Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Community Events topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Leesburg advisory panel debriefs Keep Leesburg Beautiful, flags logistics for next year’s Flower & Garden activities
Summary
Members and staff reviewed volunteer participation, material tallies and vendor partnerships from this year’s Keep Leesburg Beautiful and Flower & Garden Festival events and identified steps to improve measuring, bag labeling, business participation and event timing for 2026.
The Leesburg Environmental Advisory Commission on an unspecified date reviewed results from this year’s Keep Leesburg Beautiful (KLB) activities and the town’s Flower & Garden Festival, noting higher volunteer participation but uneven data and several operational issues to fix before next year.
Commissioners and town staff said volunteer numbers rose substantially from last year and that overall material collected appeared to increase markedly, but staff cautioned the two tallies are not directly comparable because last year’s pickups were weighed in bulk while this year individual bags were weighed. Staff said one group collected about 308 pounds after the kickoff event, which accounted for a large share of the month’s total.
Why it matters: the commission uses volunteer counts and weights to measure outreach success, to make the case to businesses and to support future budget requests.
Staff and commissioners discussed three near-term changes to make next year’s program easier to run and to improve participation tracking: (1) pre-labeling collection bags or providing stickers so volunteer groups can be credited for their work; (2) adding a scale on the town truck to weigh bags in the field rather than transporting loads back and forth; and (3) tightening the business-participation process so merchants agree in advance on the discount period (staff recommended asking businesses to honor a coupon for a week rather than a single day).
Economic-development outreach: Staff said the town’s economic development office circulated an invitation to merchants through the town listserv to solicit business participation. Staff reported only a few businesses replied that customers used the discount; Candy Corner Cafe was cited as one that reported redemptions. Staff said they will solicit businesses earlier and use a standard form with expectations for timing next year.
Other operational notes: volunteers sometimes failed to label bags, making it difficult to credit specific teams for the ‘Golden Grabber’ award; town front-desk staff volunteered to help pre-label bags if the event remains a manageable size. Staff are considering a drive-through collection option and will explore scaled, staggered pickup locations for areas with heavy litter (for example, the commercial corridors behind large retailers).
The commission also suggested expanding incentives and prizes — for example, gift certificates from participating businesses, small hosted events, or before-and-after photo contests — to encourage sustained participation across the full month rather than only at the kickoff event.
Ending: Staff said they will refine the tracking and outreach plan over the summer so the commission can finalize logistics and budget requests ahead of next year’s April activities.
