tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6412900754136064810.post3204241069612343365..comments2024-02-29T14:00:40.184-05:00Comments on Restonian: News blog from Reston, Virginia, the mauve-colored New Town (tm): RA Headquarters Referendum: $15 million a small price to pay for extra filing space and Internet accessRestonianhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15519884797760354007noreply@blogger.comBlogger7125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6412900754136064810.post-15941914662104031882009-03-22T17:22:00.000-04:002009-03-22T17:22:00.000-04:00You only got ONE postcard. I've received at least...You only got ONE postcard. I've received at least 3 since the election started. I'll bet there will be more to come since it doesn't look like we're close to the quorum.PO'd in North Pointhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04797464050815563851noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6412900754136064810.post-96356863689603312009-03-22T10:15:00.000-04:002009-03-22T10:15:00.000-04:00I'm increasingly irritated by the money being spen...I'm increasingly irritated by the money being spent getting people to vote on this referendum the 'correct' way. I've already voted NO! But I continue to get the mailings, I see the signs posted everywhere for the meetings and urging people to vote, and now they're have meetings to justify their position. When they first sent the ballots and written justifications (factsheet) out, did they not mean for us to vote until they had worn us down to their position?<BR/><BR/>And, the huddled mass of humanity is actually the people lined up to sign their kids up for camp. That really was a problem but only because RA was so technology deficient that they couldn't do it any other way. It floors me that they claim Reston is such an IT hotspot yet their own website is clunky and inept in taking care of basic revenue issues. If they had gotten on the ball on this, only those without on-line access would have been standing in line.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6412900754136064810.post-13977060111364289122009-03-21T20:25:00.000-04:002009-03-21T20:25:00.000-04:00Did we all get in the mail today the postcard from...Did we all get in the mail today the postcard from the RA with the breathless notice that by now you should have received your ballot and information about the RA headquarters referendum?<BR/><BR/>That's $5,643 of our assessment, by my count, used/wasted for this reminder. I come to that figure by multiplying the number of households listed for Reston in the 2000 census (23,320) by what appears to be the cost, according to the USPS website, of a pre-sorted first class card (24.2 cents).<BR/><BR/>Now, in the grand scheme of things $5,643 may not sound like a lot of money. But I can think of a lot better uses for it in Reston than this. It would be as if the U.S. Government had sent every registered voter in America a similar card last October reminding them "Election Day is November 4."<BR/><BR/>By the way, $5,643 could also buy 29 four-drawer file cabinets at Office Depot to store some of that mountain of official paper under which the RA apparently finds itself buried.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6412900754136064810.post-32106788756863309912009-03-21T16:33:00.000-04:002009-03-21T16:33:00.000-04:00Is RA incapable of operating with any business acu...Is RA incapable of operating with any business acumen? Why didn't they negotiate to receive a significant percentage of the profits of this so-called "stream restoration" project? Wouldn't these profits have slimmed the cost of the new building they so desperately need?<BR/><BR/>Rather than do this, RA gave away arguably its largest potential revenue generator outside of annual dues to Mr. Rolband for a mere pittance. Some estimates have Mr. Rolband's expected profits from the sale of the stream credits somewhere above $10 million, and RA is only slated to get roughly $75,000 ($1 per linear foot) from the deal. Mr. Rolband could not have done his project without the streams. Because of this simple fact, it appears RA had the upper hand in negotiations and failed to take advantage. <BR/><BR/>Whether you are in favor of the stream restoration or not is not important. The least RA could have done was to secure a greater percentage of the profits from the deal, and relieve this potential burden on its citizens in the midst of this recession. <BR/><BR/>Interestingly enough, this whole stream deal has come with a shiny new nature house. Has RA looked into moving in there? Seems like a perfect fit!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6412900754136064810.post-76060708398180435082009-03-20T21:59:00.000-04:002009-03-20T21:59:00.000-04:00Re that "secret" RA real estate partner: It's Cre...Re that "secret" RA real estate partner: It's Cresa Partners, and they will be at Monday night's RA presentation. <BR/><BR/>And just to be sure your readers know: Cresa has an "exclusive" real estate arrangement with RA and, in what some might consider more than minor conflict of interest, it prepared the spaced "needs" study for RA.<BR/><BR/>VOILA--You need to nearly double the size of your space!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6412900754136064810.post-90358527909361889182009-03-20T21:52:00.000-04:002009-03-20T21:52:00.000-04:00Following the link to the Observer story, I have t...Following the link to the Observer story, I have to ask...that statement from the RA about the lines out the door for, among other things, people paying their assessments??? Unless we're all living in an alternate reality like those folks stuck on that whacky island from "Lost", don't most residents pay their yearly assessment by mail or on-line, rather than in person? Has anyone actually SEEN this huddled mass of Restonian humanity squatting outside Isaac Newton Square? This is the most compelling reason the RA can come up with for why they need 15,000 more square feet than before?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6412900754136064810.post-4262563985114085322009-03-20T15:57:00.000-04:002009-03-20T15:57:00.000-04:00Hey, wait a minute. Isn't that 1.2 million for th...Hey, wait a minute. Isn't that 1.2 million for the former distillery LESS than the 15 million RA says it needs? Hmmm...what's the square footage? Does it come with or without file cabinets? I can donate a couple if that will sweeten the deal.SouthLakesMomhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08822510653198676631noreply@blogger.com