Leesburg begins parks master‑plan outreach; pickleball bid pulled, disc golf announced

Consultants working on Leesburg’s parks and recreation master plan outlined a multi‑phase engagement and analysis effort Wednesday, telling the town’s advisory commission that the work will include a statistically valid community survey, pop‑up events, facility assessments and a budget/prioritization roadmap for capital projects.

The consultants identified community priorities raised at the meeting — including more accessible open fields and multi‑use sport surfaces, improved trail connectivity, senior programming, accessibility upgrades and nature‑education programming — and described tools residents can use to submit ideas, drop pins on a town map and allocate a mock $100 budget to indicate priorities.

“My name is Lakita Frazier. I am a senior consultant with BerryDunn … and this is your community. We're not coming here copying and pasting,” said Lakita Frazier, the project manager introduced to the commission. Rich Duman, the firm’s engagement lead, told commissioners the team will try to “meet people where they are in the community” through pop‑ups, online tools and a mix of virtual and in‑person outreach.

Why it matters: Leesburg is updating a plan that will shape capital priorities, program offerings and grant requests for the coming decade. Commissioners and staff said they expect the plan to produce an implementation roadmap and a first‑year action plan that the town can use to guide budgeting, grant applications and private‑sector partnerships.

Key takeaways from the meeting

- Engagement and timeline: The consultant team described a five‑phase process (discovery, needs assessment, visioning, strategy and finalization). They said the project includes a statistically valid telephone/mail survey (roughly a 400‑sample “gold standard”), ongoing pop‑up events at Ida Lee Recreation Center and Freedom Park, and an ideas map on the project website. The team said they expect to return for visioning updates and to present draft recommendations to the commission and Town Council as the project advances.

- Pickleball procurement: Town staff announced the capital projects team received two bids for the planned pickleball facility but pulled the procurement after vendor protests. Staff said the package will be reissued with lighting design included to avoid costly change orders; the re‑bid is expected to delay procurement by roughly three to four weeks. The commission was told staff do not expect the delay to change the project’s long‑term opening timeline.

- Program and facility gaps: Commissioners described continuing demand for unreserved, walkable active recreation space, small‑sided and multi‑use courts (for small‑sided soccer/futsal, basketball and multi‑sport uses) and additional access to school and private facilities. Several members urged attention to the south side of town, which they said has rapid residential growth but fewer public facilities. Accessibility and multigenerational programming — including better physical access, transportation and outreach for people on fixed incomes — were raised repeatedly.

- New and near‑term facilities: Commission members and consultants said Leesburg is planning a disc golf course in Veterans Park (and potentially West Park) as part of near‑term improvements. Consultants also suggested a nature/conservation education center as a longer‑term program opportunity.

- Funding and partnerships: The consultant team and commissioners discussed funding balance and the town’s current financial model. Staff reported the parks operation is recovering roughly 67% of its costs through fees and charges, a rate commissioners said can create pressure on staff to treat programming as a revenue stream. The consultants recommended exploring a friends/foundation transition to a 501(c)(3) to expand fundraising options (memorial benches/trees, legacy gifts), pursuing federal and state grants for trails and transportation, and pursuing public‑private partnerships and developer proffers when appropriate.

- Technology and access: Staff announced a new mobile app that can be used to scan into the recreation center and link to registration (the app is a gateway to the town’s registration system). Several commissioners reported early navigation difficulties and asked staff to improve user workflow to show household registrations and program status more clearly.

Direct quotes from the meeting

- “This is your community. We're not coming here copying and pasting,” — Lakita Frazier, senior consultant, BerryDunn. - “We really believe in meeting people where they are in the community,” — Rich Duman, engagement lead, BerryDunn. - “We actually are transcribing this through Copilot,” — Mitch (staff), describing the note‑taking/transcription approach.

Next steps and follow‑up

The consultants said they will continue pop‑up engagement through the week at Ida Lee and Freedom Park, finalize the statistically valid survey and return in a later phase with a visioning summary and draft priorities. Staff committed to regular updates to the commission and to share engagement materials the commission can circulate to neighborhood groups and social pages. Commissioners asked for ongoing opportunities to review draft recommendations prior to finalization.

Votes and formal actions

The commission approved the meeting minutes as called at the start of the session; the record shows a voice vote of “Aye.”

Ending

The master‑plan kickoff centered public engagement and access as core priorities. Over the next weeks the town will collect survey results, pop‑up input and map‑based suggestions that the consultant team says will guide recommendations for capital investments, program changes and funding options.