HomeMy Public PortalAbout2021_tcmin0413 COUNCIL MEETING April 13, 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 Parks&Recreation Rich Williams, Deputy Director and Treasurer
of Finance and Administrative Services Lisa Haley(via WebEx), and Clerk of Council
Eileen Boeing.
AGENDA ITEMS
1. CALL TO ORDER
2. INVOCATION was given by Council Member Fox.
3. SALUTE TO THE FLAG was led by Council Member Steinberg.
4. ROLL CALL All Council Members present.
5. MINUTES
a. Work Session Minutes of March 22, 2021
MOTION2021-071
On a motion by Vice Mayor Martinez, seconded by Council Member Steinberg, the
minutes of the Work Session of March 22, 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 23, 2021
MOTION 2021-072
On a motion by Vice Mayor Martinez, seconded by Council Member Bagdasarian, the
minutes of the Regular Session of March 23, 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
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COUNCIL MEETING April 13, 2021
6. ADOPTING THE MEETING AGENDA
MOTION2021-073
On a motion by Vice Mayor Martinez, seconded by Council Member Cummings, the meeting
agenda was moved for approval.
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
7. CERTIFICATES OF RECOGNITION
a. None.
8. PRESENTATION OF PROCLAMATIONS
a. Sexual Assault Awareness Month
Mayor Burk read the proclamation for Sexual Assault Awareness Month.
b. Armenian Genocide Remembrance Day
Mayor Burk and Council Member Bagdasarian read the proclamation for
Armenian Genocide Remembrance Day.
c. Arbor Day
Mayor Burk read the proclamation for Arbor Day and presented it to Tree
Commission Chair Earl Hower. Mr. Hower made a few remarks.
9. PRESENTATIONS
a. Planning Commission Annual Report
Planning Commission Chair Gigi Robinson presented Council with the
annual report for the Planning Commission.
10. REGIONAL COMMISSION REPORTS
a. None.
11. PETITIONERS
The Petitioner's Section was opened at 7:18 p.m.
Michelle Thomas. Spoke to Council regarding the Sycolin Cemetery
Memorandum of Understanding with the Loudoun Freedom Center and requested
Council reconsider its position on not including drainage improvements to the
donated parcel as part of the agreement and stated her reasons why she felt they
should be included.
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COUNCIL MEETING April 13, 2021
Ron Campbell. Spoke to Council regarding the Sycolin Cemetery
Memorandum of Understanding with the Loudoun Freedom Center and requested
Council delay a vote on the agreement of the donated parcel until the drainage issue
can be resolved. Mr. Campbell felt that the issue was misrepresented and requested
additional time and consideration until the issue could be resolved.
The Petitioner's Section was closed at 7:29 p.m.
12. APPROVAL OF THE CONSENT AGENDA
MOTION 2021-074
On a motion by Vice Mayor Martinez, seconded by Council Member Cummings, the
following consent agenda was proposed:•
a. Replacement of the Digester Boiler at the Water Pollution Control Facility
RESOLUTION2021-050
Approving a Task Order for the Replacement of the Digester Boiler at the
Water Pollution Control Facility to FT Industrial LLC in the amount of
$264,318
b. Ida Lee Park Tennis Court Air Structure Project
RESOLUTION2021-051
Awarding a Contract for the Ida Lee Park Tennis Court Air Structure Project
to Yeadon Domes in the Amount of$1,253,855 and Appropriate Additional
Funding in the amount of$389,500
c. Town Manager's Employment Contract
Motion to Approve a 4%Pay Increase for the Town Manager Effective April
13, 2021, as Additional Compensation in Accordance with the Town
Manager's Contract
d. Sexual Assault Awareness Month
Motion to Approve Illumination of the Town Parking Garage April 17
through 21, 2021,for Sexual Assault Awareness Month
e. Extending Airport Remote Control Tower Operating Hours
RESOLUTION2021-052
Authorizing the Airport Director to Request Extended Control Tower
Operating Hours from the Federal Aviation Administration
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COUNCIL MEETING April 13, 2021
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
13. RESOLUTIONS /ORDINANCES /MOTIONS
a. Public Art Exhibit by Goose Creek Ruggers
MOTION 2021-075
On a motion by Vice Mayor Martinez, seconded by Council Member
Bagdasarian, the following was proposed:
RESOL UTION2021-053
Approval of a Public Art Exhibit at Town Hall by Goose Creek Ruggers
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. Loudoun Museum Lease Amendment
MOTION 2021-076
On a motion by Vice Mayor Martinez, seconded by Council Member
Steinberg, the following was proposed:
RESOLUTION2021-054
Authorizing the Mayor to Amend the Current Lease between the Town of
Leesburg and Loudoun Museum, Inc.
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. Amendments to Virginia Municipal League Committee Assignments
Due to the requirement that Council Members serve on only one
Virginia Municipal League (VML)Policy Committee, Vice Mayor Martinez
selected to serve on the General Laws Committee and Council Member
Bagdasarian selected to serve on the Community&Economic Development
Committee.
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COUNCIL MEETING April 13, 2021
MOTION2021-077
On a motion by Vice Mayor Martinez, seconded by Council Member
Steinberg, the following was proposed:
RESOL UTION2021-013(Amended)
Making Councilmanic Appointments
Council Member Fox expressed a desire to serve on the Human
Development and Education Committee and Council Member Nacy advised
she would be interested in serving on the Transportation Committee. The
motion was amended to add these assignments and to amend Resolution
2021-013 previously adopted on January 12, 2021, to reflect the changes.
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
d. Community Project Funding Request
MOTION 2021-078
On a motion by Council Member Fox, seconded by Council Member Nacy,
the following was proposed:
RESOLUTION2021-055
Submitting a Prioritized List of Community Project Funding Requests to
Federal Agencies
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
e. Motion to Approve the Proclamation for National Drinking Water
Week
MOTION2021-079
On a motion by Mayor Burk, seconded by Council Member Fox, the following was
proposed:
I move to approve the Proclamation for National Drinking Water to be proclaimed at
the April 27, 2021, Council Meeting
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COUNCIL MEETING April 13, 2021
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
14. PUBLIC BEARINGS
a. Authorizing the Issuance of General Obligation Bonds and Award of a
Contract to Finance the Capital Asset Replacement Program
The Public Hearing was opened at 7:37 p.m.
Mr. David Rose, Senior Vice President and Co-Head of Public Finance with
Davenport& Company,presented Council with the results of the General
Obligation Bond Request for Proposals and recommendation for award to Truist for
a contract to finance the Town's Capital Asset Replacement Program.
Public Speakers:
There were no public speakers.
The public hearing was closed at 7:39 p.m.
Council, Mr. Rose and Mr. Case discussed the request for proposals and the
options available to the Town. Mr. Rose also reviewed the timeline of events.
MOTION 2021-080
On a motion by Vice Mayor Martinez, seconded by Council Member Fox, the
following was proposed:
RESOLUTION2021-056
Authorizing the Issuance of General Obligation Bonds and Award of a Contract to
Finance the Capital Asset Replacement Program
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.
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COUNCIL MEETING April 13, 2021
17. COUNCIL DISCLOSURES AND COMMENTS /ADDITIONS TO
FUTURE MEETINGS
Council Member Fox disclosed a meeting with Ms. Jennifer Smith regarding the
INMED School project at Paxton.
Council Member Steinberg disclosed a meeting with Ms. Jennifer Smith regarding
the INMED project.
Council Member Cummings disclosed a meeting with Mr. Mike McLister regarding
his projects.
Council Member Bagdasarian noted that he and the Mayor met with representatives
from the Commission on Public Art and Parks and Recreation to discuss the need for a
Black History mural in the Town of Leesburg.
Vice Mayor Martinez requested a Work Session discussion on Affordable Dwelling
Units (ADUs) and workforce housing. Mr. Dentler confirmed with Vice Mayor Martinez
that the timing of the Work Session discussion would be after the Town Plan was presented
to Council.
It was the consensus of Council to add this item to a future Work Session.
18. MAYOR DISCLOSURES AND COMMENTS / ADDITIONS TO FUTURE
MEETINGS
Mayor Burk disclosed she met with Ms. Jennifer Smith to discuss the
INMED project. Mayor Burk welcomed Robin's Hair Salon and Makeup to
Leesburg. Mayor Burk said she met with Council Member Bagdasarian and
members of COPA and Ms. Carmen Felder to identify an area for placement of a
mural for Black History. Mayor Burk noted Chair Randall held a press conference
where she received her first vaccine as did other members of the Board of
Supervisors and members of the Coalition of Loudoun Town's (COLT)Mayors.
Mayor Burk noted she was called for jury duty but ultimately was not selected.
Mayor Burk said that the Loudoun Museum held a special reception for its opening
and said it was phenomenal. Mayor Burk remarked that she joined the
Environmental Advisory Commission for Keep Leesburg Beautiful and let residents
know that if they want to participate, to call the Town to receive a tote bag, garbage
bags, gloves and a safety vest. Mayor Burk added that she attended the Islamic
Association of Auxiliary Women roundtable discussion to talk about
discrimination, equality and peace.
19. TOWN MANAGER COMMENTS
a. None.
20. CLOSED SESSION
a. None.
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COUNCIL MEETING April 13, 2021
21. ADJOURNMENT
On a motion by Council Member Steinberg, seconded by Council Member Bagdasarian, the
meeting was adjourned at 8:01 p.m.
Kelly B k, or
Town of Leesburg
ATTEST:
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Clerk of Council
2021_tcmin0413
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April 13,2021 —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.leesburgva.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:Call to order.Today is April 13th,2021,Town Council meeting.If anyone in the room
needs hearing assistance, please see the Clerk. Council Member Fox will be giving the invocation and
Council Member Steinberg will be doing the Pledge of Allegiance. Council Member Fox.
Council Member Suzanne Fox: Father,we come this hour asking for a blessing and assistance as we
assemble, and we pray for guidance in the matters at hand and ask for your help to help us conduct
our work with a spirit of integrity and enthusiasm, kindness and respect. Please give us the desire to
find ways to excel at our service in a way that uplifts those under the stewardship.We say these things
in thy name.Amen.
Mayor Burk: Mr. Steinberg.
Council Members:—to the Republic for which it stands, one nation, under God, indivisible,with liberty
and justice for all.
Mayor Burk: Members of the public can now participate in Council meetings electronically. Any
member of the public that wishes to participate in the public portion of the meeting should log onto
Webex or call into the telephone number listed on the top of the published agenda.Let the record reflect
that all members of Council are present tonight.We have two sets of minutes.We have the work session
minutes from March 22nd,2021. Do I have a motion?
Vice Mayor Fernando"Marty" Martinez: So moved.
Mayor Burk: So moved by Vice Mayor Martinez.Second?
Council Member Neil Steinberg: Second.
Mayor Burk: Seconded by Council Member Steinberg. All in favor? Opposed? That's seven, zero.
Regular session minutes of March 23rd, 2021. Do I have a motion?
Vice Mayor Martinez: So moved.
Mayor Burk: Moved by Mr. Martinez. Second?
Council Member Ara Bagdasarian: Second.
Mayor Burk: Seconded by Mr. Bagdasarian. All in favor indicate by saying aye. Opposed? That's
seven,zero. Do I have a motion to adopt the meeting agenda?
Vice Mayor Martinez: So moved.
Mayor Burk: So moved by Vice Mayor. Second?
Council Member Zach Cummings: Second.
Mayor Burk: Seconded by Council Member Cummings. Is there any additions or deletions to the
meeting agenda? All right. All in favor indicate by saying aye. Opposed? Seven, Zero. We have no
certificates of recognition, but we do have three proclamations for tonight.The first one, I don't see Dr.
Hanley. Let me read it out.She was going to accept it.Well, let me do the other ones.Well, I don't see
Mr. [unintelligible]either. Okay,we'll do this one. [laughs]
Page 1 I April 13, 2021
Eileen Boeing: Madam Mayor.
Mayor Burk: Yes.
Eileen Boeing: Mr.Hower is coming upstairs from the Tree Commission,so he may be just a moment.
Mayor Burk: Okay. I'm giving you a copy. Mr. Bagdasarian is going to help me with this one. This is
the Armenian Genocide Remembrance Day April 24th, 2021. Whereas Armenian Genocide
Remembrance Day is held on April 24th of every year and commemorates the forgotten genocide of 1.5
million Armenians between 1915 and 1920 by the hands of the Ottoman Turks.Whereas between the
years of 1915 and 1920 ethnic Armenians were systematically tortured, crucified, raped, deported,
marched, and starved to death, amounting to estimated casualties of 1.5 million and a significant
reduction of the Armenian geographic inhabitants,and whereas it is paramount to reflect upon genocide
and human tragedy given that memory fades with time, and Whereas the sustained deniance of the
Armenian genocide perpetuates the global incomprehension of crimes against humanity in Armenia
and elsewhere, and Whereas, despite a drastic reduction in the Armenian population, people of
Armenian descent have made beneficial, collaborative and important contributions to the communities
in the United States of America,the Commonwealth of Virginia and the Town of Leesburg.Would you
read the next paragraph, Mr. Bagdasarian?
Council Member Bagdasarian: Whereas the Town of Leesburg recognizes several individuals
including Barbara Notar, Anna Agadjanian Ortiz, Pamela Tossounian, Lala Ridgeway, Joe Yeglic, and
Richard Koochagian who is here this evening, Edrick and Eva Bagdasarian to receive the Armenian
Genocide Remembrance Day proclamation.
Mayor Burk: Therefore proclaimed,that the Mayor and the Council of the Town of Leesburg,Virginia,
recognize April 24th, 2021, as Armenian Genocide Remembrance Day. We urge the public to be
conscious of human atrocities and motivate other governments, local and State to unify in a collective
reminiscence of the 1.5 million Armenians who have perished proclaimed this 13th day of April, 2021.
These will be mailed to the individuals that were mentioned.Thank you. Mr. Bagdasarian for bringing
that forward. Can I get the stint that one?Thank you. Mr. Hudler is still not here. Let's see if we can get
this one done.
Sexual Assault Awareness Month, April, 2021. Whereas April is sexual assault awareness month, a
time to draw attention to the prevalence of sexual assault and to educate individuals and communities
on prevention.Whereas sexual harassment,abuse and assault are widespread spread problem. In the
United States alone, nearly one in five women and 1 in 67 men have been raped at some point in their
lives.One in six boys and one in four girls are sexually abused before the age of 18.
Whereas sexual harassment, assault and abuse happens in all communities. That includes online
spaces. We are spending more and more of our lives online whether that's for work, school or
entertainment. Unfortunately, with this increase in viral connection comes an increase in online abuse
and harassment. Consent and boundaries can be violated online in a number of ways. The trauma of
online abuse is too real for many survivors.
Whereas each of us has the power to change that. We can all make a difference to ensure that our
online communities are safe and respectful to everyone.Whereas 2021 marks the 20th anniversary of
the sexual assault awareness month. The theme of this year's campaign is we can build safe online
spaces. The campaign calls on us to create online spaces that are built on the foundational value of
practicing consent, keeping kids safe and supporting survivors.
Whereas we welcome Judy Hanley the Executive Director of Loudoun Abused Women's Shelter to
accept this proclamation. LAWS is a designated domestic violence and sexual assault crisis center in
Leesburg and Loudoun County.Acts of violence can happen to anyone regardless of age,gender,race,
religion, sexual orientation and socioeconomic status. The mission of LAWS is to provide victims of
domestic violence,sexual assault,and child abuse with safety, hope and empowerment services to live
as survivors free from the effects of violence.
Therefore the Mayor and the Council of the Town of Leesburg,Virginia commit to support the increased
understanding of the impact of sexual violence on victims of all ages. We join advocates and
Page 21 April 13,2021
communities across the nation and preventing sexual assault.Together we can build safe spaces now
and into the future that are free from any sexual violence proclaimed this 13th day of April, 2021. I still
don't see Judy.
Eileen Boeing: Ma'am, Mr. Hower just arrived.
Mayor Burk: Oh yes.Okay. Let me see if I can find the--got moved in all of—there it is. Next,we have
Arbor Day. Whereas in 1872, J. Sterling Morton proposed to the Nebraska Board of Architecture--
Agriculture, not architecture,Agriculture that a special day should be set aside for the planting of trees.
Whereas this special day called Arbor Day was first observed with the planting of more than a million
trees in Nebraska.Whereas trees provide many benefits to our community such as reducing the erosion
of top soil, moderating temperatures, reducing heat and cooling costs, cleaning the air in the water.
Whereas trees also provide oxygen and provide a habitat for wildlife.
Whereas planting trees and maintaining mature trees in our Town increases property values. Enhances
the economic vitality of our local businesses and beautifies our community. Whereas the Town of
Leesburg has been recognized by the National Arbor Day Foundation as Tree City USA community
since 1989 and desires to continue our tradition of tree planting and tree maintenance.
Therefore proclaimed by the Mayor and the Town Council of Leesburg,Virginia,that April 30th,2021 is
the official Arbor Day of the Town of Leesburg 2021. Proclaimed this 13th day of April,2021. I will take
this down and present this to Mr. Hower. Thank you very much for coming in today.You serve on the
Tree Commission and so it's very appropriate that we give this one to you.Would you like to say a few
words about Arbor Day and what it really means?We're not on camera. It doesn't sound like these are
on. Go ahead.
Earl Hower: Thank you, Madam Mayor. Again, my name is Earl Hower the chair of the Tree
Commission.We're actually in the process of having a meeting right now in the basement. I was able
to step away and let the Vice-Chair take over the meeting for the time being. I just want to express our
appreciation on behalf of the residents and citizens of the Town and the Council for their dedication in
helping promote tree preservation and planting the trees like the comment about the million trees and
planting grass when you plant a million.
Mayor Burk:That would be fabulous.
Earl Hower: Again to help provide the healthy diverse tree canopy which really has effective benefits
to all of us who live here and who visit the Town.Thank you again.
Mayor Burk:That's true.Thank you very much for all you do.
Earl Hower: I hope to see everybody at the Flower and Garden Festival. Come on by a Tree
Commission booth.We are giving away persimmon trees this year.
Mayor Burk: Persimmons?Great.Well,thank you very much, and thanks for what you do.
Earl Hower:Thank you.
Mayor Burk:Are there any regional commission reports at this point?The only one I have is the weekly-
-Yes.
Council Member Steinberg: Mayor,we have a presentation.
Mayor Burk: Oh, I always overlook presentations. Ms. Robinson, would you like to come forward and
give your presentation here?Thank you, Mr. Steinberg, I would have moved on without you.
Gigi Robinson: I have never worked one of these before so I don't know quite how to do it. You all
have it in your packets so you can I guess follow along.Take one of these.
Page 31 April 13, 2021
Mayor Burk: Could you put your microphones down? Not to say that you're short and could you keep
your mask on?Thank you.
Gigi Robinson: Madam Mayor, Vice Mayor, Council, staff, good evening. My name is Gigi Robinson.
I'm a member of the Planning Commission and would like to present the Commission's 2020 activities.
Hey, technology is great. We had a number of interesting applications last year. The expansion of the
Catoctin Elementary school was one of them. During the review of the application, it came to light that
the neighbors were adversely affected by existing drainage in planting,the school administration worked
with them and corrected the situation.
The Premium Outlet Mall brought forth a rezoning to add kiosks to the ordinance. While the Planning
Commission didn't feel these additions were supportive of the brick and mortar sales,the Council had
seen this in a different light.They felt that the kiosks would nurture businesses just starting out and was
worth the gamble. The Gateway District was a wonderful collaboration between the BAR and the
Planning Commission.As part of that group, I was able to learn a great deal of architectural terms and
nuances, the work defined the gradual decrease of the historical influence, as the various gateways
radiated away from the Town center and took on newer and different building requirements.
I think that the BAR now has good guidelines to evaluate applications in that overlay district, further
supported by the Zoning Ordinance updates.The Planning Commission will need to flesh out the street
design section later.The Eastern Gateway Small Area Plan was an effort to take a finite area and very
finely tune what the Town expected from anyone that offers to build there. It will be lifted intact into the
new Legacy Leesburg.
We had 25 scheduled meetings and the Commission attended 15 of them.The rest were called for lack
of applications due to COVID. Unfortunately, COVID has presented P & Z, Finance and other
departments were working on a capital intensity factor and it also precluded work on Appendix B offsite
transportation costs data. Both the Commission and the Council need these instruments to evaluate
rezonings but now that the budget is over, lastly, the comprehensive plan. The Commission's digging
into this draft,we will continue to devote our time and effort to refining it for use by the Town.The rest
of the departments in commissions are working on their ideas and directive.When ready,they will send
those to us for review and inclusions. The Planning Commission appreciates your support and time.
Thank you.
Mayor Burk: Thank you, Ms. Robinson. Does anybody have any questions for Ms. Robinson at this
point? I do want to point out that while Ms. Robinson is the Chair at this point,we are on Ms. Nacy was
the Chair for part of the time and appreciate everybody's work on this most certainly there's a lot that's
in here and a lot that went on and there's a lot waiting in line to be dealt with.Thank you very much. It's
nice to know that we have a Planning Commission that's so good at what they do that we know that
what comes forward has really been reviewed. Thank you very much and please extend that to the
other Planning Commissioners.
Gigi Robinson:Thanks to all of you.
Mayor Burk:All right.Now,this does take us to the Petitioner section.One of the first orders of business
is to hear from the public.All members of the public are welcome to address 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 name and spell it for the purpose of closed captioning.
In the interest of fairness,we also asked you to 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 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 who is
present in the room, we will hear from members of the public on the phone or WebEx.We have one
person here at speaking signed up today and it's Pastor Michelle Thomas.
Page 41 April 13, 2021
Pastor Michelle Thomas: Thank you so much for holding this public session tonight. I am very
interested in speaking to you guys in regards to the Sycolin Cemetery. On last night you guys held a
work session and where you discussed the disposition of the cemetery.There are some issues that that
you should be brought up to speed with. First of all,for the last five years, almost,we've been working
to preserve and protect the cemetery. When the Loudoun Freedom Center happened upon this
cemetery, we found it abandoned, discarded.We found it filled with deer carcass and trash piled up.
We worked together with the Town to clean it up along with our neighbors and community to get this
property clean.We've worked alongside of the Town to get it to a good preservation state.
I am pleased to report that we're probably 90% of the way done. It all has not been very comfortable
working with the Town,but I am very pleased that we're going to get possession.We literally have 10%
of the way done. The only thing that's left is to deal with our drainage problem. There's a drainage
problem that I would say further compromised by the path that was laid by the Town.When you lay a
path anywhere in the Town and the County, you lay a path you normally create some storm drainage
for runoff.
In this case, there was no storm drainage created so that the graves on the cemetery constantly
overflows. This is not a new problem. This was a problem that we found when we rediscovered the
cemetery but it's been further compromised.In other words, if the Town has caused any damage to the
property, then it is the Town's responsibility to fix the problem. I don't care if the problem costs $1 or
$100,000, or in this case, up to$200,000.There's no price that you can put on doing the right thing to
preserve what we would call Loudoun's most endangered properties.
We understand that this property is not of just people with means, but these are our most vulnerable
citizens. Those who paid the hefty price of enslavement. In other words, the descendants are often
people who do not have means. It is a heavy lift to impose a issue of$200,000 to further drive in debt
the Loudoun Freedom Center. This is not something that we created. This is something that you
created, so if you broke it, you got to fix it.
I don't feel like it's necessary for us to keep beating a dead horse or drag a dead issue. It's simply a
matter of if you care about preservation, then, and you install pathways and the pathways didn't have
drainage's systems in there, then you must go back and do that work. I do not see what's hard about
that. I do not see what's difficult about it, it's straightforward.
The issue is, do you find it important to preserve this cemetery just like you would preserve any other
cemetery, the cemeteries where your parents or grandparents may lay. You wouldn't like to see your
parents'or grandparents'graves over flooded. You have a position where you can do better. I believe
that the Town has worked together for the last five years trying to do better. Let's get across the finish
line.
There's not much more to say here, except for, I feel as if those people who've given their lives and
certainly, they didn't want to,they were forced into slavery.The very least that we can do is give them
the dignity in their death that they didn't get in their lifetime.You cannot tell me$200,000 or$100,000
is too much to give honor to those who gave so much to this country.
I am Pastor Michelle Thomas. I believe that we can do better. I'm here to work with the Town, but I will
hold you accountable as you are accountable. This is a created issue by the Town. I appreciate you
guys listening. I look forward to working together to get this goalpost across the line and honor the
African-American people who are laid to rest at Sycolin.Thank you.
Mayor Burk: Thank you, Ms.Thomas.There is nobody else signed up to speak. Is there anybody on
Webex that is interested in speaking?
Keith Markel: Madam Mayor, we have one member in public online on Webex. Mr. Campbell, I will
unmute you and your five minutes will begin.
Ronald Campbell:Thank you. Members of Council,good evening. My name is Ron Campbell. I live at
812 Fort MacLeod Terrace, Leesburg, Virginia. I'm a 20 year resident of the Town. I bring a unique
perspective to the conversation about Sycolin Cemetery tonight. In 2015, I was a citizen then I became
a Council Member and now I'm the Executive Director of the Loudoun Freedom Center.
Page 51 April 13, 2021
I have seen this property abandoned,trashed,uncared for,and neglected as Pastor Thomas described.
I've also seen a Town work with the Loudoun Freedom Center, by members of Council and not just
staff. It is unfortunate that tonight we come as petitioners and not as partners, and we have to find a
way to solve that problem because the issues in front of us that were presented last night, I believe can
be resolved, but from a perspective of understanding what the situation is, I wonder how many of the
Council Members have actually been on the site within the last two or three years,and really understand
what we're talking about as an additional problem, not a situation of flooding as described last night,
that we were asking as Loudoun Freedom Center for the Town to resolve.
We were not asking the Town to resolve the flooding problem in the entire gravesite. That was a
misrepresentation.We were only simply asking the Town to repair the damage that it caused,which it
admitted it caused and how do we fix that? I don't know the price of that repair, I would think, but as far
less than the estimates that you were given and under the proper supervision of preservationists, and
maybe archeologists, I don't think there's any penetration into the gravesite itself again, as was
misrepresented last night.
The Loudoun Freedom Center was established to lead and to aid in efforts for the preservation of
history, artifacts,churches, schools,and cemeteries in Loudoun County.We were established to really
look at sharing the inclusive history of African-American families and their contributions to Loudoun
County, and certainly where our descendants lay and rest is no small measure of that effort of telling
the history. This isn't something that I don't believe the Town took lightly or the Loudoun Freedom
Center took lightly. I only asked that together in a unified partnership that we speak to each other about
what the problem really is, not from a distance, but from on-site,and then understand the resolution.
The Loudoun Freedom Center again is only asking for a proper repair to the gravel path, not a flood
mitigation of the entire cemetery as was shared with you last night. I believe that Pastor used the right
terminology. It's not unreasonable that if you caused the damage that you fix it. I hope that the Council
will also make allowance for real conversation with Council and not just the Town staff.
I do believe again that sometimes as we've come together,trying to understand these issues from two
different perspectives and those perspectives never speak to you at the same time, it does a disservice
to what we're trying to do. It does a disservice to our community and what they understand, and it
misrepresents the peaceful intent of both parties. If both parties desire to do the right thing, the right
thing must be done then by both parties together and not simple conversation. I call it simple about
what precedent may or may not be set.
I served on Council long enough to know that other entities also get favorable or special treatment.
They get financial allowances and accommodations or whatever it is that the Council would like to do.
In terms of setting precedent, I don't believe that this one is a precedent. If the Town made it very clear
that they didn't want to be in the cemetery business and the preservation business, we made it very
clear The Loudoun Freedom Center,that's our business. Let's finish the business. I don't believe that a
scheduled public hearing is important or proper until we have this issue resolved. I hope that you will
take our words to heart.Thank you very much.
Mayor Burk: Is there anyone else?Thank you, Mr. Campbell.Was there anyone else on the line?
Keith Markel:We have no other callers, Madam Mayor.
Mayor Burk: Is there anybody else in the audience that didn't get a chance to speak that would like to
speak?That being the case,I will close the petitioner section for tonight.That moves us to the approval.
I am going to read the Consent items and then ask for a motion and ask if anybody at that point would
like to remove anything from the Consent Agenda. The first one is 12A, Replacement of a Digester
Boiler at the Water Pollution Control Facility. B is Ida Lee Park Tennis Court Air Structure Project. C is
Town Manager's Employee Contract. D is Sexual Assault Awareness Month. E is Extended Airport
Remote Control Tower Operation Hours. Do I have a motion? Moved by Vice Mayor. Second?
Council Member Cummings: Second.
Mayor Burk:Seconded by Council Member Cummings. Is there anything anybody wants removed?All
right. Then we are doing A, B, C, D, and E on 12. All in favor, indicate by saying aye. Opposed?That
Page 61 April 13, 2021
passes seven zero.All right. That takes us to our resolutions. Do I have a motion to accept the Public
Art Exhibit by Goose Creek Rutgers? Moved by Vice Mayor Martinez. Second?
Council Member Bagdasarian: Second.
Mayor Burk: Seconded by Council Member Bagdasarian. All in favor, indicate by saying aye. That's
seven zero. The Loudoun Museum Lease Agreement. Do I have a motion to accept that? Moved by
Vice Mayor Martinez. Second?
Council Member Steinberg: Second.
Mayor Burk: Seconded by Council Member Steinberg. Is there any discussion on this?All right.All in
favor indicate by saying aye. Opposed? Seven zero. Amendment to the Virginia Municipal League
Committee Assignment.We have two members that were very generous of their time and offered to be
on two commissions.The VML only allows one.
Vice Mayor Martinez,you volunteered very generously to be on General Laws or Transportation.Which
one would you prefer to be on?
Vice Mayor Martinez: General Laws.
Mayor Burk: General Laws. All right. Mr. Bagdasarian you were generous enough to volunteer to be
on the committee and Economic Development committee or the Community,or Economic Development
Committee or the Human Development and Education committee,which one of those would you like to
be on?
Council Member Bagdasarian: The Economic and Development Committee.
Mayor Burk: The Community and Economic Development Committee. All right. We will make those
changes. Now, do I have a motion to accept the amendment to the Virginia Municipal League
Committee assignment or this moved by Mr. Martinez? Second, seconded by Council Member
Steinberg.All in favor, indicate by saying,Aye.
Council Members:Aye.
Mayor Burk: Opposed? Seven zero.
Eileen Boeing: Excuse me, ma'am. Is there someone who is taking those positions, the other
positions?
Mayor Burk: No, because we've all been assigned except maybe--
Council Member Fox:Yes, I [unintelligible]
Mayor Burk: I'm sorry,which one would you like to do?
Council Member Fox: I'd be interested in the Human Development and Education.
Mayor Burk:You would be interested in doing Human Development and Education Committee.Thank
you for pointing that out and thank you for stepping up.We will amend that to include Council Member
Fox. The amended changes are Mr. Bagdasarian is going to do the Community and Economic
Development.
Mr. Martinez is going to do General Laws. Ms. Fox is going to do the Human Development and
Education Committee. I'm going to ask for another vote because we voted only on the two. That's a
move by Mr. Martinez, seconded by--Yes.
Eileen Boeing:There's still one more position to fill. It's for Transportation.
Page 71 April 13, 2021
Mayor Burk: Yes, but we've all taken a position.
Council Member Nacy: I'll do it. I can do Transportation.
Mayor Burk:You already signed up for one, didn't you?
Eileen Boeing: No, ma'am she says she didn't.
Mayor Burk: Oh, you didn't? Okay,then we got it all filled then. I thought everybody had signed up.
Eileen Boeing: Now we can revote,yes.
Mayor Burk: I think Mr. Martinez made the motion.
Chris Spera: [crosstalk] move on the amended motion.
Mayor Burk: We're moving on the amended motion to add Ms. Nacy, Ms. Fox, Mr. Bagdasarian, and
Mr. Martinez to the assigned committees. I'm not repeating them again.All in favor, indicate by saying
aye.
Council Members:Aye.
Mayor Burk: Opposed? Okay, that passes. Thank you all. Community Project Funding Request,
submitting a prioritized list of community project funding requests for the Federal agencies.We came
up with that last night.We talked about it last night.We have chosen the 10, but we have three that we-
-Let me get to it, I'm sorry.
Here we are, community funding. The three projects that we identified as our priorities, I'm looking for
them in the report.
Kaj Dentler: [inaudible]
Mayor Burk: I don't see it anywhere in the report.
Kaj Dentler: You have the Police station.
Mayor Burk: Right, it was the Police station, Lawson Road and Town Branch at Morven Park. Not
Morven Park.
[crosstalk]
Mayor Burk: No, it's Mosby Drive,which is next to Morven Park.The list of the other ones.
Kaj Dentler: Those are your top three and then all the other seven--
Mayor Burk: Okay,now I see it. It's in the resolution.Then the other ones were Routes 15 Bypass,the
MC3 Mobile Command and Communication Center, Veterans' Park, Evergreen Mill Road, North
Hanger Area Development,Western Pressure Zone Pump Station generator,and land acquisition north
of Ida Lee.Those are the 10, but we have three that we prioritized as our top three. Do I have a motion
to accept those?
Council Member Fox: So moved.
Mayor Burk: Moved by Council Member Fox, is there a second? Council Member Nacy. All in favor
indicate by--
Vice Mayor Martinez: May I make a suggested amendment--
Mayor Burk:What is that?
Page 81 April 13, 2021
Vice Mayor Martinez: -or a friendly amendment? Is I thought our discussion number nine was going
to move up to number one.
Mayor Burk: Number nine was going to move up to number one?
Vice Mayor Martinez:The Police expansion, Police station expansion.
Kaj Dentler: Police expansion was number one.
Mayor Burk:That's number one.
Kaj Dentler: That was number one. Lawson Road is number two. Number three is Town Branch.
[crosstalk]
Mayor Burk: Mosby Drive is number three.
Vice Mayor Martinez: The reason I'm asking is in this resolution, you have it back as number nine.
Mayor Burk: No, in the resolution. It's number one,is the Police station,two is the Lawson Road,three
is Town branch.
Vice Mayor Martinez: Okay, I'm looking at a revised resolution. Maybe I'm looking at the old.
Council Member Bagdasarian: I think you're looking at the old. I think the other seven are listed but
they're not ranked only the top three are ranked.
Vice Mayor Martinez:Thank you.
Mayor Burk:All right.All in favor indicate by saying aye.
Council Members:Aye.
Mayor Burk:Opposed,the passed 7-0.Okay,we have a motion to approve a proclamation for National
Drinking Water Week. I'll move that since I sponsored it. Is there a second?
Council Member Fox:Yes
Mayor Burk: Second by Council-- somebody over this way, Council Member Fox, sorry. All in favor
indicate by saying aye.
Council Members:Aye.
Mayor Burk: Opposed?7-0.Okay. Now we have a public hearing.Our public hearings.The first public
hearing, I call to order this April 13th, 2021 public hearing on Leesburg Town Council. Unless there is
an objection I will dispense with the reading of the advertisement. If you wish to speak I ask that you
either sign up on the sheet in the hallway outside of Council Chamber, but if you did not get the
opportunity to sign up, I will give you the opportunity to speak. We will also 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. Also,
you need to please spell your name for the caption. In the interest of fairness, we also ask you to
observe the five-minute time limit. For those participating in person and on 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 and yielding the floor when the bell indicates your time
has expired.
For those participating on 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
Page 91 April 13,2021
have numerous citizens making remarks on behalf of a 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 spokesperson, the group they represent, and the request for additional time. Our
procedure for the public hearing is as follows.
First,there's a brief presentation by 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 item on the agenda tonight is for the Authorizing the Issuance of the General Obligation Bonds
and Award of the Contract to Finance the Capital Asset Replacement Program. Mr. Rose welcome.
David Rose: Yes, Mayor. Thank you for allowing me to speak this evening. Again, I'm going to be
talking on behalf of the Town staff as financial advisor to this wonderful Town.Very briefly,as you know,
we have mentioned last time I was here that we were looking at being more efficient and strategic as it
relates to your capital asset replacement programs, and as such, we've had a program in place since
2017.That is expiring next year, Bank of America has indicated they are no longer interested in doing
that.
Nevertheless, we were looking at some ways to make it more strategic, more cost-effective, and also
to streamline the time and expense of your staff. As a result of that, we're here tonight asking you to
approve this public hearing in that amount there as you can see, which would last for several years.
With that being said we had several objectives when we started to dive into this. One of those was a
just-in-time funding approach so that we would not be paying needlessly on any monies that we did not
need and did not have.
The second, we wanted to make sure the amortization of the various projects were set up in such a
way--Let me put this here higher, sorry.Amortization of projects was such a way that we were tying it
to the useful life of the projects and no longer than that.Then lastly,recognizing that the rating agencies
look at this debt, whether it's called debt or not really they do look at it as debt.We might as well give
you the lowest cost of money, and that is the general obligation,which we have considerable capacity
as a Town.
•
What we did when a competitive process, and on that Tuesday, February 23rd, we put out a request
for proposal. We sent it out to a large number over two dozen local, regional, national, learning
institutions, must have talked to a dozen of them and found that at the end of the day, so much were
busy,the size,what have you and the nature of what we're trying to do is somewhat unique,and so we
ended up with two bids. TD bank and Truist Equipment Finance Corp, which you may recall has just
been created from BB&T and SunTrust as a combination.We might've had three bids, but those folks
together are now Truist.The good news,we've received a bid that we feel very good about. It was even
better than the estimates that we had and so what I thought I would do is just spend a moment or two
and tell you a little bit about that bid.That's what, again, hopefully you'll approve tonight.
It is about$13.5 million dollars over six years,but it does not require us,us meaning the Town to actually
borrow that amount of money.We borrow what we need basically when we need it and that was one of
the strong positives of Truist. In addition, as we indicated, there'll be a series of pieces of equipment
and other purposeful needs that lasts at least two years, that would be borrowed anywhere from 5 to
10 years.Again,the timing of that would tie directly back to the useful life of that equipment.
Then we received a rate formula for both the 5-year and the 10-year that would stay throughout the
entire time frame.The 5-year starts though,when we do a first draw in May at a 1.46.So that's set right
now,and then the 10-year, if there's any 10-year money that we want would be a 2.29%.We know right
now exactly what the rate will be, and we do not have to borrow a certain set amount. In addition,
prepayment, as you can see there,we're able to prepay it.
There is descending penalty and after four years or three years, actually the fourth year, there is no
penalty.We thought that was also very positive and then finally there was nominal costs by the bank to
do any legal work.With all of that and if we get your blessing, we will close on May 18th and that's the
plan there. With that said, we're recommending Truist, as we said, provides us that fixed rate at the
draw of closing, and we can decide exactly when I say we, the Town, how much they want to draw
based upon what your needs are.
Page 101 April 13, 2021
Again, the prepayment flexibility is important and the 5 and 10-year amortizing options are equally
important. I point out by the way that we do not have to have,for example, half being 5-year and half
being 10 years. We can do whatever we want based upon what you are actually borrowing for. Last
page here, we are looking down this little checklist time frame, and we are here on the 13th asking you
again to hold that public hearing and approve this.We will then work towards closing of the documents
with bond counsel and again,we'll close effectively a little over a month from now some 35 days.With
that, happy to answer any questions.That's our presentation Madam Mayor.
Mayor Burk:Thank you, Mr. Rose, does anybody have any questions. Mr. Bagdasarian?
Council Member Bagdasarian: Just that you mentioned that this request was unique. Is that a form
of a line of credit that's also a bond?What is unique about our request?
David Rose: I think what's unique about-- Not think, I know what's unique about it is really it's the
flexibility. Typically, when you do something like this, you have to be very specific about how many
dollars you're going to borrow,when you're going to borrow it, how many are going to be 5 years or 10
years, or what have you. We, in this situation, we, the Town, because our credit is so good, they feel
very,very good about being very loose and flexible.
They're not worried about having to put aside considerable reserves, for example, to be able to say,
"We're going to allow you to borrow this money and when."That's one of the things banks really struggle
with, is an entity or a person or they give money to, or lend money to, they worry about deteriorating
credit quality. I think for us, we've demonstrated so many years that excellent credit quality that they
are very comfortable with that.That's why I say I think there's some elements of this big unique.
Council Member Bagdasarian: Okay.Thank you,
Mayor Burk: Ms. Fox.
Council Member Fox: Just a real quick question. Very simple. Bank of America did not have this
product and so this is why we went with somebody[crosstalk]even though they weren't going to drop
us anyway, okay.
David Rose: Great question. Number one, the Bank of America product that we have right now is a
different type of product. It's a lease arrangement,which means that every piece of equipment that we
get the Town has to go to DMV and have a title and have it as security.That's really inefficient. I know,
I think that the Manager and your finance staff experts could talk about the hundreds, if not, maybe a
couple thousand hours over the several years that that has taken away from doing other things. That
was the Bank of America product at the time, so we sought to make something that was better.
The second thing is Bank of America has basically said, we're really not interested. It's not maybe
lucrative enough for us to do what you want to do,which is to get away from the idea of having to have
their leasing company turn around and not have any collateral other than the full faith and credit of the
Town.This for us was,the us,when I say I'm talking about collectively us,is really so much more flexible
than that other approach. Now,the other approach was a good approach. Don't get me wrong and it's
what the most typical of what local governments do, but I think for AAA credits that are really very solid
and that they're not worried about, I could see something like this becoming more popular.Absolutely.
Council Member Fox: Okay.Thank you.
Mayor Burk: Mr. Steinberg.
Council Member Steinberg: Out of curiosity, given the Town's credit rating,why is it only two entities
you suppose were interested in working with us?
David Rose: I think there's a couple of reasons, but I will speculate here having talked to many of the
banks. They are so busy right now, the banks, that they really don't care about trying to get creative
and having to do things that don't fit their checks in their boxes.They really don't need to do that,number
one.
Page 111 April 13, 2021
Number two, interestingly enough, when you are AAA the margins for them in terms of profit is much
smaller than if they were to turn around and say, you're a BBB. They may be taking some credit risk
when you're a BBB, but the ability for them to make money if things go well is much more substantial
than for AAA. In reality and in a strange way you're not as profitable for them.
Then lastly,the idea here that we're not bound to have to borrow,for example,two million,three million
every year. It's not overly lucrative for them,and it causes them to have to adjust,let's say the way they
put you into their books and the way they set aside some credit and all of that for their finances. I think
we've ended up getting a good, good bid if we didn't, we would just stay with where we are and do
something of that nature, but the old saying, "It only takes one,"and we got one and we like it and it's
a very good bank.We know it's of course it's a new combination, but they've always been really good
with local governments, both BB&T and SunTrust have been very strong.
Council Member Steinberg: Okay.Thank you.
Mayor Burk: Mr. Martinez.
Vice Mayor Martinez: It's nice to see you in-person again after a year or so. Now I know we've done
this several times to save money for the Town on a yearly basis and stuff. Is the margin of doing this
versus not doing this getting to the point where we have nowhere else to go?
David Rose: Mr. Martinez when you say the margin, help me understand what you mean by that.
Vice Mayor Martinez: The margin of saving enough money to make it worth your while to do it again
and again and again,are we reaching that point, or are we at a point where in the Town, as our bonds
are maturing to where you can roll them off,do we have a continuing stack of bonds that are coming by
every year that we can continue to try to do this as long as interest rates?
Clark Case: The primary reason for doing it, Marty is it allows us to borrow the money when we need
it and that means we're not borrowing money until we need it. The big savings is not on the differential
and the interest rate.The big savings is we're not tying the money up.We're not borrowing it before we
need it.We're not paying interest on money that's sitting in the bank account earning less, so we don't
have a negative arbitrage because we borrowed it a one-and-a-half and we're earning 27 basis points
on it in the checking account.[crosstalk]We borrow it just when we need it and that's where the savings
comes from.
Vice Mayor Martinez: I understand all that. I just want to make sure that we don't continue down a path
that maybe it's not worth it anymore, but I understand what you're doing and understand how bonds are
rolling up and off and all that stuff too.As long as you're conscious of it,then I have no worries.
Clark Case: That is exactly why we're doing this is because we looked at the BofA program and we
didn't think the savings were worth the amount of time we were spending sitting at DMV.We said,"This
isn't working for us," I was going to either pull the plug on the whole program or see if we could get a
better deal.We went out,we asked for very favorable terms from the banks that were not typical and
asked them basically give us a lot of concessions so that we could do it this way. The way I told it to
David was, "Let's see if we can get a good bid. If we can, we continue it, otherwise, we'll just pull the
plug on the whole program."That's why we did it was to see if we could make it worthwhile.
Vice Mayor Martinez: Thank you.
Mayor Burk:All right. Mr. Cummings.
Council Member Cummings:Thank you,just quickly,from the Bank of America standpoint versus this
newer financing option, is there a sense of how much the Town will save if any?
David Rose: Go ahead, if you want to do it go ahead.
Clark Case: No.
Page 121 April 13,2021
David Rose:Okay.I think it's a little bit of apples and oranges. Number one,again,the Bank of America
was more rigid in terms of all of the requirements and the time involved. There is a time cost in value,
so I'm not sure we can absolutely, but in terms of the pure interest rate, because again, this is based
upon a formula. Right now that formula relative to what we had before is very favorable. It's again
because that formula changed as well for Bank of America.We're in the same,we'll call it neighborhood
or ballpark if you would and that was important to us, as well. The combination of that leads us to,
there's going to be no need for Clark and his staff to say, "We need more dollars this year."That's not
the case. It's not because we don't have Bank of America,that's not the case no.
Clark Case: I would add to that,then again,the savings is--The way Bank of America was structured,
they had a lien on equipment, so they had a secured loan at a fixed rate, and a dollar amount for five
years. We here we're doing a set at the point in which we take the money. While we know what it is
right now, and that's significant over what BofA was doing— BofA's loan was a secured loan, they had
lien on an asset,these guys have no lien on anything.You really are comparing a different level of risk,
and a different level of financing flexibility. It's a different program but it is a lower rate, but may not be
entirely a fair comparison, because BofA was having to commit their capital for each of the five years
at a set amount for a set number of years.
This program has both 10-year financing involved in it and just 5 year financing, whereas BofA's was
just five years on secured equipment. It was a little apples and oranges and the reason we're going to
go longer is things like renovations. One of the problems we have with the BofA program was they're
really interested in doing vehicles. They wanted to have cars and trucks, motor graders, that sort of
thing and they did not want to have things like new windows in Town Hall. Our current program will
allow us to replace the generator at Ida Lee,it'll allow us to replace the doors and the windows in Town
Hall and finance that over 10 years because they're going to last a while. However, I don't want to put
a lien on Town Hall and I don't want to put a lien on Ida Lee to Bank of America because they financed
the generator.It made it difficult for us to finance the renovations part of it. It really isn't a fair comparison
because part of its 10-year financing and part of it was versus a 5-year secured financing. Okay, we
believe it's much cheaper.
Mayor Burk: Excuse me.Any other questions?Thank you. Sorry, I didn't mean to interrupt you.There
is nobody that is signed up to speak. Is there anybody on--Oh, Miss Nacy, you had a question?Sorry.
Council Member Nacy: Oh, I'm sorry, no.
Mayor Burk: Is there anybody on WebEx that wanted to speak?
Keith Markel:We have no participants on WebEx.
Mayor Burk:All right,then I will close this public hearing. Does anybody want to make a motion at this
point?I need a motion.What are you moving?
Vice Mayor Martinez: [inaudible] an Award of a Contract to Finance Capital Asset Replacement
Program.
Council Member Fox: I second.
Mayor Burk: Okay,who seconded?
Council Member Bagdasarian: Miss Fox.
Mayor Burk: Miss Fox.Okay.All in favor indicate by saying aye.Opposed?That passes 7-0.Okay.All
right. Disclosures and comments. Ms. Fox.
Council Member Fox: No comments, just one disclosure. I did have a virtual meeting with Jennifer
Lassiter Smith and a few members of the Paxton Trust about the INMED School project at Paxton.
Mayor Burk: Mr. Steinberg.
Page 131 April 13,2021
Council Member Steinberg: I also had a meeting with Jennifer Smith regarding the Paxton project and
nothing else.
Mayor Burk: Mr. Cummings.
Council Member Cummings:Just one disclosure, I had a phone conversation with Mr. Mike McLister
about some of his projects.
Mayor Burk:All right, Ms. Nacy.
Council Member Nacy: No disclosures, no comments.
Mayor Burk: Mr. Bagdasarian.
Council Member Bagdasarian: Yes. I had a meeting with the co-Chairs of COPA,the Mayor and the
Parks and Rec staff to discuss and explore possible locations for a funded Black history mural in the
Town of Leesburg and that's currently in process and looking at possible options.
Mayor Burk:All right, Mr. Martinez.
Vice Mayor Martinez: I have no disclosures, but I do want to see if I can get Council to agree to look
at putting together another subcommittee that discuss the possibilities of ADU's and what we can do.
In other words a subcommittee that works with the Town and the County to find out what exactly our
options are and how we can work with the County on the ADU program.
Mayor Burk: Do you want a work session? Is that what you're asking?
Vice Mayor Martinez: Yes.
Mayor Burk: Do you understand what the work session is?
Kaj Dentler: I do.The only question I have based on the conversation from last night, is this a request
to discuss affordable housing and ADU's after the Town Plan is presented to you, or you want to do
that before?
Vice Mayor Martinez: In parallel. I also want to talk about workforce housing.
Kaj Dentler: Okay.Similar to Ms.Fox's request last night,we will add it to the agenda, but we'll wait for
the Town Plan to arrive with the recommendations.
Mayor Burk: If we have four people that want to do.
Kaj Dentler:Assuming that of course.
Mayor Burk:Are there for people that would want to do that?Okay.All right. Okay I have a disclosure
that I also met with Ms. Smith and members of INMED. I want to welcome Robin's Hair Salon and
Makeup. You do ribbon cuttings and usually there's a very small group, but in this case, I'm walking
down the street and the whole street is blocked with people.
I think Mr.Cummings,I believe you were there also and it was quite impressive and I wish the proprietor
the best of luck and I know that she'll do well.I also walked the Town with Mr.Bagdasarian and members
of COPA and Carmen Felder to look for a placement for a mural for Black History.There's a couple of
interesting perspectives and we'll be continuing that discussion.
On the 6th, Chair Randall held a press conference on the vaccine where she received her first vaccine
as did other Board Members and COLT,the members,all the Mayors joined in and participated although
we had already gotten ours. I do want everybody to know that even if you're the Mayor of the Town,
you do get called for jury duty.
Page 141 April 13, 2021
Although I was rejected at the end I did get called and spent five hours waiting for that decision. On the
8th, Loudoun Museum had a special reception for its opening and boy that was phenomenal.What they
have done there it was just really great. On the lath, I joined the EAC in giving out the Keep Leesburg
Beautiful and if you participate, you will get this wonderful bag that you can take with you and keep.
You will get these gorgeous gloves that you can have.
Then they give you these lovely orange bag to be able to put your trash in and you get this wonderful
chat. [laughs] Call Town Hall, and you will be given all of those wonderful things to participate. Then I
want to thank the[unintelligible]Islam Association of Auxiliary women that invited me to a round table
discussion, very interesting round table discussion on discrimination and equality and peace. It was
very well-received and it was a wonderful experience.Anybody have a motion to adjourn.
Council Member Steinberg: So moved.
Mayor Burk: Moved by Mr. Steinberg. Second?
Council Member Bagdasarian: I'll second that.
Mayor Burk: Seconded by Mr. Bagdasarian.All in favor, indicate by saying aye.
Council Members:Aye.
Mayor Burk: Opposed?We are adjourned.
Page 151 April 13,2021