RA Board to Hold Meeting on Lake House Budget Review Contract

The Reston Association Board is scheduled to hold a special meeting Wednesday at 7:30 p.m. to discuss contract issues with MediaWorld, the firm it voted to put in charge of a review of the Tetra/Lake House’s budget overrun.

It has been more than two months since the Board voted 4-3 to go with MediaWorld for the budget review but the Board has yet to approve an official contract with the firm that would allow them to begin work.

After renovations at Lake House (formerly the Tetra Building) were found to be nearly triple what was originally budgeted, a review of the handling of the funds was deemed necessary. Earlier this year, RA moved $430,000 from its operating budget to help cover the project’s deficit.

All of that came after the RA took out a $2.7-million loan to purchase the building from its former occupants, Tetra Partners, which many citizens said they thought was too much to pay for the property in the first place. Fairfax County tax estimates put the building and land’s value at closer to $1.2 million.

In August, RA organized a panel to choose a professional firm to “review of the processes and internal controls that were followed across the organization in handling all decision-making, governance, administrative and financial aspects of the Association’s purchase, including the referendum, planned use, and renovation of Tetra (now known as the Lake House property), that have led to cost overruns and revenue shortfalls.”

Originally, citizens and RA staff members urged the Board to hire an independent firm to conduct the review in order for it to be completely impartial. But when it became obvious that the hiring of an outside firm could cost as much as six figures, the Board voted on a compromise — namely, going with MediaWorld but offering the help of RA members.

MediaWorld is a Reston-based company that offered to conduct the review for a fee of just $1 with the understanding that they could use RA members to help do some of the work.

In Wednesday’s special meeting, the RA Board said it will continue discussions over a potential contract with MediaWorld to spearhead the Tetra/Lake House review.

It is expected that the Board will go into executive session to conduct the contract negotiations–meaning it will be closed to the public due to attorney-client privilege, RA staff said.

The meeting could go a number of ways. The Board could come to an agreement with MediaWorld and vote to approve the contract, meaning work on the review could begin soon.

Or, if the two parties are unable to come to an agreement, the Board could decide not to continue negotiations with MediaWorld and decide to seek another company to work with.

At that point, they could go back to the list of firms that originally submitted proposals to the RA and decide to open negotiations with one of them. Or, the Board could decide to start a new search and allow other companies to submit proposals.

Wednesday’s meeting will begin at 7:30 p.m. at RA Headquarters, located at 12001 Sunrise Valley Drive.

Save

Save