.One of the first orders of business is to hear from the public.
Any member of the public are welcome to address the Council on any item, matter, or issue. Please
identify yourself and if comfortable doing so,give your address for the taped record.Any public speaker
will be requested to state their names and spell it for the purpose of closed captioning. In the interest of
fairness,we also ask that you observe the five-minute time limit.
For those participating in-person or on WebEx,the green light on the timer will turn yellow at the end of
four minutes, indicating that you have one minute remaining. At that time, we would appreciate your
summing up and yielding the floor when the bell indicates your time has expired. For those participating
on the phone, you will hear a bell when your time is up.
Under the rules of orders adopted by this Council, the five-minute time limit applies to all. Council is
now able to hear from members of the public remotely. Once we have heard from everyone present in
the room,we will hear from the members of the public on the phone or WebEx.The first name we have
signed up is nobody. We don't have anybody signed up in the petitioner section. Screener, are there
any members of the public that would like to speak?
Keith Markel:We have none participating online.
Mayor Burk: All right. Is there anybody in the audience that didn't sign up that would like to have the
opportunity to speak at this point? All right. That being the case then I will close this section of the
petitioner's section.
Next is the approval of the consent agenda. I have been notified that I don't have to read them all. I just
have to read the headline on them. The first one is 12A is the Ferric Chloride Chemical Tank
Replacement at Water Pollution Control Facility. B is Awarding a Continuing Service Contract for
Professional Airport Planning,Engineers,and Architectural Services for the Leesburg Executive Airport.
C is a Creative Community Partnership Grant.
Vice Mayor Martinez: So moved.
Mayor Burk: Moved by Vice Mayor Martinez. Is there a second?
Mayor Burk: Council Member Bagdasarian. Is there any item that anybody would like to have
removed?All right.All in favor of the consent agenda indicate by saying Aye.
Council Members:Aye.
Mayor Burk: Opposed? 7-0. All right. That takes us next to our public hearing. I call to order March
23rd, 2021 public hearing of the Leesburg Town Council. Unless there's an objection, I will dispense
Page 71 March 23, 2021
with the reading of the advertisement. If you wish to speak,we ask that you sign up at the sheet in the
hallway outside of the Council Chambers. If you did not get the opportunity to sign up,we will give you
the opportunity to speak.We will also provide some remote public participation for callers on the phone
or on WebEx.
In all cases, please identify yourself and if comfortable, give your address. This is important for our
closed captioning.Please,please spell your name so that we can have it spelled correctly.In the interest
of fairness,we ask you to observe the five-minute time limit. For those participating in person or on the
WebEx,the green line in front of you will turn yellow at the end of four minutes indicating that you have
one minute remaining.At that time,we would appreciate your summing up and yielding the floor when
the bell indicates your time has expired. For those participating on the phone,you will hear a bell when
your time has expired.
Under the Rules of Order adopted by this Council, the five-minute time limit applies to all citizens.
However,rather than have numerous citizens present remarks on behalf of the Council,the Council will
allow a spokesperson for the group a few extra minutes. In that instance, we will ask speakers when
they sign up to indicate their status as spokespersons, the group they represent and their request for
additional time.
Our procedure for the public hearing is as follows. First,there's a brief presentation from staff about the
item before us. Second, members of the public that have signed up to speak will be called and given
five minutes to make their comments.The public hearing on the agenda tonight is for TLOA-2020-005,
Accessory Fueling Station with Convenience Store Zoning Text Amendment. Mr.Watkins,you're doing
this one?
Michael Watkins: Yes, ma'am. Madam Mayor, Members of Council, good evening. Again, as stated
this is a zoning text amendment. In this instance, you are.the applicant so there's no applicant
presentation.This was initiated by you two times actually.The first instance was in September 8th,2020
and then it was amended in January 26th of this year.Again,this is a request to make amendments to
the zoning ordinance. The purpose of the amendment is to amend the PD-CC-SC zoning district to
include a new by-right use.That new by-right use is accessory fueling station with convenience store.
This amendment is a continuation of the ongoing efforts to facilitate incorporation of properties within
the Compass Creek Development within the Town of Leesburg. I provided for you a few examples of
what these could look like. I purposely did not pick facilities that were in the Town but there are one or
two here. The Planning Commission did hold its public hearing. That was on March 4th of this year.
There were no public speakers, and they suggested minor changes to the ordinance. Those changes
included the maximum number of pumps with a special exception, to increase the number of parking
spaces required on-site to permit air compressor stations and then again to note the permissibility of
electric vehicle charging stations.The vote was 6-0-1. There was one Commissioner that was absent.
Again, I noted earlier in the presentation that this is a continuation of the Council's efforts within the
Compass Creek Development area.Council previously initiated boundary line adjustments in the JLMA
area and that's what's noted here on this slide.Additional background is that some of the developments
within this area had County approvals.We initiated the text amendment to create the PD-CC-SC in the
Town to protect those development rights and to gain consent of additional properties within the
Compass Creek Development area.
With this text amendment, what we're doing is we're creating a new use and the PD-CC-SC district
only. In this instance, they will be creating a definition and the definition is an accessory building and
premises to large footprint retailers in which the primary uses dispensing of motor vehicle fuels as retail
sales, and may include buildings which are primarily used for the retail sale food or other convenience
items generally in small quantities.
The text proposes a by-right amount of eight pumps and again with the Planning Commission's
recommendation, there's a limitation on 12 pumps with a special exception. It limits the height of the
canopy to 22 feet. It also limits the size of the convenience store to 1500 square feet. It requires
architectural compliance with the newly adopted Gateway Overlay District. Again, it establishes a
Page 81 March 23, 2021
parking ratio per the Planning Commission's recommendation, they've asked that if it was increased,
the previous amount was four spaces per 1000 which would equate to six spaces.With this increase in
five per 1000,we're looking at eight spaces.
The text amendment prohibits outdoor storage, it limits the under-canopy lighting to 22-foot candles. It
establishes maximum signage allowances and again, with the Planning Commission's
recommendations,I've incorporated the permission to include air compressor stations,and then it notes
the permissibility of electric vehicle charging stations. I've provided a draft motion for you this evening.
I'm glad to answer any questions that you may have.
Mayor Burk:All right. Is there any questions? Ms. Nacy,you have any questions on this?
Council Member Nacy: Just one quick one which I think you already basically clarified. The PD-CC-
SC is just in this area, right?
Michael Watkins:The only place in Town is Compass Creek.Yes, ma'am.
Council Member Nacy: Okay,thank you.
Mayor Burk:Anyone else, Mr. Steinberg?
Council Member Steinberg: Mike,just out of curiosity, how did the Planning Commission arrive at the
22-foot height for the canopy? I recall sitting at the Costco gas station just the other day, their canopy
runs at about 15 feet.What's the necessity for an extra seven feet in that canopy height?
Michael Watkins:We reached that staff had reached out to one of the potential users of this and their
request was a 22-foot canopy height.
•
Council Member Steinberg: Is that for visibility along the Greenway, perhaps or other thoroughfares.
Michael Watkins: If that inquires as to how they derived at that height,the request was made to them
for guidance on how the ordinance should be prepared and we incorporated the request.
Council Member Steinberg: Is that consistent, out of curiosity,with County zoning?
Michael Watkins: It's a little bit taller than our minimum standards today. If I'm looking at this site,the
22-foot height, I do not believe there would be sufficient visibility from the Greenway as there's
intervening undeveloped property that's hundreds of linear feet wide. Again, I don't know how they
arrived at their 22-foot canopy height, but it is a little bit taller than what our ordinance allows today.
Council Member Steinberg: Okay, but my question is, is it consistent with County zoning?
Michael Watkins:With the County, again, I don't know what the County's maximum canopy height for
their fueling stations are.
Council Member Steinberg: Okay,thank you.
Mayor Burk: Ms. Fox.
Council Member Fox: Thank you. I understand this zoning designation is specifically for Compass
Creek that's what we initiated this as. Is there any land acquisition possibilities where this designation
might extend to that kind of thing that you could even think of?
Michael Watkins:Yes, I'm unaware of any requests that's pending to extend the PD-CC-SC District to
anywhere else than Compass Creek.
Council Member Fox: Okay, but that doesn't mean it can't happen, correct?
Page 91 March 23,2021
Michael Watkins: It would be subject to an additional legislative action that would come before you
and the Planning Commission before that would be enacted.Yes, ma'am.
Council Member Fox: If that designation happens to come in that 22-foot height would stand unless
we changed it for that specific application.
Michael Watkins: Yes, ma'am.
Council Member Fox: Okay,thank you.
Mayor Burk:All right.Thank you very much. Is there--did anybody sign up?
Keith Markel: No, Madam Mayor,we have no one online.
Mayor Burk: Okay,thank you.All right, and nobody in the public? Is there anybody that didn't sign up
that would like to speak on this item?All right,that being the case, then I will close the public hearing.
Is there a motion?You got to read the motion.
Council Member Nacy: I will make a motion. Okay. I move to approve zoning ordinance amendment
TLOA-2020-005 based on the findings of the amendments further the objectives of the Town Plan,and
that the proposal would serve the public necessity, convenience, general welfare, and good zoning
practice. I'll second it.
Mayor Burk: Is there a second?
Ms.Fox: Second.
Mayor Burk:Was that Ms. Fox?All right.Any comments--
Council Member Nacy: Sorry, am I supposed to read the amended one?
Mayor Burk:All right,where we're voting on the motion made by Ms. Nacy and seconded by Ms. Fox.
Any questions at this point?Yes, Mr. Steinberg?
Council Member Steinberg:Well, I'm wondering if the Council would consider a friendly amendment
to the amendment to lower the height of the canopy from the 22-feet down to maybe 17. I realize that's
an arbitrary number, but I'm just trying to figure out the 22. I know it's a request. I would offer that as a
friendly amendment. I know it needs a second.
Mayor Burk:Would you consider that a friendly amendment?
Council Member Nacy: I would. I guess I would just want to hear from Mike if that's a normal height.
If that's going to be an odd height request.
Council Member Steinberg: It's not.
Michael Watkins: I'm trying to find it really quick. I believe that's the height that we currently have here.
Sorry.
Mayor Burk: It's okay.
Michael Watkins: The canopy height as measured from the finished grade to the lowest point of the
fascia canopy should not exceed 14 feet. The overall height of the canopy shall not exceed 17' 3" is
what's currently in the ordinance today.
Mayor Burk:Would you make it 17.3?
Page 101 March 23,2021
Council Member Steinberg:Yes.
Council Member Nacy: I do.
Mayor Burk: Ms. Fox, would you accept that? All right. My only question, and this is really for the
attorney, by making it 17.3, at least we're keeping it within what was already in place.
Christopher Spera:Well, since this is a new zone,what we're doing is keeping it consistent with what
applies in the rest of the Town.What I am trying to figure out is this goes back to Mr.Steinberg's earlier
question, is what was the height that was allowed in the County because the intent of this with the
boundary line adjustment is to basically give them the same rights that they had in the County when
they move into the Town, it wouldn't change anything. I'm looking.
Mayor Burk: You're looking?
Christopher Spera: I haven't found the answer yet. Perhaps if the friendly amendment were to say to
the height allowed by the Loudoun County Zoning Ordinance for fueling stations, that might solve the
problem if Mr.Steinberg is comfortable with that.
Council Member Steinberg: Since the intent is to be consistent with County zoning, if it proves to be
the fact that the County zoning does allow that height in that kind of zoning district,then that would be
consistent. If this is simply an arbitrary request on top of what we're trying to do to be consistent with
the County zoning,then I think we should stick with our designation.Obviously,we can put it off till the
next meeting until we actually know.We can table it and put it off to the next meeting.
Christopher Spera: Mr. Watkins pointed out to me that the property owner has a special exception
from the County, so they've got unique set of rights ran through the special exception.That's what we
have to look at.We have to look at what the special exception allows for the height if we were trying to
match what their current bundle of rights is as County property.
Council Member Steinberg: That's fine. That's what I'm trying to do is to match. It came to 17' 3" If
we're matching,then I think that's more than fair and consistent.
Christopher Spera: The height limitation would match any existing County approval.Would that be a
fair--[crosstalk]
Council Member Steinberg:Without going over that request with 22 if that's the case?
Christopher Spera: That's without exceeding any existing County approval.
Mayor Burk: Do you have to have any reference to a special exception?
Christopher Spera: Well, that's why I'm saying existing County approval as opposed to the zoning
rights.
Mayor Burk:Approval?Okay.
Council Member Nacy: Do you need me to reread all that?
Christopher Spera: No,you could simply adopt the statement of the Town Attorney with respect to the
height restriction.
Council Member Nacy: Ok.
Mayor Burk:What are we doing? I couldn't hear. I'm sorry.
Council Member Nacy: I was just saying do I have to reread all of that?
Page 11] March 23,2021
Christopher Spera: I believe procedurally, Madam Mayor, where we stand is that Ms. Nacy made a
motion, Ms. Fox seconded it. Mr. Steinberg made a friendly amendment to have the height restriction
conform to whatever the existing County approval is with respect to the height of the structure above
the fueling stations.
Mayor Burk:All right. Mr. Cummings?
Council Member Cummings: I'd like to see if I can make a motion to divide the question and have a
vote of Council on the friendly amendment. Is that possible?My concern is staff has been working with
an applicant on this and now at what seems to be the 11 th hour, we're going to say that we're going to
change potentially there what they've been working with staff on.This is an ordinance that's only going
to affect one area of the Town of Leesburg that I would just say we need to consider the applicant that
has been working with staff and the staff that's been working on this. I don't know if that's a possible
Robert's Rules. I'm sure Vice Mayor Martinez will tell us.
Mayor Burk: Do you have a question or were you going to comment?
Vice Mayor Martinez: I was going to wait for your ruling on dividing the question.
Mayor Burk: Oh, okay. [chuckles] I have no issue with dividing the question. I myself, I don't think that
Town staff guaranteed them anything until they come before Council. I have no problem dividing the
question. Do you, Mr. Martinez?
Vice Mayor Martinez: No. I'm just wondering how are we dividing it?
Mayor Burk: We're going to divide it into —we're going to accept the accessory fueling station with
convenience stores zoning text amendment minus the height of the--
Christopher Spera:You're simply separating the height component from the rest of the proposed text.
Vice Mayor Martinez: Okay. I'm good with that.
Mayor Burk: Is everybody okay with that?The first one is we're going to vote on all of the accessory
fueling station with the convenience store zoning text amendment. We're going to vote on all the
amendments except the height. All in favor of that, and that's based on Ms. Nacy's motion and Ms.
Fox's second.All in favor of that indicate by saying aye.
Council Members:Aye.
Mayor Burk: Opposed?That passes 7-0. Now we have divided the question about the height.At this
point we are going to vote to—
Vice Mayor Martinez: Do we need to have a second motion for that vote, or are we just dividing the
question?
Christopher Spera:There was already a motion that included all of it,so now you divided the question.
Vice Mayor Martinez:We don't need to re-do a second motion?
Christopher Spera:You don't need a second motion.
Vice Mayor Martinez: I just want to make sure.
Mayor Burk: Now we are voting on the height of the building being--I'm trying to get the wording right.
The height limitation would match the County's existing approval.
Vice Mayor Martinez: May I ask one question?
Page 121 March 23,2021
Mayor Burk:Yes, Mr. Martinez.
Vice Mayor Martinez:Where did you get 22 feet?
Mayor Burk:They asked for it. [chuckles]
Michael Watkins: In preparation of the ordinance, myself and the Economic Development Director
reached out to prospective businesses that wanted to take advantage of this opportunity.The feedback
that we got was the size of the convenience store and the canopy height of 22 feet. It came from a
prospective business.
Vice Mayor Martinez:The 22 feet is in line with the height of the convenience store?
Michael Watkins: The height of the convenience store is not part of the limitation here.We've got the
building height limitation already in the PD-CC-SC. Then there's a different height for the canopy
requirement.
Vice Mayor Martinez: I understand that. Why are you doing 22 feet? Is that to line up with the
convenience store?Why is there 22 feet?
Michael Watkins: Again, it could be multiple things, Mr. Martinez. It could be the size of the vehicle
that they use. It could be the apparatus that's on that vehicle. Most of the time, the concern is making
sure that there's adequate circulation under the canopy in event that there's a slight difference in grade
in any apparatus that may be on that vehicle.
Vice Mayor Martinez:We don't have to worry about trucks coming in 22 feet tall?
Michael Watkins: No, you should not.
Vice Mayor Martinez: [chuckles] I just want to make that clarification why we got 22 feet.
Mayor Burk: All right. Now we are voting on the height limitation matching the County's existing
approval.All in favor indicate by saying aye.
Council Members:Aye.
Mayor Burk: Opposed?
Council Member Cummings: Nay.
Mayor Burk: That passes six to one. Mr. Cummings was the no vote. All right. We're done with that
one.[laughs]Thank you,gentlemen. Excuse me, I got the wrong paper.The next public hearing, I have
to read all the same information again.I call to order this March 23rd,2021 public hearing of the Leesburg
Town Council. Unless there is an objection, I will dispense with the reading of the advertisement. If you
wish to speak,we ask you to sign up at the sheet in the hallway outside of the Council Chamber. If you
did not get the opportunity to sign up,we will give you the opportunity to speak.We also provide remote,
furniture is being moved, [laughs] provide remote public participation for callers on the phone or on
Webex.
In all cases, please identify yourself and if comfortable give your address for the taped record. In the
interest of fairness,we also ask you to observe the five-minute time limit.
For those participating in-person or in Webex,the green light in front of you will turn yellow at the end
of four minutes, indicating that you have one minute remaining.At that time,we would appreciate your
summing up in the opening the floor when the bell indicates your time has expired. For those
participating on the phone, you will hear a bell when your time has expired. Under the rules supported
and adopted by this Council,the five-minute time limit applies to all citizens.
Page 131 March 23,2021
•
However, rather than have numerous citizens present remarks on behalf of the group,the Council will
allow a spokesperson for the group a few extra minutes. In that instance,we would ask speakers when
they sign up to indicate their status as the spokesperson, the group they represent, and their request
for additional time. Our procedure for this hearing will be first there's a brief presentation from staff.
Second, the members of the public that have signed up to speak will be called and given five minutes
to make their comments.The public hearing item on the agenda tonight is 2021.Tax Rate and Fees.
Kaj Dentler: Madam Mayor,before Mr. Fazenbaker starts the presentation for the public hearing, I just
want to reset the table because you have multiple decisions in front of you to finalize the budget. The
conclusion of last night you had three different straw votes that were considered up or down.The result
of all those actions has a tax rate currently set at 18.44 if you approve all of those actions that we
discussed last night,which would include the 37,000 for the holiday decorations.
As he goes through the presentation,you're going to hear the reference of 18.4 because that is what is
proposed and all of the action previously in straw voters are non-binding. I just wanted to make sure
that you didn't get confused on that measurement. Once he goes through that, we'll work our way to
the end of it. It's just the way the numbers are set up. Once you make your final decisions, then staff
will update whatever the tax rate is,and then of course,what the numbers are in the budget before your
absolute final vote.That's just the process to set it up here.With that,Cole.
Mayor Burk:Thank you.
Cole Fazenbaker:Good evening, Madam Mayor,Council Members,viewers at home.My name is Cole
Fazenbaker. I'm a senior management analyst here at the Town of Leesburg. Tonight I'm presenting
the public hearing for setting the 2021 tax rate and fees. The proposed real estate tax rate is from the
Town Manager's proposed budget and it maintains 18.4 cents per$100 of assessed value.The overall
equalized rate is 17.8 cents, and each penny is valued at $881,000 for the fiscal year 2022. For
example, if the equalized rate is used, the budget must decrease.by about$530,000 and $262,000 in
fiscal year 2021.
That's because the tax rate is based on the calendar year and the calendar year overlaps the fiscal
year. The Town's real estate assessment portfolio, 75% is residential and 25% is commercial. The
existing residential assessments increased 8.1% and the new parcels increased the initial 2% making
it a total of 10.1%increase.Then on the commercial side,they actually decreased 8.9%of the existing
and then the new parcels increased 0.9%for a total 8% decrease. Since the residential assessments
are larger portion of the portfolio, it more than offset the decrease in commercial so a combined
residential and commercial change year over year to 5%for assessment values.
The next table is the average residential tax bill change from 2020 to 2021. You can see the single-
family detached tax bill will increase$86 annually,town home$55,condo$15 annually,and all existing
residential average year over year will increase $62 annually or about $5 per month. This graph
illustrates where the tax money goes.77 cents of each$1 tax dollar goes to very public-facing services,
such as Police,Parks and Recreation, Balch Library,Capital Projects and Public Works.This is the last
slide and it's the proposed ordinance for tonight setting the tax rates and setting the fees. That
concludes my presentation.Thank you.
Mayor Burk:Thank you.Are there any questions at this point? Mr. Dentler,we've had the three straw
votes last night, is that--?
Kaj Dentler: Correct. If you can show that slide.As she's bringing that up, so last night by straw vote
on a four, three vote, you added $60,000 for renovations at the Loudoun Museum. That$60,000 was
from the same amount of money that you cut previously for office lease so there's no net increase to
the proposal because of that.There was a vote to consider putting that$60,000 back office space that
failed. Then the third was to add $37,000 for Christmas decorations or holiday decorations in the
downtown for$37,000. Since the $37,000 is the only new amount of money added to the proposed
budget,then that raised the tax rate from 18.4 to what you see there at 18.44.
Page 141 March 23,2021
The whole process of approving the budget is a little bit like the chicken and the egg,which one do you
approve first?Often they get muddled together in your deliberations and then we'll circle back to getting
the final decisions. The Town Attorney will keep us straight on everything legally, but if you need to
work through some things in order to figure out what your tax rate is, that's acceptable process to do
that.Again, Chris will keep us straight if we go awry. I'll turn it back to you, Mayor--
Mayor Burk:Thank you.
Kaj Dentler:-and help you with any decisions you need to make.
Mayor Burk: Do we have anybody sign up to speak?Thank you.We have one person here, Mr.James
Robberstad. Did I say it correctly?
James Robberstad: Correct.
Mayor Burk: Oh, please come up. [chuckles]
James Robberstad: Good evening, Mayor. Good evening, Town Council Members. Once again, I'm
James Robberstad and I'm a resident in Leesburg at 419 Mosby Drive, Southwest Leesburg,Virginia.
Mayor Burk:Would you spell your name?
James Robberstad: R-O-B-B-E-R-S-T-A-D as in David. Robberstad. It's a very challenging name-
Mayor Burk: It's a lovely name.
James Robberstad:-which my family blessed me with. I'm here to speak on behalf of a small piece of
what you're voting on right now, basically, the tax rates. What I'm here to speak about is really, like I
said,a small piece of that,but it's an important piece of the puzzle to me,and my fellow neighbor Martha
Vedder and the rest of the folks on my street on Mosby Drive. I did want to note that since I spoke at
the last Town Council meeting, I've received some feedback from several Town Council Members. I
appreciate that.That indicates there's some interest in a specific project that I'm here to advocate,which
is the Town Branch erosion project. One small piece of the larger CIP cycle for the next few years.
I wanted to thank you for that. I also understand that there's been some background discussion on that
specific project and some willingness to consider moving it forward. By that, I mean an accelerated
timeframe.That is appreciated from my standpoint as well and I'm sure my neighbors are appreciative
of that as well.I guess what I would ask and would request,continued consideration of the Town Council
here tonight would be that as you move forward with the scheduling and the implementation of that
project,that if there's any other way to accelerate or put pieces of that project in motion in parallel with
all our actions,whether it'd be the application to the State on State grant process or anything like that.
All the engineering work is going to take time. I'm in technical sales for a company and I sell into the
semiconductor industry. I sell technical products that are mechanical. We have an engineering
department in my company.There's always this love-hate relationship between sales and engineering
and what projects--What priority they should take. I'm well aware of and appreciative of those things. I
also do know that if you work efficiently and smartly,you can do things in parallel. I would ask and hope
that those types of activities could be done as well.
One final point, myself and my neighbors received a flyer on our doors early in March, it was late
February, maybe early March about between March 4th and March 19th there would be some cleanup
work being done in the Town Branch.We haven't really seen any of that activity. I'm looking forward to
that activity, which could be a short-term improvement of if we get any rains coming in the next few
weeks and months,which we always expect to have them in the spring,that the flow through that stream
would be efficient and there'd be a minimum amount of erosion and damage as possible. I look forward
to hearing more about that.
Mayor Burk:Thank you very much.Appreciate your comments.
Page 151 March 23,2021
James Robberstad:Thank you.
Mayor Burk: Is there anybody online that would like to speak?
Keith Markel:We have no one participating online.
Mayor Burk: All right. Is there anybody in the audience that didn't sign up that would like to speak at
this point?Then that being the case, I will close this public hearing.What we are looking at,and correct
me if I'm saying this wrong, but we are looking at setting the tax rate before we're actually looking at
what we're going to add or take out.
Kaj Dentler: You're trying to establish the tax rate. You may need some discussions on certain items
in the budget. It seems to me that there's only one item that there may be some question on,which was
the holiday decorations based on the way I read the tea leaves last night. I think you may want to
confirm how the majority wants to proceed with the markup sessions for the items. If you still want to
do everything that you've approved,then your tax rate is at 18.44 unless you make other adjustments.
Mayor Burk: I'd like to see the questions people have at this point.Anybody? Ms. Fox?
Council Member Fox: Yes. Thank you. My question does concern the decorations. After we added
that in last night and the tax rate went up, I asked staff today whether or not there was somewhere in
the budget to even that out just so that we could keep a steady tax rate because keeping the steady
tax rate as we all know is still a de facto tax increase. I got an answer says using the expected excess
vacancy savings beyond the current projected fiscal year would allow the real estate tax to remain at
18.4 cents. Could you expound on that for me?
Kaj Dentler: Correct. If the Council wants to fund the holiday decorations at$37,000,that's considered
a one-time purchase. It's not something that we'll continue to service on.We'll buy the product,we will
store it, place it up, take it down for many, many years. It's a one-time purchase. If you want to keep
the tax rate at 18.4 but you still want to purchase the$37,000 in decorations,then the alternative for us
would be to use some vacancy savings that we have in this year's budget because we have a significant
amount beyond the amount that we've already frozen.
Absorbing the 37,000 would be something that we could do that would allow us to go ahead and buy
those holiday decorations in this current fiscal year.We would take this off the funding list for'22 and
your tax rate would revert back to 18.4,which is proposed. If that is something that you're comfortable
with,that can be done.
Council Member Fox: Thank you. Then I would respectfully ask my colleagues to consider that.
Thanks.
Mayor Burk:Are you making a motion?
Council Member Fox: I guess so. [chuckles] Doesn't everybody else have to pipe in though? Never
mind. I'll make the motion that we adopt the 18.4 cents--I'm sorry.
Mayor Burk: Could you make your motion about the$37,000?
Council Member Fox: Yes.
Mayor Burk:Would you mind doing that first?Thank you.
Council Member Fox: I would like to make a motion to go ahead and keep the $37,000 but use the
expected excess vacancy savings for this year instead of rolling it to next year.
Mayor Burk:All right. Ms. Nacy seconds that. In other words, we'll take our leftover money and use it
for that.
Page 16i March 23,2021
Kaj Dentler: Correct.We would pay for it this year.
Mayor Burk:All right. Mr.Steinberg?
Council Member Steinberg: Out of curiosity, are there pros and cons to going one way versus the
other?
Kaj Dentler: Can you say that again?
Council Member Steinberg:What are the pros and cons about adding the point four or the 4/100 of a
percent versus just doing what you just suggested?
Kaj Dentler: From a financial perspective, going to 18.44 and funding the$37,000 is not an impact. I
believe it was$2 annually on average so it's not a significant impact. It's really a Council decision. It's
a political decision where you want your tax rate to be. If you want to keep your tax rate at 18.4, we
have another way we can fund those decorations at that amount if you wish to do that. It is really an
insignificant amount of difference, it's really your political preference of where you want to be is really
what it is.
Council Member Steinberg:What we're saying is we feel the decorations are important and if we feel
they're important enough that we should go ahead and fund them as opposed to the other method.
Kaj Dentler: The first decision you need to make is if you feel the decorations are important enough
you want to do, then how do you want to fund it? Do you want to fund it out of this year's budget? Do
you want to fund it out of next year's? The financial ramifications of either way is insignificant. It's a
political decision of other factors that you're considering.
Council Member Steinberg: Thank you.
Mayor Burk:Anybody else?Yes, Mr. Martinez.
Vice Mayor Martinez:What you just said. If we funded in this year, in the budget it's there,there is no
guarantee that if you did find the money somewhere else that we could fund this.Worst case scenario,
if you don't fund this in the budget and you thought you had the money but you don't or maybe something
else came up that took it, then it's possible that even though with our good intentions that it could not
be funded.
Kaj Dentler: I couldn't hear everything you said.
Mayor Burk:The gist of it is he's concerned that you might not have the money.
Vice Mayor Martinez: If we put it in the budget, it's funded. [crosstalk] If you don't put it in the budget
and you try to find another way to fund it,that may not be there.At least this way if it's part of the budget,
it's something that will continue to be part of the budget.
Kaj Dentler: Correct. Let me just give a however. If Council wants to fund the$37,000 in decorations
using current dollars, then we would move immediately to do that because we have the money. We
would not be waiting two months and then possibly find out we can't afford to do that. You are correct
Vice Mayor in the way that you stated that.There is another side. Really Council has to decide do you
want to fund the decorations or not and then which is your preference of funding it? In FY21 or FY22?
Mayor Burk: I think we're pretty clear that we want to fund it. I think the discussion at this point is, do
we want to pay for it out of the leftovers of this year's budget,or do we want to put it into the budget for
next year?That's the question that we're asking at this point.Yes, Ms. Nacy.
Council Member Nacy: I was just going to make a comment. I don't really have a question. Just from
my perspective, if the money is there now, let's fund it now and leave the tax rate where it is because
Page 171 March 23,2021
even though it's only a couple of dollars, a couple of dollars could be a lot of money for someone who's
suffering through this pandemic.That would be my logic from that perspective.
Mayor Burk: We have a motion. I would be happy to have the money now so that we could move
forward with it quickly rather than wait until our next budget. I'll ask for the vote on this motion.We are
just voting on how we're paying for the 37. Ms. Fox has made the motion, seconded by Ms. Nacy that
it be funded with leftover money from this year's budget.That is what we're voting on right now. All in
favor indicate by saying aye?
Council Members:Aye.
Mayor Burk: Opposed.That passes 7-0. Now we go back to the tax rate.This is an individual roll call
with a supermajority.The tax rate is at 18.4.
Vice Mayor Martinez: Can I move the resolution or the ordinance?
Mayor Burk: I'm sorry.
Vice Mayor Martinez: Don't we have to move it?
Mayor Burk:Yes.You're moving it?Sorry.
Vice Mayor Martinez: I'll make the motion.
Mayor Burk:Vice Mayor Martinez is moving it,the tax rate at 18.4. Is there a second?
Mayor Burk: Council Member Steinberg. Any comments at this point?All in favor, indicate by saying,
aye?
Council Members:Aye.
Mayor Burk: Opposed.
Vice Mayor Martinez: It has to be a roll call.
Mayor Burk: Oh, roll call. I said that it had to be roll call and then I ignored it. I'm sorry. Ms. Fox?
Council Member Fox:Aye.
Mayor Burk: Mr.Steinberg?
Council Member Steinberg: Aye.
Mayor Burk: Mr. Cummings?
Council Member Cummings:Aye.
Mayor Burk: Mr. Martinez?
Vice Mayor Martinez:Aye.
Mayor Burk: Mr. Bagdasarian?
Council Member Bagdasarian:Aye.
Mayor Burk: Ms. Nacy?
Page 181 March 23,2021
Council Member Nacy:Aye.
Mayor Burk: Ms. Burk. Aye. That passes unanimously. Thank you. [chuckles] We're going into
resolutions, but before we do that, I wanted to take an executive decision here and ask Ms. LaFollette
if she would mind coming up and explaining about the flyer.Would anybody mind if we gave her two or
three minutes to explain about the flyer and the cleaning of the creek? Is that all right?Anybody object?
Renee LaFollette: The flyer that they received was to notify them that Town crews and potentially a
contractor will be going in to clear brush out of the stream channel and fallen trees and the like to help
clean that channel up a little bit. It's been delayed.I don't have a specific date right now. I need to check
with staff because I did not realize that it had not been done yet, but that's what that flyer was for.
Mayor Burk: It's on your priority list.
Renee LaFollette: It is.
Mayor Burk:You'll be taking care of that when you get in the office tomorrow.
Renee LaFollette: I will.
Mayor Burk: [chuckles]Thank you very much. Resolution. Our first resolution is fiscal year 2022'27
Capital Improvement Program. Moved by Vice Mayor Martinez. Second?
Council Member Cummings: Second.
Mayor Burk: Seconded by Council Member Cummings. Is there any questions on this? Ms. Fox?
Council Member Fox: I just wanted to ask because we have some members of the public here on this
specific issue, if we can just have Renee explain why it can't be pushed up any further than possibly
January of 2022.
Renee LaFollette: This project was put in '23 based on the recommendation of our design consultant
and our environmental consultant, based on the amount of erosion that has occurred in the stream
channel.We have heard that we are a very good candidate for Stormwater Local Assistance Funding
Grants from the State that could potentially fund this project at 50%.The application process will begin
in the spring.
We typically find out in the fall if we are successful in getting that grant. If we are, we will bring that
forward to Council to appropriate that grant funding,which would allow us to potentially start this project
in January 22 versus July 1st.We put it in '23 because in working with Finance, we can afford it there
without the grant funding to get things started.Also, if we move it forward to'22,from a manpower and
workload perspective, another project is going to have to move that has set its paces through the CIP.
Council Member Fox:You're talking about FY 22.That means now?
Renee LaFollette: Correct.
Council Member Fox: We would want to be all-encompassing with this project. We don't want to
piecemeal it.
Renee LaFollette:Yes. I can't do any piecemeal in the stream to fix the area of erosion without looking
at the entire stream because of how dynamic a stream channel is. If I fixed just that one area, it may
cause other issues either further downstream or upstream by just repairing one area. Looking at it in
total,we can then fix the entire stream channel without hopscotching around and causing further issues,
potential additional flooding that we wouldn't know about just by coming in or erosion in other areas of
the stream channel.
Page 191 March 23,2021
Council Member Fox: To Council Member Cummings'comment and question last night, really there's
no way to start the ball rolling on the planning part of it either.
Renee LaFollette: Our design engineer will be doing very, very preliminary work with our operating
funds so that we have enough information to put together a full application package in the spring.They
will do very preliminary work, but no detailed design to allow us to start working in specific areas of the
creek.
Council Member Fox: Okay.Thank you.
Council Member Nacy: I just have a quick follow on question. All things going great and we get the
grant, you would start the design phase then if we would have to talk about moving something
manpower wise, but you'd be able to start it in January.
Renee LaFollette:January of'22 would be my target to start that if we get the grant funding.
Council Member Nacy: Perhaps when the time comes and we've gotten the approval, let's think
positively that we get it, maybe you could have some options for us at that point, if possible,about what
could be moved around to push that up.
Renee LaFollette: Yes.
Council Member Nacy: Okay.Thank you.
Mayor Burk: All right. We have a motion by Vice Mayor Martinez, seconded by Council Member
Cummings.All in favor indicate that by saying aye.
Council Members:Aye.
Mayor Burk:Opposed?That passes 7-0.Adoption of the fiscal year 2022 budget moved by Vice Mayor
Martinez. Who second? Council Member Fox. Any comments, concerns at this point? All in favor
indicate by saying aye.
Council Members:Aye.
Mayor Burk: Opposed?That passes 7-0.A motion to approve the Armenian Genocide remembrance
state proclamation sponsored by Mr. Bagdasarian. I assume you want to move it. Seconded by Ms.
Nacy.All in favor indicate by saying aye.
Council Members:Aye.
Mayor Burk:Opposed?That passes 7-0.The other two motions got moved forward already.That takes
us down to the Council disclosures and comments or additions to future meetings. Ms. Fox, do you
have any disclosures or any additions?
Council Member Fox: No disclosures, no additions. I just want to wish everybody a happy Easter
holiday.
Mayor Burk: Mr.Steinberg.
Council Member Steinberg: One disclosure phone conversation with Peter Burnett regarding the
Liberty Street lot. I wish everybody a happy Passover.
Mayor Burk:There you go. Mr. Cummings?
Council Member Cummings: One disclosure. I had a virtual meeting with Jennifer Lassiter Smith of
INMED about the INMED school Paxton project this past week.
Page 201 March 23,2021
Mayor Burk: Okay. Ms. Nacy?
Council Member Nacy: I do not have any disclosures and I will say happy spring break to our seniors.
Mayor Burk:We're a happy group up here. Mr. Bagdasarian?
Council Member Bagdasarian:Yes. I also participated in the INMED conference call with Ms.Lassiter
Smith and just an announcement aligned with Council Member Nacy's resolution last night or motion to
review active shooter training guide. I wanted to invite my colleagues to join. I'm speaking tomorrow at
three o'clock about active shooter during COVID.This is the seventh active shooter mass shooting that
we've had in this country this year. It's something that we need to be thinking about as a body. I want
to invite you tomorrow at 3:00 PM. It's infosecuritywatch.com is the host.It's a publication in the security
industry.
Mayor Burk: Okay.Would you mind sending that to us?
Council Member Bagdasarian: I will.
Mayor Burk: Okay,the link. Mr. Martinez?
Vice Mayor Martinez:The only disclosure I have is with Jennifer Lassiter Smith,We corresponded via
email on three different days, and I got them listed on the disclosure form. It's about the INMED.
Mayor Burk: Thank you. I just have one disclosure. I spoke with Mr. McLister on the phone on March
9th.Also, I wanted to welcome All Smiles Dentistry that just opened up here in Leesburg.We have some
amazing new businesses that have opened up during the pandemic. They're not going to let it stop
them. It was great to be there and do the ribbon cutting. Thank you Mr. Cummings for joining me. On
the 10th, the chair of the NOVA parks, Cate Magennis Wyatt, came to Lawson Road and walked the
path with us to show us what the Northern Virginia Parks Authority had done to stop flooding further
down the stream.
We walked down there with the residents and had a very good discussion on what needs to be done at
the Lawson Road.On the 10th,I also met with Stacey Metcalfe of Morven Park.She's the new executive
director. They're doing a strategic plan but she's looking forward to many new events at Morven Park
that will include Leesburg events that could have a good impact on Leesburg. I want to thank Girl Scout
230 for inviting me to their meeting.We had a wonderful meeting on how to be a woman leader in this
time and age. It was a really good discussion and I really appreciate their wonderful questions. It was
great time.
On the 16th, Supervisor Umstattd was kind enough to present six women with individual proclamations
for Women's History Month. I was one of them and I'm very grateful. It was very personal and she really
took some time to make it really a very personal event. I appreciate that. I also received a proclamation
from the Board of Supervisors as a whole. It was wonderful to be recognized and I appreciate it from
both the Board of Supervisors and specifically from Supervisor Umstattd. On the 22nd, we had the
capping-off ceremony for the courthouse.
They'll be finished with all of their steelwork here in the next few days.We had the opportunity to sign
the last beam and to make some remarks. I talked about how we appreciated working together and that
Leesburg being the capital of Loudoun County, most certainly appreciated working with the County and
look forward to doing it more.Today we had a meeting with Chief Brown and Board Chair Randall and
many people within Social Services and homeless services to talk about what are the homeless services
that are available?
It is amazing how many services there are. It's just a matter of coordinating them and making sure
everybody knows what's going on. That was a really good meeting. The Chief and the different
departments are going to continue the discussion in the next coming few months so that everybody's
on the same page and everybody knows what we can do as this issue moves forward. Town Manager,
you have any comments?
Page 211 March 23,2021
Kaj Dentler: No comments tonight.
Mayor Burk: All right. Then that takes us to the closed session. I move pursuant to section 2.2-
3711(A)(3)of the Code of Virginia, I move that the Leesburg Town Council convened and closed the
meeting with the purpose of discussion and receiving information regarding to potential acquisition of
real properties for the public purpose. Is there a second? Seconded by Neil. Mr. Steinberg.All in favor
indicate by saying aye.
Council Members:Aye.
Mayor Burk: Opposed?7-0. If you want to take a five-minute break but literally five minutes.
[[Council convened in a Closed Session from 8:23 p.m.to 9:02 p.m.]
Mayor Burk: Okay.We're up and running?All right. In accordance with section 2.2-3712 of the Code
of Virginia, I move the Council certify to the best of each member's knowledge only public business
matters lawfully exempted from open meeting requirements under Virginia Freedom of Information Act
and such public business matters for the purpose identified in the motion by which the closed meeting
was convened,were heard, discussed and considered in the meeting by Council. Ms. Fox?
Council Member Fox: Aye.
Mayor Burk: Mr. Steinberg?
Council Member Steinberg:Aye.
Mayor Burk: Mr. Cummings?
Council Member Cummings: Yes.
Mayor Burk: Mr. Martinez?
Vice Mayor Martinez: Yes.
Mayor Burk: Mr. Bagdasarian?
Council Member Bagdasarian: Yes.
Mayor Burk: Ms. Nacy?
Council Member Nacy:Aye.
Mayor Burk: Ms. Burk.
Vice Mayor Martinez: Motion to adjourn.
Mayor Burk: Motion to adjourn. Is there a second?
Council Member Nacy: So moved.
Mayor Burk: Second by Council Member Nacy.All in favor?
Speakers:Aye.
Mayor Burk: Opposed?Seven,zero.All right.
Page 221 March 23,2021