News and notes from Reston (tm).

Friday, April 17, 2015

Tetra Referendum Opponents Get Organized: Mass Mailings And Anonymous Blogs

Letter

Imagine our surprise when we got a second visit by uniformed federal agents at Restonian World Headquarters in less than a week, this time delivering a postcard-sized mass mailing urging us to vote against RA's proposed purchase of the Tetra property at Lake Newport.

The mailing, paid for by a mysterious organization calling itself "Restonians to Stop Tetra Purchase," points to a "web log" detailing more information about their opposition to the proposal, and including links to other anti-referendum commentary by our BFFs at Reston 2020 and others.

An anonymous blog critical of something involved with Reston? The nerve!

Oh, wait.

Here's the flip side of the postcard (and please to be noting the appropriately, and tastefully, stained desk we use to review all correspondence at Restonian World Headquarters):

Letter 2

What's surprising is that, as was the case in recent RA elections, folks are actually spending real money on the outcome of an RA-related vote. If critics of the purchase are right (and they probably are), the property owners stand to make a bundle if the referendum passes. Who stands to gain if people vote no?

8 comments:

  1. Common sense wins if this measure is defeated. That's enough for me.

    ReplyDelete
  2. I'm far too lazy to go down the stairs of our meager 20190 condo and check the mail. Could we get our dog to bark once for "Yes" and three times for "No"? She loves pooping over at Lake Newport.

    ReplyDelete
  3. We would like to vote NO to the current regime running Thoreau Place condominium in Reston. The latest of many outrages is that the entry system is nonfunctional for this entire weekend, and residents can't get back into their own apartment building with their "smart chip" key fobs.
    And they can't exit the building either, by any door except for a very narrow temporary plywood entry/exit structure leading to/from one of the very narrow front doors. Good luck to anyone in a wheelchair trying to go out of the building!
    Good luck too to EMS personnel trying to exit the building carrying someone on a stretcher who has experienced a heart attack or other critical medical event. They won't be able to get the patient through the narrow plywood tunnel in order to put the patient in an ambulance for transport to a hospital.
    In the event of a building emergency such as a fire, people living in the 135 apartments there would have to exit through this same narrow rickety structure. This presents a critical safety concern, with about 200 residents having to try to exit a dangerous situation as quickly as possible.
    We think the Fairfax County Fire Marshal should be notified about this situation as quickly as possible, in order to protect the residents. Restonian, please do whatever you can to help alert the authorities to this!


    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Our beagle/mongrel Sadie barks three times for Thoreau Place and adds a complicated rat-a-bark-tat sequence indicating she's never pooped on the South Side. In related nostalgic news, that SS Thoreau pool was the one with the fantastic 10-person hot tub, wasn't it? Oh man that used to be nice when the college women got out for the Summer . . .

      Delete
    2. neighbor at Villaridge CondosApril 20, 2015 at 11:24 PM

      Reston Association doesn't manage Thoreau Place Condos. Northern Virginia Management is the property manager. Anonymous, you need to call the Fairfax County Fire Marshal at 703-246-4800 to alert them of these accessibility issues. Or call the Thoreau Place front desk at 703-620-0434. Venting about these serious safety issues in a comment on a snarky blog will not be effective unless you are also calling the county or emailing your property manager.

      Delete
  4. The comment regarding Thoreau Place is very concerning. That is a senior building, with many disabled residents who have difficulty with mobility even under ideal conditions. If more obstacles are placed impeding ease of making an exit, this would be extremely serious in the event of an emergency.
    How can a situation like this be allowed to happen?

    ReplyDelete
  5. Anon 4:44 of April 18 should contact the Fairfax County Fire Marshal himself/herself if this is an ongoing issue.

    ReplyDelete

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