From left, Town Attorney Nick Jacobs, Leesburg Councilman Mitch Rader, Council Vice President Tom Moore and Council President Christina Archer at Monday night’s meeting. InkFreeNews photo by Lasca Randels,

By Lasca Randels
InkFreeNews

LEESBURG — Twenty-seven property owners in violation of town ordinances will be served notice by the town’s attorney. 

This was announced at the Leesburg Town Council meeting Monday, Aug. 14.

Street Commissioner Craig Charlton said he issued numerous ordinance violation warnings regarding mowing grass into the streets, trash/refuse, vehicles in violation and grass over 12” in height. He provided the council with a list of those in violation.

“It is becoming quite a problem. Some are repeat offenders,” Charlton said. “Everything has been photographed and documented.”

Council Vice President Tom Moore said the council has been quite clear for the past several months about what will take place regarding ordinance violations.

“I think part of the reason is that we’ve’ve become a familiar voice and we’ve just become easy to ignore. This issue … at least from my seat … is not going to be ignored anymore,” Moore said. “Unfortunately, there will be some people who will probably be offended, but if they weren’t in violation, they wouldn’t be offended. The best way to not be offended is to clean up your act.”

The list of names has been turned over to Town Attorney Nick Jacobs, who will be serving notice to those in violation to inform them that they have 30 days to become compliant with town ordinances. Fines will be issued to those who remain in violation.

Leesburg Post Office. InkFreeNews photo by Lasca Randels.

Council President Christina Archer said they will be addressing ordinance fines at the next meeting to ensure that they are consistent and that all ordinance violations fall under the same penalty clause.

In another matter, Archer said there have been questions as to whether handrails could be installed to make it easier to get in and out of the post office. 

The town does not own the property, Archer explained. She said council could make the suggestion but cannot require it. 

Moore than added that sidewalks are a public thoroughfare and cannot be obstructed in any way. 

“It’s a legitimate concern,” Archer said. “But it’s also not an easy problem to solve, unfortunately.” 

In other news:

• Moore said the town has the materials needed to build the air filtration system for the sewer lift station and the plan is to put that up this week, weather permitting. It is hoped this will eliminate the odor coming from that area.
• No parking on any street between 3-5 a.m. (every day; no burning anything, any time; please, be mindful of what you flush; street department cell number is (574) 527-2884.
• A suggestion was made to put a basketball court in the lot west of the community building, so that kids would have somewhere to play basketball on that side of the railroad tracks since the school is located on the other side the tracks. The Lions Club owns the property and are interested in pursuing grant opportunities for the basketball court. Archer will assist the Lions Club by checking into what organizations might be available to help with grant money for this project. 
• The next regular meeting will be 6:30 p.m. Sept. 11.