Lee faces challenges

LEESBURG — In a discussion of challenges the city of Leesburg faces in its immediate future, Mayor Jim Quinn makes no bones that a lack of resources can often hinder efforts to address glaring needs.

At Thursday’s monthly Lee directors meeting, Quinn addressed some of those challenges.

“Mr. (Jim) Wright — Lee County’s lone Code Enforcement officer — has done a good job of addressing (cleanup of) one abandoned property,” Quinn told county leaders at the meeting. “Now we need to move on to the next worst-looking spot. Unfortunately, we have a lot of next worst-looking spots.”

Quinn at a countywide gathering of Lee and Leesburg leaders took on the goals and challenges of Lee County in the kickoff of what is expected to be a topic-by-topic discussion of concerns compiled by numerous entities in the county back in November 2008.

Among those discussed Thursday were traffic issues, law enforcement concerns and infrastructure challenges within the city limits.

Lee Planning and Engineering Director Bob Alexander said work on three transportation projects — the North Bypass, the Robert B. Lee/U.S. 32 truck route and the highly congested downtown area — were at various stages of readiness. He did note that contracts for work on the truck route and the downtown area called for completion before the 2010-11 school term starts in August.

All of the projects are designed to help unclog downtown traffic congestion resulting from morning and afternoon school drop-off and pickup.

“We’ve held a public hearing on the bypass, and the state’s held a hearing,” Alexander said of the $8 million project that will route northbound traffic around downtown. “The next step is right-of-way acquisition, and DOT has funding set aside for that.”

Discussing the clean-up of abandoned property, Code Enforcement Director Wright said the city and county could help with his efforts by adopting the International Property Maintenance Code that offers specific maintenance standards.

“That would give me a valuable tool to address the issue,” Wright said. The Code Enforcement chief later suggested that he and city Police Chief Charles Moore ride together and compile a list of properties below accepted standards.

“We could make a list of the properties and put them in order of which needs to be addressed next,” Wright said.

Quinn noted that the city may have to raise utilities rates a second time once its $6 million wastewater treatment plant comes online, most likely in September. The county allocated $5 million in special-purpose local-option sales tax funds to finance the plant, and the increase in utilities fees is expected to cover the remainder of the cost.

“We’ve pretty much had a moratorium on new growth in the city until the treatment plant is completed,” Quinn said.

The mayor also said once a sewer line is put in place for a planned new school off Robert B. Lee Drive, growth could follow.

“We’re going to have to extend sewer line to that area once construction starts on the school,” he said. “I don’t know where the funding will come from, but once the sewer is in place, it will open that area up for expansion.”

County Administrator Alan Ours discussed possible means of financing the sewer work.

“All in all, I’d say things are going well in the city,” Quinn said. “I think with all the work that is going on and all the plans that are being made, by the time the next school year starts Leesburg’s going to look a lot different.”