Leesburg Town Council Work Session – April 27, 2026
Leesburg Town Council Work Session
A Town Council work session was held on April 27, 2026, at 7:00 p.m. in the Council Chamber. The agenda included four discussion items, but the Crescent District Streetscape Study was removed from the agenda by consensus at the start. The remaining items were a painted crosswalk request, the 2025 annual sustainability report, and the Oaklawn water main upgrade. No public comments were heard, and the meeting adjourned without a closed session.
Painted Crosswalk Request – Callan’s Cause
- Staff presented a request from Callan’s Cause, a nonprofit founded after the loss of a child to SIDS, to install a painted crosswalk using blue and green colors (the organization’s colors) at an approved location. The design meets the town’s crosswalk policy.
- Council members expressed support but raised questions about public awareness (no signage or logo allowed under MUTCD standards) and potential wear‑and‑tear due to high traffic volume. Staff noted that the existing Harrison Street crosswalk has held up well and that the organization plans to promote the crosswalk via social media.
- The request includes two options: a long‑term installation or a 120‑day installation (August 1 – November 30, 2026). Council did not vote on the request; it was not moved to the consent agenda and will appear on the regular agenda for a future meeting.
2025 Annual Sustainability Report
- Deb Moran presented highlights from the six‑section report. Key achievements noted:
- Building & Energy: 30% conversion of streetlights to LED; a Solarize Virginia panel discussion; an EV charging station installed at Last Ray (June 2025) charging 20 cents/kWh, generating modest revenue and offsetting fuel costs for the town EV.
- Land Use: A forthcoming zoning ordinance section (Division 21) to incentivize green infrastructure.
- Water: Delayed SCADA system installation (target now FY27); technology upgrades for HVAC and raw pump sewers.
- Solid Waste: Food waste drop‑off program launched December 2025, collecting approximately 1,000 pounds per week; staff requested additional funding from bag tax distributions for a second drop‑off location.
- Parks & Open Space: Use of ultrasonic air excavation to protect 100‑year‑old spruce trees; first electric leaf blower for downtown; the 2025 Kepleysburg beautiful event collected 1,500 pounds of litter.
- Council questions addressed: geothermal feasibility (considered cost‑prohibitive for current projects but will be revisited for future buildings); uncertainty about net metering due to a Dominion rate case; the town’s use of 3,000K lighting; and the two‑day delay in water leak notifications (new metering technology expected in 2028). No votes were taken; the report was received as information.
Oaklawn Water Main Upgrade
- Amy Wyks presented a proposal to approve a change order of $80,392 to Whitman Record to design an upgrade of an existing 8‑inch water main to a 16‑inch main on the Oaklawn property. The upgrade is a critical interconnection between the Sichelin and Western pressure zones, first identified in 2019 for system redundancy.
- The alignment follows the same route proposed by a data center applicant (recently denied), keeping the pipe close to the Dulles Greenway to minimize impact on future development. The current 8‑inch pipe will be abandoned in place.
- Council discussed the need for land acquisition/easements since the new pipe requires a new easement. Staff confirmed a meeting with the property owner is scheduled for later that week.
- The change order will be voted on at the next day’s regular meeting (April 28, 2026). The draft motion recommends approval.
Key Outcomes
- The painted crosswalk request was not decided; it will remain on the regular agenda.
- The sustainability report was presented and discussed; no formal action taken.
- The Oaklawn water main design change order was discussed and will be voted on at the April 28 meeting.
- The Crescent District Streetscape Study was removed from the agenda by consensus.
Meeting Transcript
Let's um start tonight's town hall meeting uh work session of uh April 27th, 2026. And our first item for discussion is the painted crosswalk request of Callan's cause. Oh, wait a minute, excuse me, before you speak, I'm sorry. Um as long as everybody is okay with it, um D we will remove from the agenda for tonight. Anyone object? Okay, thank you. Sorry. Certainly no problem. So good evening, Madam Mayor and Town Council. The presentation before you tonight is for a painted crosswalk, and joining me to answer any questions you might have are Renee and Nirja. Callan's Cause is a nonprofit headquartered in the Greater Leesburg area. It was founded by the Sullivans after the loss of their first child Callan to sudden infant death syndrome. The colors for Callan's Cause are blue and green. You see these represented in the organization's logo on the screen. This location is included in the list of approved locations that is an addendum to the town's painted crosswalk policy. Staff has worked with the Sullivans to ensure that the design and colors of the crosswalk meet the requirements of the town's crosswalk policy. The next step of the process is for council to approve the request and determine the duration of the installation. Cowan's cause has requested that the crosswalk be a long-term installation. If this is not approved by council, the alternative would be a hundred and twenty-day installation to run August first through the November thirtieth of this year. Okay. And then who determines it needs to be maintained? What improvements need to be? I think my first question is I support it. It's just are people gonna know what it represents? Is there gonna be a sign or anything to let people know? There is no sign. Right. And it cannot have a logo or any words on it. Oh, under the M U T C D standards. Okay, okay. If they I guess wanted to put a sign somewhere else, is that possible? Uh we would have to work with them on that because the immediate property belongs to Nova Parks, so we wouldn't be able to approve putting it there. Maybe when we put up a light. When those get installed. Yeah, uh, thank you. I'm no more questions. Certainly. Mr. Kirkowski. I did have a similar question in regards to awareness for the cause and I guess whether they'd know anything about it, but perhaps that's something we can explore later if it's feasible to have some sort of modest signage. Um, you know, because I I'd hate for such a good cause to essentially maybe go unrecognize, unless, of course, people Google it to understand the colors and things like that, um, which maybe is a follow-up as well. If there's somewhere that you know we can put something on the town website that possibly explains what it is. Because if somebody goes to Google crosswalk, you know, painted uh blue and green, they still may not come up with an understanding of what it means. So maybe something on the website, uh, our town website that would be able to, you know, pick up that search. Um the other question I had was in regards to deterioration. So the current one on Harrison, um obviously a lot less traffic than this one. Do we anticipate that there's gonna be a lot more wear and tear on this one? And maybe that they've been told that to expect to have to you know refresh it more often. I can't speak that they've been told that, but I just want to manage expectations for them, especially uh as a nonprofit. So with the traffic volume, I would expect it to fade a little bit quicker.
openpublica.com