LEESBURG — Leesburg Town Council took a moment to examine adjustments to town ordinances suggested by Umbaugh, municipal planners during the Monday, Nov. 9, meeting of the board. As council members looked to set new, clearer precedents for the future, some discussion occurred over what could be hot topics to come, chiefly that of election of officials and the definition of nudity in public in relation to a breastfeeding woman.

The town council reviewed the submission of suggestions on code codification from Umbaugh. Some time ago, the town submitted a copy of ordinances currently in place with a request for Umbaugh to examine both new and old ordinances and “clean up” anything that might be problematic for the town.

Several suggestions were made to adjust wording in order to protect and provide clearer phrasing. Amongst those suggestions was one to protect breastfeeding women who might be accused of lewd or public indecency while inside of a private business. Larry Richey, town councilman, noted as a business owner himself, he would like to see the wording replaced to protect mothers feeding their children. Doug Jones, vice president, noted he felt keeping wording out of the ruling would allow the choice to be left to business owners as to whether to permit breastfeeding in their establishment.

An additional topic of concern was a proposed regulation mandating that the three council members all represent a different district of Leesburg in the town council. However, Richey noted with approximately 555 residents residing on essentially “three streets,” finding a willing representative from each district could prove difficult for future councils. All three gentleman agreed the wording should be removed in order to ensure the council could be fully staffed in future years.

One other point noted was regulation of firearms within Leesburg. All three men agreed there are no problems with firearms being carried in the town.

“No one here has a problem with firearms on town property,” noted Tom Moore, council president. “I don’t feel we need to be very concerned on this point”

Richey agreed, noting as long as they have the proper permits, officials have no qualms with individuals exercising a right to carry.

The council will continue to review the changes for finalization of the code codification process.

Other business:

• Standing water at the corner of School Street and SR 15 will be discussed with county street officials as the roads are theirs to manage. Richey  noted he is currently planning to meet with a street department official to seek a repair be made.
• No burning of anything at any time.
• No parking on any city street between the hours of 3-5 a.m.
• Separate waste and tree limbs and clippings from leaves when leaving leaves at the curb. There is no current hard deadline for leaf pick up to end.
• The next meeting of the council will take place Monday, Dec. 14, at Leesburg Town Hall.