OPENPUBLICA · PUBLIC MEETING RECORD
Record of Proceedings

Leesburg Parks and Recreation Commission Meeting - August 20, 2026

Town Council & Commissions — Thursday, August 20, 2026
BodyLeesburg, Virginia
SessionTown Council & Commissions
DateThursday, August 20, 2026
StatusFILED
Video Record
0:00 / 50:20

Transcript — Verbatim
0:06

Okay, we're gonna call the meeting to order.

0:08

Thanks so much everybody for coming.

0:10

Except Brody, he gets minus points tonight for the mirrors.

0:16

First order of business is to approve um the minutes from our July 15th meetings.

0:22

Take a moment to take a little look.

0:35

Motion to approve any seconds.

0:41

All right, and you post any FC.

0:45

Cool.

0:46

Thank you.

0:47

Um citizen comments.

0:49

We have no citizens today.

0:51

Commission member comments.

0:54

Do you mind?

0:55

Sure.

0:55

Okay.

0:55

Uh we have a new member.

0:56

So Sarah, if you'd like to introduce yourself, give us a little spiel about who you are.

1:02

Welcome to the commission.

1:03

We're so excited that you're here.

1:05

Uh yeah, share a little bit about yourself.

1:07

Sure.

1:08

Um lived in Leisburg my whole life.

1:10

And now I'm raising kids here.

1:13

Parks and Rackley's bird was my first job.

1:15

It was my first camp as a kid.

1:18

I've been coming idly my whole life.

1:20

So now that I have two sons and we're spending all our time at the playgrounds, I thought it would be a good time to bring it all back, circle it back.

1:28

So that's amazing.

1:29

Yeah, it's fun.

1:30

So I'm happy to hear about Brody's telling me what you guys are working on here.

1:33

It's cool to hear about like this isn't the town I grew up in.

1:36

It's really cool that people want to be here and come here and live here.

1:39

And whenever I meet someone, they're like, I've just moved here.

1:42

I'm like, why?

1:44

Like it's just my hometown.

1:46

I'm surprised they want to live here.

1:48

I can see that like everyone loves it here, and that's fun.

1:50

So I love that that you guys are making improvements and that everyone loves it and wants to be here and that I get to raise my kids here.

1:57

Thank you.

1:58

Nice to meet you.

1:59

Yes, so thanks for having me.

2:01

Um, as we go around tonight, if anyone would like to just give a little 30-second introduction, so that's Sari knows who we are too, so she's not the only one being put on the spot.

2:12

Uh Russ, do you mind?

2:14

Uh yeah, I press show up.

2:16

I have been at least brewed now for 25 years, I suppose.

2:22

Raised my daughter's here to go on to county.

2:24

Oh, really?

2:24

Wait here.

2:25

I don't know.

2:28

Oh, don't make it matter.

2:30

2325 myself.

2:32

So it's counting to you.

2:34

Yeah, I mean uh great talent, great experience.

2:39

I started on this uh on this track of being involved here.

2:42

Rich knows this because he was assistant director at the time when uh we pulled together awk trails committee to help improve the trails we have around town.

2:50

Volunteer to be a part of that, and that led to being on the parts of our commission years ago.

2:55

I spent eight years on the commission and then ended up taking some time off uh because my council representative didn't win re-election.

3:03

So yeah, that's how it works.

3:05

And then later uh Brody asked me to come back and I agree to come back.

3:09

So I've been back for three years now.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Parks and Recreation█████████████████████████████████████████████71%
Community Engagement██████9%
Budget Equity Analysis█████8%
Procedural████7%
Public Engagement███5%
Summary of Proceedings

Leesburg Parks and Recreation Commission Meeting - August 20, 2026

The Leesburg Parks and Recreation Commission met on August 20, 2026, at 4:15 PM. The meeting included approval of prior minutes, introduction of a new member, commission member feedback, updates on park projects, and planning for a pickleball tournament. No citizens provided public comments. Key decisions included approval of minutes and planning for future events.

Consent Calendar

  • Motion to approve the minutes from the July 15, 2026 meeting was made, seconded, and approved unanimously.

Commission Member Comments

  • New member Sarah introduced herself, noting she has lived in Leesburg her whole life, now raising children there, and previously worked at Parks and Recreation as her first job. Other members gave brief introductions.
  • A commissioner provided feedback on the fitness center at Idyl: reported that some replaced pads are good, but one machine broke (arm broke off, needs welding), and many machines are rusted and old. He expressed concern that the equipment is outdated compared to competitors like Crunch Fitness, and asked about the timeline for new equipment. Staff indicated ordering is imminent, with 6–8 weeks lead time. Another commissioner suggested new equipment should be powder-coated to avoid chipping.
  • A commissioner followed up on parking lot arrows at Freedom Park and custom emails for programs; staff reported they are working on them.
  • A commissioner suggested creating permanent signs with QR codes in parks to collect anonymous feedback directly to an inbox. Staff took note.
  • A commissioner asked about attendance at the Taste event; staff reported approximately 6,000–8,000 attendees, similar to previous years, with good weather and no incidents. The retro arcade lounge was replaced with a karaoke lounge, which was well-received and attracted more adults.

New Business

  • Rock Springs Farm Event: Staff announced a partnership with Thomas Falsch Library for a metal detecting event on October 17, 2026 (rain date October 24), from 10 AM to 4 PM at the newly purchased property off Laura Street. The park will open with passive trail and benches in early 2027. Commission members were invited to volunteer on-site to check registration forms. Interest was expressed, and staff will collect responses by September 15.
  • Master Plan Update: Still delayed; staff hopes to present at the next meeting.
  • Veterans Park Update: Grand opening scheduled for September 30, 2026 at 4 PM (rain date October 1). Substantial completion expected by September 1, full completion by September 20. The pavilion near the silos will take an additional 4–5 months. Electric motorized devices were approved.
  • Pickleball Courts: Courts are paved; opening planned for October 2026 at Freedom Park.
  • Pickleball Tournament Planning: A detailed discussion occurred on the format for a tournament to be held in May 2027 (tentative date May 8, backup May 15). Staff and commissioners considered one-day vs. two-day, skill divisions (beginner 2.0–3.0, intermediate 3.0–4.0, advanced 4.0+), round-robin format into playoffs, registration fees (suggested $20 for first year to encourage participation), and the use of applications like Swish or PickleballTournaments.com. Staff recommended a one-day event for the first year. Commissioners agreed to finalize details at the September meeting.
  • Budget Development: Staff noted the budget process has started; commissioners should submit ideas by November.
  • Best of Loudoun Results: Idyl facilities won first place in several categories (community festival, flower garden, rec center, tennis, fitness center, tennis instructor). The outdoor pool and Taste were runners-up.

Key Outcomes

  • Minutes from July 15, 2026 were approved.
  • Commissioners will provide feedback on Rock Springs Farm event interest by September 15.
  • Pickleball tournament details to be finalized at the September meeting for a May 2027 event.
  • Budget ideas from commissioners due by November 2026.
  • Master plan update expected at next meeting.
  • Veterans Park grand opening set for September 30, 2026.
  • No other motions or votes were recorded; meeting adjourned.

Meeting Transcript

Okay, we're gonna call the meeting to order. Thanks so much everybody for coming. Except Brody, he gets minus points tonight for the mirrors. First order of business is to approve um the minutes from our July 15th meetings. Take a moment to take a little look. Motion to approve any seconds. All right, and you post any FC. Cool. Thank you. Um citizen comments. We have no citizens today. Commission member comments. Do you mind? Sure. Okay. Uh we have a new member. So Sarah, if you'd like to introduce yourself, give us a little spiel about who you are. Welcome to the commission. We're so excited that you're here. Uh yeah, share a little bit about yourself. Sure. Um lived in Leisburg my whole life. And now I'm raising kids here. Parks and Rackley's bird was my first job. It was my first camp as a kid. I've been coming idly my whole life. So now that I have two sons and we're spending all our time at the playgrounds, I thought it would be a good time to bring it all back, circle it back. So that's amazing. Yeah, it's fun. So I'm happy to hear about Brody's telling me what you guys are working on here. It's cool to hear about like this isn't the town I grew up in. It's really cool that people want to be here and come here and live here. And whenever I meet someone, they're like, I've just moved here. I'm like, why? Like it's just my hometown. I'm surprised they want to live here. I can see that like everyone loves it here, and that's fun. So I love that that you guys are making improvements and that everyone loves it and wants to be here and that I get to raise my kids here. Thank you. Nice to meet you. Yes, so thanks for having me. Um, as we go around tonight, if anyone would like to just give a little 30-second introduction, so that's Sari knows who we are too, so she's not the only one being put on the spot. Uh Russ, do you mind? Uh yeah, I press show up. I have been at least brewed now for 25 years, I suppose. Raised my daughter's here to go on to county. Oh, really? Wait here. I don't know. Oh, don't make it matter.

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