RA Board Continues Negotiations Over Lake House Budget Review Contract

(Updated at 3:40 p.m.) Members of the Reston Association Board of Directors held an executive session after a public meeting Wednesday night to continue contract discussions with MediaWorld, the firm it voted to put in charge of a review of the Tetra/Lake House’s budget overrun.

According to RA’s director of communications, Mike Leone, the board ended up taking no action at the meeting.

That means the matter continues as it has for roughly two-and-a-half months since the RA board voted 4-3 to task MediaWorld with the review.

The board has not yet announced any future meetings.

If you’re just catching up to speed with the issue, here’s a little background:

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 many citizens said they feel the RA overpaid to purchase the building in the first place. Fairfax County tax estimates put its value at closer to $1.2 million.

Following completion of the project, the RA Board formed a panel consisting of residents and staff to audit the entire project’s books, though many citizens and staff members urged the board to hire an independent firm to ensure the process was completely impartial. An initial search found, however, that such a firm could cost in the six figures.

A compromise was found in MediaWorld, who agreed to do the review for just $1 if RA members could be used to perform some of the necessary work.

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