For Rec Center, Third Location May Be The Charm

Our BFFs at Reston Now inform us that the long-debated indoor rec center project, which has drawn considerable opposition and the second-best video ever made about Reston since proposals to build the giant pleasure-dome/juicery at Brown's Chapel and then at nearby Baron Cameron Park first surfaced way back in ought-nine, is now making like a cupcake merchant and moving to Reston Town Center.

SRSLY.

The Fairfax County Park Authority has outlined a land swap that will enable it to eventually move forward on an indoor recreation center for the area known as Town Center North.

Park Authority Chair Bill Bouie said Friday the park authority has committed to a deal, pending a public hearing and park authority board vote, that plans for a 90,000-square-foot recreation facility to be built on the same block as the new North County Government Center on Fountain Drive.

The 47-acre area is bounded by Baron Cameron Avenue, Fountain Drive, and Town Center Parkway and Bowman Towne Drive.

The recreation center would be owned and operated by the park authority, however, officials still do not know who would pay to construct the building.

The location makes sense -- it's currently largely unused space, not open space, near a whole lot of future dense bollardy construction whose condo- and apartment-dwelling denizens could benefit from recreation facilities. The land has also been earmarked for some sort of public use since the early days of rethinking Reston's awesome master plan, and considering it's one of the few parts of the plan that doesn't specify "incredibly dense mid-rise construction," we don't want to discourage this for that reason. (At one point, rumor had it an amphitheater was being considered for this spot. It makes us sad that we're apparently losing the opportunity to see Reston: The Opera under the stars, as its makers intended, but we'll get over it.) And there are still apparently plans to construct some kind of "town green" on part of the property.

But the question remains: who is going to pay for it? Other county park facilities have been funded county-wide, but RCC's current facilities are funded through our own special little tax district -- which might not be so little if it winds up footing the bill for some or all of this project. For its part, RCC says that's not going to be the case:

RCC Executive Director Lelia Gordon called the plan a “win-win-win,” with no additional burden on STD 5 residents “other than the one that already exists.”

“We see this as terrific,” she said, adding that the work already done by RCC — and Reston Association in a previous plan for facilities at Brown’s Chapel Park — should shorten the process.

“[The new plan] can advance so much more rapidly because of RA and RCC,” said Gordon. “The last county facility of this type was built more than 20 years ago. I would say this accelerates the process by many years.”

The first of what will undoubtedly be many public hearings on this project is in April. Who knows? Maybe all the opposition to the past proposals will wind up giving Reston something it needs without us having to pay a disproportionate share of its cost. Sounds crazy, we know, but crazier things have happened.

Why Is The RA Considering Buying Its Old Visitors Center? Location, Location, Location

The Reston Association is looking to reclaim its former visitors center, announcing last week that it intends to go through a referendum process this spring to purchase the 2.5-acre property adjoining Lake Newport.

There are a few minor issues, including the fact that the RA doesn't know the current value of the property or what they'd use it for. But it's got a sweeeet parking lot and is currently zoned for a "convenience store," so maybe we could see a convenient "grossery" for folks living on the fancypants north side of Baron Cameron, assuming that North Restoners ever slum it by purchasing Slurpies or similar non farm-to-table fare. Maybe free-range jerky?

But we digress. Give us some good blockquote, BFFs at Reston Now:

The RA Board on Thursday unanimously passed a motion to authorize a referendum on the purchase this spring.

Members would vote on whether RA should purchase the building, which is set on 2 1/2 acres off of Baron Cameron Avenue.

The building was constructed in 1982, and for nearly two decades served as a visitors center to familiarize people with Reston, particularly the North Point area as it was constructed.

The 3,200-square-foot building is currently the headquarters of Tetra Partners, a commercial real estate firm. Tetra approached RA about purchasing the property about a year ago, said RA president Ken Knueven.

The property would be a natural fit for RA as it abuts several other RA properties. Among them: Browns Chapel Park, Lake Newport Dam and Lake Newport Tennis. The building also has a 50-foot extension into Lake Newport.

Kind of like a game of Monopoly, only we're assuming that they won't be putting houses or hotels on it.

“This seems like a wonderful opportunity to get control of a piece of property that could, over time, be subjected to a lot of pressure as surrounding areas develop,” Lake Anne/Tall Oaks Director Eve Thompson said at Thursday’s board meeting. “It would be better to have that in our control and have the land used in a manner appropriate to its setting.”

It may actually be a smart move: The current owners approached the RA to see if they'd be interested in buying the property, presumably thinking the RA would be a better neighbor than a random developer. If the RA doesn't buy the land, the land will likely be designated for office or community space in the ongoing master plan revisions, meaning something bigger and blockier could ultimately mar Lake Newport. On the other hand, if the property can be used as community space, it could become yet another proposed location for the never-quite-extinguished dreams for a new rec center.

Also, it's definitely a lot smaller -- and presumably cheaper -- than buying Reston National Golf Course, which is an idea that's been floated by the RA should the current zoning unpleasantness there not go the community's way. Would buying one preclude the RA from buying the other?

More questions than answers at this point. The RA Board would formally decide to go forward with the referendum process early next month, followed by public hearings. Referendum ballots would go out in April and be due in early May.

Who knows? Maybe it could become a visitor's center yet again. God knows we certainly have enough new residential properties coming on line to need one.

Boccepocalypse Later: Proposal to Eliminate Obscure Italian Sport Averted

Fans of obscure Italian pastimes can breathe a sigh of relief. After an earlier proposal to build a sweet bollard bowling alley bocce court at the Cabots Point Recreation Area near South Lakes Drive was nearly killed by the Reston Association due to -- wait for it -- complaints from nearby neighbors, the RA Board has taken the request to take bocce off the table off the table. Wait, what?

The Reston Association Board of Directors decided on Thursday to keep the plan for adding a bocce court at Cabots Point, despite resident pressure to reconsider.

The board voted in December to authorize construction of the lawn bowling court at the area off of South Lakes Drive. The $2,500 cost would be paid for by Friends of Reston, said South Lakes Director Richard Chew, who proposed the amenity.
The design plan was approved by RA’s Design Review Board in June and $1,700 has already been donated to the project, RA documents show.

But the board has recently heard from several Cabots Point residents who were concerned that the new recreational amenity would bring unwanted traffic and noise to the neighborhood off South Lakes Drive.

That led to RA CEO Cate Fulkerson’s proposal to take the plan off the table and come up with an alternate plan that may or may not include bocce for Cabots Point. That proposal was on Thursday night’s RA meeting agenda, but was voted to be thrown out.

Our BFFs at Reston Now point out that nearby residents objected because they weren't notified about the project and because of traffic and parking concerns. Of course we're talking about a court that's no more than 14 feet wide and 91 feet long, assuming the RA, itself a stickler for obscure regulations, follows the official dimensions for a bocce court whilst building its own field sandy pit of dreams. And we're not sure that bocce, despite its international appeal, would lead to overflowing parking lots. It's not a dog park or roller derby, after all.

However, we'd encourage the RA to Think Big. After earlier attempts to build sweet indoor tennis/swimming facilities have hit a spot of bother, here's the chance to create a massive and unnecessary recreation edifice that everyone can agree on! Even if everyone agrees it's totally unnecessary. Ladies and gentlemen, we give you...

THE BOCCE THUNDERDOME.

Juicery optional.

You're welcome.

Flashback Monday: Moving Day for Brown's Chapel

Set the controls of the Earth-Toned Wayback Machine to 1968, when this sight must have positively terrified locals driving on Baron Cameron Avenue to... well, not much of anything at that point. Yes, our beloved Brown's Chapel had to move from the corner of Rt. 7 and Baron Cameron Avenue to make room for some sweeeeeet gas stations and farmer's markets and whatnot, so Gulf Reston put the 70-ton building on some beams, or rollers, or whatever, to get it to its current spot, where now it mostly serves as a place of refuge for Reston summer campers when it rains.

The building actually dates back to 1879, when Augustus and Sarah Brown deeded a half-acre of land to the "Methodist Episcopal Church," because back then people weren't super picky about mixing and matching their denominations, we guess. Amazingly, it remained in use as a church until 1967, the year before it was moved. It apparently hearkens back to Greek Revival architecture more commonly found in New England churches than the Victorian style that was in vogue in Virginia at the time. So even as early as the 1870s, pre-pre-pre Reston delighted in confounding local architectural norms, the end.

Dog-Gone-It: North Restoners File Injunction to Shutter Dog Park, Demand Cone of Silence Over Baron Cameron

After threatening a lawsuit over the noise coming from the dog park at Baron Cameron Park, a group of North Reston homeowners have now filed a preliminary injunction demanding that the park be shuttered. Give us some good blockquote, BFFs at Reston Now:

The neighbors filed the preliminary injunction last week in Fairfax County Circuit Court, saying the park “constitutes a private nuisance.”

“The dog park noise, mainly from unruly dogs barking and fighting, has grown to intolerable levels over the last two years and is likely to become even more severe in the spring and summer months,” says the court document.

“On its worst days, the noise is incessant,” the document states. “The nuisance noise at the dog park disrupts the Longwood Grove Plaintiffs’ reasonable use and enjoyment of their properties.”

All the better to enjoy the soothing sound of traffic coming from quaint country road Wiehle Avenue, which separates the plaintiffs from the dog park.

Of course, there is, as they say in the movies, a plan: As part of a master-planning process for Baron Cameron Park, there are already plans to move the dog run into the interior of the park. The only catch? That plan involves the construction of the awesome new 90,000 square foot recreation center that's been discussed of late. We're sure that's not going to bother any litigation-happy neighbors, nosiree. Nothing to see here, and definitely nothing to listen to!

Indecision 2013: 1 of 3 (4-5-4-U) Anti-Rec Center Candidates Wins RCC Board Seats

The results of the 2013 Reston Community Center "preference poll" are in, and only one of the three candidates who ran on a platform opposing the funding model and plans for a new indoor recreation facility won a seat on the RCC's board of directors. John Mendonca was appointed to the nine-member board, along with current RCC Board Chair Beverly Cosham and newcomer Michelle Moyer.

The other two candidates who ran on the "3-4-5-4-U" slate -- Sridhar Ganesan and Tammi Petrine -- failed to win seats on the board. The rec center proposal has been on hold since early summer, with RCC board members pledging to look at alternate funding models and sites beyond Baron Cameron Park, which was transferred to the Fairfax County Parks Authority in 2012 ahead of the proposal's unveiling in February.

The official statement and vote tallies are here.

3-4-5-4-U or Bust: RCC Preference Poll Heats Up With Slate of Anti-Rec Center Candidates

Usually, the Reston Community Center Board of Directors "preference poll" isn't exactly what those of us inside-the-Beltway politico types like to call a "barn burner." It's technically not even a real election, since Fairfax Supt. Cathy Hudgins appoints the board members, using the results of the poll as guidance. The biggest controversy in recent years involved the use of a canoe as a prop during a candidates forum.

But thanks to the recent revival of plans to build a rec center at Baron Cameron Park, things have heated up for this fall's preference poll. A total of six candidates -- two incumbents and four newcomers -- are running for three seats, and the rec center, which is currently on hold, has become a key issue.

And now, we're seeing some actual campaigning. Confidential Restonian Operative "R2D2" passed along an unsigned three-page letter left at his doorstep at an undisclosed Reston location. First, you can tell that this isn't a real election because the letter is, in fact, three pages long, with no pictures and lots of words and paragraphs and reasonably complex lines of thinking -- all total no-nos for professional campaign literature. The closest to a slogan they came up with is 3-4-5-4-U (3 for Special Tax District #5 for You). It's not quite "Hope and Change," but hey, it's Reston.

The three candidates on this acronym-laden slate are John Mendonca, Sridhar Ganesan, and Tammi Petrine. The unsigned letter argues that the RCC funding model "is the wrong funding model" for any new project, given that renovations to other county facilities are being funded out of general tax dollars, that Baron Cameron is the wrong location, and "need to do it now" is not a smart approach, particularly given the number of developers that could provide sweet sweet cash money in the form of proffers for new facilities. They write:

To date, no viable financial model for a new recreation center has been presented to the people of Reston that does not involve raising fees and/or taxes considerably, turning the center into a regional facility to support operating costs, or renting the center out to the extent that it is not available for our use. If action is not taken now to withdraw this proposal, we will have the full burden of a new recreation center falling on our shoulders now and forever.

The full text of the letter is below, assuming you can squint and read really small text.

Uniformed federal agents should be distributing ballots starting today; a candidates forum is scheduled for 7pm Sept. 18 at RCC. Voting ends Oct. 5.

Lightpocalypse Now: DRB Approves Lights For Brown's Chapel Ballfield, Targets Nearby Houses With Occult Laser Beam

We've joked about the DRB launching drones to track down scofflaws with piles of red mulch in inaccessible backyards, but this fancy image that the Reston Association posted to the "Face Book," presumably from some secret document hidden in the safe room far below the DRB offices, suggests they've gone one step further, using one of the Brown's Chapel Park ballfields as the nexus of some sort of "frikkin laser beam," ready to unleash havoc, or at least thinly diffused light, on any nearby homes that step out of line. (Fortunately, Restonian World Headquarters is more than 1,040 feet away from the site, so our collection of outdoor lawn statuary will remain unmolested for now.)

But we digress. Not since a lesser-known ballpark inconveniently not under the purview of DRB regulations added lighting has there been a more exciting development in baseball, or HOA covenants… or both! Give us some good blockquote, RA press release:

The Reston Association Design Review Board unanimously approved ball field lighting for the Brown’s Chapel #1 Little League field.

This will be the first ball field subject to RA covenants to be lighted and it is an exciting development for the growing population of Little League baseball players in Reston, said RA’s Director of Parks and Recreation, Larry Butler.

The six-pole lighting will be installed later this summer in anticipation of having the first game on the second weekend of September.

In its June 18 decision, the DRB recognized the collaborative discussions between RA, Reston Little League, neighboring residents and clusters to come up with solutions to concerns brought up in earlier meetings. The lights will be used during the spring and fall Little League seasons, which run from April through June and September through October, respectively. The lights will have a hard shut-off time at 9 p.m. RA deferred the parking lot and concession stand lighting to develop a more appropriate solution than first proposed.

The decision had been postponed to address concerns from nearby residents, but judging by the image above, the RA has found a way to keep the systems in line, the end.

Kicking the Can: RCC Pushes Back Rec Center Decision, Will Now Consider Other Locations, Funding Options

Facing pressure from the community, reports questioning the decision-making criteria, and studied neutrality from the Reston Association, the Reston Community Center's governing board has decided to postpone a decision on its proposed new rec center at Baron Cameron Park until next year. The board has also said it will look at locations other than Baron Cameron, which was recently transferred from the school board to the county's park authority in anticipation of building the rec center there. Give us some good blockquote, BFFs from Patch:

The board has received months of public feedback asking them to consider the cost to Small Tax District 5 residents, concerns with traffic and loss of green space, and whether developer proffers or an alternate site should be considered.

"We recognize that Reston alone should not be funding [a new pool]," board member Roger Lowen said at RCC's Public Hearing for Programs and Budgets on Monday. "We have formally asked the Fairfax County planning group for planning [information] at North Town Center to include cost options. We will continue discussions with Brailsford & Dunlavey."

Lowen said alternative sites, such as closer to future Metro stations at Wiehle and Reston Parkway or at existing commercial centers, will be examined, as will the possibility of improving RCC Hunters Woods, where the current indoor pool is located.

Building in additional time to review alternate locations and funding options, the RCC now anticipates making a decision on whether to pursue the project in "winter 2014."

Unlike their last time at the rodeo, it's clear that RCC is now paying attention to what others are saying. We're not exactly sure why it'll take them another year and a half to look at a handful of other possible sites, but if that's what it takes to get buy-in, it's probably worth it.

As New Reston Rec Center Hearings Continue, RA Remains on the Fence

You really can't blame the Reston Association for being a bit cautious about the Reston Community Center's plans to maybe build an awesome new rec center at Baron Cameron Park. After all, the RA was RCC's partner in the failed attempt to build a similar facility at adjacent Brown's Chapel Park a few years back, which didn't exactly end well for anyone involved. This time around, RCC has a new dance partner, the county park authority, and has made a point of holding multiple public hearings, including one last night during which our BFFs at Patch said "tensions ran high."

Today, the RA issued a press release saying it has yet to take a position on the proposed rec center, adding that "before finalizing a position on the recreation facility, the RA board and staff will continue to attend meetings and gather more information about the proposal."

During yesterday's meeting, RCC's consultants outlined their preliminary findings (executive summary: people who swim like swimming pools) and shared the two options currently on the table for the Baron Cameron facility. Give us some good blockquote, BFFs at Patch:

One option features a 25-yard pool, a 5,000-square-foot leisure pool, a gym, two multipurpose rooms for 62,850 square feet of space on 0.72 acres.

The other option is a 50-meter pool, a 7,500-square-foot leisure pool, a larger weight room and other features for 98,000 square feet of space on 1.12 acres.

Both layouts would need an estimated 200-250 parking spaces on 1-1.2 acres, Levin said.

What, no juicery? Also, apparently no indoor tennis, which gives the RA the chance to put its own proposed facility at Lake Newport back on the table at some point in the future.

The consultants don't yet have a financial analysis, which is good, because it allowed for more time for attendees of Monday's meeting to accuse each other of NIMBYism:

"We live there. We can't get to the park," said Longwood Grove resident Jill Gallagher, who told the board that the idea is poorly planned. "Traffic is so bad.When you pull out of Longwood Grove and take a left, you are taking your life in your hands."

Some residents accused pool opponents of being dramatic.

"There is no threat to the dog park and fields," said one speaker. "But there is threat from the neighbors about too much noise from dogs barking. They would prefer completely open space. I don’t know why our neighbors at Lake Newport are so concerned. This open space should be used."

Said resident Sheila Casey: "I think there is a lot of dishonesty about the opposition about this park. It is a small group of homeowners. That park is busy at one time only, and that is Saturday mornings."

There is, of course, an online petition calling for the preservation of the Baron Cameron fields; to date it has 60 signatures. Others have pointed out that this attitude is why kids from North Reston go to Herndon High School instead of the school that was originally planned for Baron Cameron; in fact, the school board was the "owner" of the park until very recently, once the rec center plans got rolling in earnest.

Other locations have been suggested, including Lake Fairfax Park, an area closer to the Town Center, and even more out-there ideas like Tall Oaks Village Center, Isaac Newton Square, or even the Reston National Golf Course(?). It's not clear if any of these suggestions are being considered seriously -- or at all -- by RCC, the park authority, and their consultants. That's a shame, as it focuses all the heat and energy on the location rather than the need for the rec center as our earth-toned community continues to grow. As Tammi Petrine of the Reston Citizens Association said at the meeting last night:

"I am really astonished when I started looking into the proposal to find out that both Spring Hill and Oak Marr adding on huge additions to their pools, racquetball courts and other facilities," she said. "Of 14 districts, Hunter Mill is the only one that does not have its own FCPA rec center. We have a problem here. Our taxes are paying for Spring Hill and Oakton to add on. These are not impoverished communities.

"We have 40 percent of county’s subsidized housing here," she said. "If you are supporting this population, rest of community needs to support you in that effort."

In conclusion, please to be enjoying this video our BFFs at Patch shot last night:

Our heads hurt.

Update: Our BFFs at Reston2020 weigh in with a post on possible locations for the rec center, including the importance of "adhering to Reston's core values, including protecting the environment."

Acronym Madness: RCC Issues REC FAQs For STD5

The Reston Community Center has released more information (PDF) about its recently revived plans to consider building an indoor recreation facility at Baron Cameron Park, using the frequently-asked-questions format more typically seen when someone is trying to figure out why their fancy new HD teevee won't plug into grampa's old rabbit ears antennae. We especially like the first Q in the FAQ:

How did this come about?

"Well, let's see. First the earth cooled. And then the dinosaurs came, but they got too big and fat, so they all died and they turned into oil. And then the Arabs came and they bought Mercedes Benzes. And Prince Charles started wearing all of Lady Di's clothes. I couldn't believe it," the FAQ did not say in response. And why, YouTubes, why is there no clip from this seminal recreational facility public input documentary?

But we digress. Some real facts from the FAQ (say that three times fast):

• There have been no decisions about what might be in this facility -- be it swimming, indoor tennis, a rollerdrome, or a juice bar. "Reston Community Center is seeking input from the community about the programmatic features a new indoor recreation facility should include," the FAQ says, although it later adds that "Reston Community Center is committed to providing the best solution possible to the unmet demand for indoor aquatics and fitness amenities."
  
  
• As it is currently conceived, the Fairfax County Park Authority's financial contribution to the project is the 68 acres of Baron Cameron Park land it recently was "given" by the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors; "funding for the capital and operating costs would come from Small District 5/RCC revenues (user fees and taxes.)"
  
  
• Current activites at Baron Cameron Park -- "The fields, dog park, and community gardens… are also considered in the planning going forward."

Along with market studies, RCC is planning on spending five months collecting input "from citizens, partners, and stakeholders," starting with its regular monthly meeting on March 4. (A full schedule is listed in the FAQ itself.) The FAQ also states that:

The Board of Governors of Reston Community Center will not act on a major capital project to realize an indoor recreation facility for Reston without determining that:

• The community supports such an endeavor and has had the opportunity to participate in discussions of what an indoor recreation facility should provide and how it should operate.

• The market, demographic and financial contexts of Reston today and in the future are well
understood and considered.

"If new RCC facilities are built, they will be Reston-focused, environmentally friendly, and sensitive to the community’s concerns and needs," the FAQ states. It's nice to see that the RCC is far more committed to transparency than during its last time at the rodeo, and there's no doubt that additional amenities are already needed, even without the additional people who will soon call Reston home. Here's hoping this process yields a project that we can all feel good about -- and maybe fulfill our lifelong dream of opening an Orange Julius franchise in the process, the end.

It's Baaaaack: RCC Proposes Indoor Rec Center, Again

It's been more than three years since the Reston Association and Reston Community Center took their plans to build a $65 million recreation center at Brown's Chapel Park off the table, but it's back. This time, RCC has a new partner -- the Fairfax County Park Authority -- and a new proposed location, right around the corner from Brown's Chapel on county-owned land. Give us some good blockquote, BFFs at Patch:

Reston Community Center is exploring the idea of building a new indoor recreation and community center at Baron Cameron Park.

In spring of 2012, the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors transferred 68 acres at that location to the Fairfax County Park Authority, Bill Bouie, RCC Board of Governors member and chairman of RCC's program committee. The Park Authority will work in partnership with RCC to move the project forward, said Bouie, who is also chairman of the Fairfax County Park Authority Board.

"RCC would operate it, and for the parks department, it would be another amenity," Bouie said at a public meeting on the issue at RCC Hunters Woods on Monday.

The financing for the facility would come from Small Tax District 5, which includes Reston. The timing is right, Bouie said, because Reston is expecting an influx of residents and businesses with the arrival of Metrorail in 2013.

In some ways, it's like it's 2008-9 all over again: The same company is doing the facility planning, the cost is expected to be similar (or possibly slightly less), and a (much-needed) indoor pool tops the list of proposed amenities. (No word, though, on whether the juicery is still in the works.) It's also not clear what impact this would have on RA's own plans to build an (equally needed) indoor tennis facility at Lake Newport, which is currently in a holding pattern and would require a referendum to proceed.

Even back in ought-nine when emotions ran high over the first proposed rec center, few folks could deny additional indoor facilties were needed. Now, three-plus years later, Reston's already looking a lot bigger, and the sweet bollardy development fun is just beginning. Will people freak out about the location (originally earmarked for another fun high school; would it have been called North Lakes?) or the additional tax burden for those of us who live in Reston STD #5? (And great acronym, BTW.)

Time will tell. RCC is planning a number of focus groups and public meetings before it hopes to make a decision on whether to proceed in June. As for us, we just want in on the juicery franchise, the end.

Citing 'Poopy Pants' Economy, Indoor Tennis Tabled For Now

At a heavily attended meeting last night, the Reston Association Board of Directors voted 8-1 to not hold a fun referendum on building an indoor tennis facility at Lake Newport. Technically, the board vote was to direct RA staff to keep researching opportunities for private-public partnerships, with only one board member -- Lake Anne/Tall Oaks director Ken Kneuven -- voting to table the proposal indefinitely.

Board members pointed out that one possibility would be using the developer money it's asked Fairfax County to send its way.

"Proffers are the way we have gotten all the other tennis courts and the pools," said RA President Kathleen Driscoll McKee. "Why should this be different? Our economy is really poopy pants right now."

Such language! Leave the potty talk to the filthy "web loggers," amiright?

Continuing to kick the can on this may wind up making sense, especially if the RA seriously believes it's going to talk Fairfax County into giving it that sweet sweet proffer money. But as we've said before, at some point someone's going to have to invest in new amenities for the influx of people coming to Reston's awesome bollardy new developments. Otherwise, why would the developers of future mauvescraper condos see any benefit to becoming RA members instead of having their own pools and "exercise room" (two treadmills in front of a distressed flat-screen TV permanently turned to Fox News)?

So no fun referendum ballot with sweet clip art of tennis rackets and whatnot will be coming to your mailbox next year. But don't feel left out -- the annual assessment is already on its way, so happy holidays!

Update: The official take on the decision:

Indoor Tennis Back For Another Round, or Match, or Set, or Whatever

When it meets Thursday, the Reston Association Board is expected to decide whether to go forward with a referendum that would let residents vote on whether the RA should build the long-discussed indoor tennis complex at Lake Newport.

The RA has been looking to build a $3.8 million complex, but a group of residents opposed to the proposal has been posting messages saying that the cost could be "up to $13 million." It's not clear if that figure accurately reflects financing costs, or includes something else not currently being discussed, like a juicery or a bunch of automatic ball machines capable of lobbing balls at speeds approaching Mach 2, or whatever.

A new wrinkle to the issue is that the RA has been quietly discussing "public-private partnerships" involving indoor tennis, including a closed-door discussion at a recent board meeting. That would be a departure from the RA's attempt to partner with RCC on the Brown's Chapel fiasco -- and from the go-it-alone proposal currently on the table.

During the Thursday meeting, the board could vote to go forward with the $75,000 referendum, postpone it for additional staff research, continue exploring other options, or hold off on the project indefinitely.

A fancy, if not statistically accurate, poll posted by our BFFs at Patch showed that a slight majority wants to table tennis (get it?) Personally, we don't play tennis -- arena hang-gliding is our sport of choice -- but think that RA will ultimately have to invest in additional amenities to serve a population that's about to explode. Given that this has been a contentious issue, and that the RA is often accused of cowtowing to vocal minorities, we think that a referendum should probably happen at some point. We'll find out soon enough if it will in 2012.

The RA Board meeting will be at 7pm on Thursday.

Update: Apparently the fancy massive Lifetime Fitness health club proposed for Business Center Drive near the post office has been approved by the Fairfax County Board of Zoning Appeals. Purely conjecture, but could this be just such an opportunity for a public-private venture?

Deuce Point: Indoor Tennis Referendum Postponed For Now, RA Assessments Rise $25

A referendum asking Reston residents to vote on building a $3.8 million indoor tennis facility at Lake Newport has been taken out of the Reston Association budget for next year. The referendum, which is required for the RA to move forward with the project, could still be scheduled if the RA Board decides to put the idea to a Reston-wide vote, though we're now likely looking at 2013 before that happens -- if it happens at all.

RA Director Mike Collins explained on the fancy "Face Book":

The referendum was scratched for budgeting purposes, but we can find money to pay for it if we decide to move forward. No firm date for a decision on that. Since 2009, RA has spent about $14K on preliminary design work and financial consultants.

In the meantime, RA assessments will rise $25 to $565 next year. The increases, board members said, are necessary to maintain Reston's existing infrastructure. As Director Cheryl Beamer said during last night's budget meeting:

"If the money is not there, we may get into a situation where a pool has to go without a jacuzzi if it is not in the budget. That is not how Reston is run. Since I have been on the board, there has not been a vision of anything new in Reston. We are barely taking care of what we have now. Ten dollars now could save us from raising fees $40 a couple of years from now - or closing a pool because we couldn't possibly raise fees enough to cover the cost."

People will undoubtedly complain about the assessment increase, but we think the RA needs to continue looking ahead, not just kick the can down the road maintain the status quo. Given the influx of people expected to come to Reston -- even considering just the projects already on the way through the planning process -- it's probably time for the board to start developing a vision for "something new," whether it's indoor tennis or something else.

Hey, Nice Package! RA Considering a $15.8 Million Bond Referendum for Indoor Tennis, Pools, Paths, Public Art, and Playgrounds

There now appears to be a way forward for the longstanding proposals for indoor tennis and swimming facilities in Reston. Thanks to several Confidential Restonian Operatives and our BFFs at Reston 2020, we now know that the Reston Association's Parks and Planning Commission has recommended that the RA Board combine "multiple park and recreation improvements into one referendum package" that would be financed by a fancy bond issue, presumably nice suitable-for-framing bonds with stock art of trains and Monopoly-style houses and hotels and whatnot along the margins.

Along with the $3.8 million indoor tennis facility that would be built at Lake Newport, the proposed projects that would be funded by the bond issue, which would top out at $15.8 million, include a range of other recreation and outdoorsy kinds of stuff:

• A 50-meter indoor pool to be built at an undisclosed location (but possibly at Lake Newport), and possibly in cooperation with the Reston Community Center
  
• Field upgrades at Brown's Chapel
  
• A turf soccer field at Hunters Woods Park
  
• Completing the "missing links" to Reston pathways
  
• Funding for the Reston Public Art Initiative
  
• Gateway and entry signs
  
• Drainage and stream work
  
• Upgrades to pool renovations
  
• An accessible "destination playground" with parking at Lake Fairfax Park, in partnership with Fairfax County.

Hey, nice package!

The commission touts the benefits of this all-in-one approach as reducing the cost of conducting multiple referenda, and -- and this is probably just as important -- offering something for everyone, not just the small but vocal group of tennis players that have dominated parks and rec discussions of late. The recommendation also suggests that bonds represent a new funding approach for RA projects.

Especially given the high price tag, we're all in favor of putting something like this out for a referendum. The reality is that Reston is soon going to be home to a whole slew of new people, like it or not, and someone is going to have to provide additional recreation opportunities for those teeming masses new residents if we want to maintain the quality of life that has made Reston a better place to live than most of the surrounding particleboard wastelands (cough cough Ashburn).

The proposal will be discussed by the RA Board during its meeting on May 26.

Meeting on Indoor Tennis Facility to Be Held in Park Almost Replaced By Indoor Tennis Facility

The Department of Irony Reston Association is holding a public meeting tonight on a proposed indoor tennis facility in the very park that was almost replaced by a proposed indoor tennis facility.

A public meeting to discuss the building program for a proposed indoor tennis facility will be held at 7 p.m. on Monday, March 28 at Brown’s Chapel on Baron Cameron Avenue, Reston. Mike Miller, architect for the project, will be there to answer questions.

Of course, the new $3.8 million project, slated for the current site of the outdoor courts at Lake Newport, isn't quite as big or impressive as the original project. It also lacks a juicery, much to our disappointment, but we may be alone in that. The last we heard, the RA Board had set a timetable to make a decision on whether to go forward on the project, with the goal of giving a thumbs up or down to a referendum by the end of July. Such a referendum would cost $75,000, because helpful postcards and whatnot reminding people to vote aren't free. But this is a sign that the project is moving forward -- which is encouraging for supporters of indoor tennis, as the current RA Board had originally said it wasn't planning a referendum in 2011 and had been less than encouraging to supporters of the project, given financial realities and whatnot.

Given the fact that no one is disputing that there's a sizable demand for indoor facilities, we're definitely in favor of a referendum, though we'd like an extra box for the question that defines our era -- banana vs. strawberry smoothies, the end.

This and That: A Random Turkey Trot Around Reston News

• Tennis enthusiasts flocked to last night's Reston Association board meeting to urge the RA to move forward on a referendum on the awesome $3.8 million juice-bar free indoor tennis facility proposed for Lake Newport. Were their (ahem) volleys successful?

  RA president Kathleen Driscoll McKee says given the current budget, the message might have to be "not 'no,' just 'not now.' "
  
  "We are concerned about success of a referendum," she said. "Does it make sense for us to spend $75,000 if it stands a chance of not being successful? This [budget situation] may not be the reality in two years, but right now, the board does not feel ready to go to referendum and have a successful result."

  Would that be love-40? Match point? Or Yahtzee? God help us, we don't understand tennis.
  
  
• The fancy new Metro station coming to Wiehle Avenue will have rad 80s art and, eventually, an awesome civic plaza. But you know what's still missing? Security measures.

  The missing security features, which will probably increase the project's cost, were identified in a triennial audit by the Tri-State Oversight Committee, a regional panel that oversees safety at Metro. Released last month, the nearly 300-page report noted dozens of problems at Metro, but it also highlighted the lapse in planning for the new rail line to include the "additional processes, design features, and equipment necessary in a 'post-9/11' environment."

  We recommend a couple of those fun nekkid scanners everyone seems to be so happy about.
  
  
• Both the principal and assistant principal at Armstrong Elementary have been reassigned to other county schools. You'd think that removing a school's entire leadership team in the middle of the year might be an ill omen, but then you'd be forgetting this is one of the astronaut schools and everything is totally fine.
  
  
• How's this for an awkward correction from the newspaper iPad app of record?
  
  
• After a truck hit the Beulah Road bridge over the Toll Road earlier in the week, the bridge has remained closed, blocking a handy overland route to Tysons that avoids the Toll Road, if not about a million "traffic calming" measures closer to "Fairfax County's downtown." Hunter Mill Supervisor Catherine Hudgins wants VDOT to replace the bridge, which was rated structurally deficient even before the collision. No word on whether VDOT will reach into its pockets and pull out a shiny dubloon or two to do this as of yet.
  
  
• A lot of associations are headquartered in Reston, including the one that oversees the vaunted Meat Industry Hall of Fame, which has been awarded to McDonald's Ray Croc and a bunch of Canadians. Um, yay meat?
  
  
• Robert Hansan of Reston won $137,000 at the Breeder's Cup Betting handicapping Challenge at Churchill Downs.
  
  
• South Lakes High School graduate Grant Hill reminisces about his time in Reston. Meanwhile, there's a nice profile about current SLHS gridiron star Ja'Juan Jones and his brother Rashaan, both of whom spent time in homeless shelters growing up. But when it comes to real sporting matches, Lawrence Jones of Reston takes the cake, losing a close 38-37 decision to Alexandria's Brandon Quarles in the junior middleweight category at the Patriot Center on Nov. 7. We're not 100 percent sure, but this sounds like boxing to us. Um, Yahtzee?
  
  
• Darius Nichols, who grew up in Reston, played the role of Hud, the "sensuous, omnisexual wild child" in the Kennedy Center production of Hair. We knew Reston was a bit more freewheeling in the 1960s, but we had no idea!
  

Indoor Tennis: Referendum Not Likely in 2011

A fun referendum on building a $3.8 million indoor tennis facility at Lake Newport is unlikely to happen in 2011. At least that's what a "web log" commenter called "Reston Association" said on another "web site."

The Board has not decided to move forward with the referendum and there is no 2011 funding for one. Reston Association would like to emphasize that the Board is conducting research, doing its due diligence and gathering information. Speculative details and enthusiastic possibilities are part of the conversation and that process. Should the Board decide to move ahead, community involvement, meetings, comments and engagement would be the top priorities. Therefore, all funding options would be considered at the appropriate time.

Those crazy bloggers! The reason the RA is looking for "speculative details and enthusiastic possibilities," whatever those are, is because preliminary plans call for RA to borrow the full cost of the facility. According to staff proposals, the tennis facility could turn a profit in two years, according to North Point Director Mike Collins.

The estimates included many assumptions that need to be vigorously tested, but they seemed encouraging. Personally, I'd like to explore many financing options, such as donations (large and small), sponsorships, public-private partnerships, etc..

Is it too soon to suggest putting the juicery back into the plans?

On the YouTubes: We Watch the Reston Association Videos So You Don't Have To

Andy Sigle continues the summer casual look, rocking out the Dockers on the tennis court in this month's fancy video from the Reston Association. There's talk about the proposed indoor tennisdrome, sans juicery. Larry Butler clutches a tennis racket while he stresses that the RA board has made no decision and that there will be plenty of opportunities for public input before the issue might get put to a referendum. There's an update on the ongoing stream deforestation restoration in the Glade, as evinced by a closeup of some horrid hellspawn bug the size of a dinner plate that FLOATS ON WATER we'll be seeing in our nightmares for weeks to come (skip ahead to about 1:57). There's also talk about the Asian Festival, July 31-Aug. 1, which is actually pretty rad. Finally, Andy stands dangerously on an outcropping of rocks at the edge of Lake Thoreau to introduce a segment on boating safety. "Make sure your boat meets all size and motor guidelines!" an RA staffer says helpfully. Words to live by, words to live by.