Council Votes Down Symphony's Request for Donation

The Town Council voted 4 to 3 Tuesday night against a monetary request in the amount of $5,000 in support of the War of 1812 Centennial event at .

About a month ago, President of the Loudoun Symphony Board of Directors Ara Bagdasarian made the request to support the celebration of the War of 1812 Centennial and Leesburg’s role in the war. The Loudoun Symphony and Journey through Hallowed Ground are planning to sponsor the event, which is scheduled to take place on Sunday, September 23.

On Tuesday, Bagdasarian said private sponsorships are expected to provide the majority of the $30,000 to $35,000 project budget for the event but that an additional donation would help to meet that goal.

However, a number of Town Council members said as much as they would like to donate, they don’t normally provide non-profit support.

Mayor Kristen Umstattd echoed comments made by council members Katie Hammler, Tom Dunn and Vice Mayor Kevin Wright that had they been given more time to discuss the possibility then the outcome could have been different.

Another issue is that the amount being requested was rather high, Umstattd said. If approved, the donation would have come from public funds, a move Umstattd said she wasn't comfortable with. She made a motion to change the amount to $1,000, but that motion failed.

Umstattd suggested that Bagdasarian look into support from the private sector.