Incessant and untimely barking at the dog park at Baron Cameron Park has had residents in that area fuming for years.
The topic was addressed once again at the July meeting of the Reston Association Board of Directors, where CEO Cate Fulkerson was authorized (video) to write a letter to the Fairfax County Park Authority “strongly encouraging” allocating funds to support the a countywide dog park study.
“[The Park Authority has] put it off several times, [and] they really do need to fund that,” Fulkerson said. “There are some issues around dog parks … but also there is a need for such facilities and rules around them. It is becoming evermore a problem for the community and it’s important that they pursue it.”
Reston Association formed a Dog Park Working Group in March 2016 to address concerns of residents in the area around the Baron Cameron dog park, which opened in 2001. Moira Callaghan, one of seven residents who sought legal action in the attempt to close the park, addressed the Board (video) at July’s meeting.
“The dog park at Baron Cameron Park is extremely noisy and has serious negative impacts upon those living closely, including me,” she said. “When dog parks were established, residents were promised the county would get it right. I would like the RA Board to hold the county accountable to this.”
Callaghan, of the adjacent Longwood Grove community, said the sound of dogs barking can often be heard over the sound of cars driving by on Wiehle Avenue. She said she had also called the police eight times in recent weeks to report people using the park before its opening time.
“I have been awakened from my sleep as early at 6:17 and 6:34 a.m. on weekend mornings [in recent weeks],” Callaghan said. “I get dressed, I go outside, I go over there and I take a photo, and I send it to the county.”
According to information provided by RA, the countywide dog park study would help these issues to be addressed and corrected.
In March 2016 the Reston Association Board facilitated a community discussion on the Baron Cameron Dog Park, at the request of local residents. Recommendations developed through the community discussion were forwarded to Fairfax County Park Authority, and a dialogue has continued to take place between the two parties.
Fairfax County Park Authority also proposed a Countywide Dog Park Study to determine needs and set parameters for overall use. Due to staffing vacancies the Study has been on hold for a couple of years. Fairfax County Park Authority staff has confirmed the Study was not included in the draft FY18 Planning and Development Work Plan, but will likely be added to the FY19 Planning and Development Work Plan.
The Baron Cameron park is one of nine Fairfax County dog parks. Callaghan suggested RA encourage the county to move the park to Lake Fairfax Park, an idea that has been floated before.
“My neighbors and I have endured this for a very long time. I have carried this torch for four years now,” she said “It is horrible. We would really appreciate your help on this matter.”
If you’ve been waiting patiently for Founding Farmers to open at Reston Station, be prepared to wait a little longer still.
Founding Farmers marketing director Meaghan O’Shea told Reston Now on Wednesday that the restaurant, which was first expected to open last year, is now looking at an opening date early next year.
“We are going to be opening in February of 2018,” O’Shea said. “We’re opening a restaurant in King of Prussia, Pennsylvania and it came down that one of them would have to move dates, and that’s just the way the dice fell.”
It was first announced in October 2015 that Founding Farmers would open its Reston location in late 2016. A year later, that date was pushed to the summer of 2017. Signage currently on the building indicates that it is slated to open in “late 2017.”
O’Shea said the new projected opening date is “not expected to move again or change in any way, shape or form.”
The Reston location will be Founding Farmers’ fifth. Others are in DC, Tysons Corner and Potomac, along with the coming restaurant in King of Prussia.
O’Shea said the Reston location of the farm-to-table restaurant will feature design elements celebrating Thomas Jefferson. It will also have a private dining room, which she said the other restaurants do not have.
“We’ve gotten so many requests for it in Tysons,” she said. “It’s clearly something our guests are asking for and want in some degree.”
The restaurant will offer full sit-down menus for three meals a day, O’Shea said, along with a weekend brunch. She also said there will be a quick-service, grab-and-go program called “First Bake” on weekday mornings to cater to commuters rushing to the Metro.
“We’ve been wanting to get open, obviously, for quite some time now,” O’Shea said. “We’re very anxious and really excited … but we want to make sure it’s a successful opening and we put our best possible foot forward in every aspect.”
Seafood lovers in Reston have a new place to visit.
PokeHub had its grand opening at 11990-C Market Street in Reston Town Center on Tuesday. The build-your-own-bowl menu of offers several varieties of poke (pronounced “po-kay”), a traditional Hawaiian salad made with raw fish. Owner Chloe Lee said the menu at PokeHub is a “poke fusion,” as options include not just the traditional ahi tuna, but also salmon, spicy tuna, tilapia, scallops, shrimp, chicken, sweet egg and tofu.
https://www.facebook.com/484997911853184/photos/a.497069523979356.1073741827.484997911853184/497069377312704/?type=3&theater
Lee and her husband moved to the DC area about three years ago from California, where they operated a poke restaurant in Pasadena. She said they have been searching for the right location to open one in Northern Virginia, and the 1,152-square foot location within the Retail at Midtown property was it. The space owned by the JBG Companies is the former home of Iceberry, which closed in April.
Lee said they are looking for a site to open a second restaurant in the region.
PokeHub will be open each weekday from 10:30 a.m. to 9:30 p.m., and from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays.
For more information about PokeHub, visit www.mypokehub.com, call 703-787-0035 or visit its Facebook page.
FCPS Social Emotional Wellness Systems Honored — FCPS was recognized for its work to establish a multi-tiered system of support for mental wellness, designed to complement its existing framework for academics and behavior. It includes services for the prevention, early intervention, and treatment of mental health and promotion of wellness. South Lakes High School is one of five in Fairfax County working toward the goal. [Fairfax County Public Schools]
September Event Will Benefit Brain Aneurysm Foundation — Tom and Nancy Susco lost their 25-year-old son to a brain aneurysm 10 years ago. They hold their annual “Running With Tim” fundraiser, scheduled for Sept. 16 this year, to honor his memory and raise money for the Brain Aneurysm Foundation and the Washington Regional Transplant Community. [Connection Newspapers/Susco8K.com]
Crab Wagon Coming to North Point Giant — Hooper’s Crab House, from Ocean City, Maryland, is visiting Giant stores in the area each weekend through October. It will be at the Giant at North Point Village Center this Saturday from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., and it return Sept. 23. [Hooper’s Crab House]
Ballot Out for Best Reston Business Awards — Email list subscribers received their ballots for the 2017 Best Reston Business Awards at 10 a.m. Tuesday. If you signed up after that and missed it, don’t worry: It will be sent out again before the Aug. 15 deadline. [Reston Now]
At the Reston Association Board of Directors’ budget work session Monday, members spoke (video) about the need to improve access for the disabled to the Pony Barn Pavilion.
Ken Fredgren, chairman of the Reston Accessibility Committee, told a story about trying to use his mobility scooter to get to the park with his family several years ago. The gravel lot kept him out.
“My scooter sank in the gravel, and my family had to hoist me out and carry me from the gravel, and then laboriously pull the scooter out of the gravel,” he said. “The pavilion is still up a grass slope too steep for any mobility device [and] the pavilion floor is mulch, as is the surface of the tot lot with its two swings.”
The Pony Barn Pavilion is among RAC’s list of area properties that need attention to make them more accessible to the disabled. On its website, RAC says the park needs accessible pedestrian signals, an access aisle and an accessible route from the parking lot to the picnic pavilion. It also says the grill, water fountain, picnic table and toilet facilities need to be made accessible.
“Please do create accessible parking, an accessible route or routes, and replace mulch surfaces so neighbors and guests with disabilities can use Pony Barn Park,” Fredgren said. “Accommodating our fellow residents and their guests is doable, right and just.”
Another resident, Audrey Diggs, spoke about a park she has been unable to visit even though she’s lived across the street from it for about 15 years.
“I went through one time and got stuck in the gravel,” she said. “I got more adventurous when my son came along, and I got a bigger scooter that I thought could do it … and I flipped myself. I was laying on my side.”
Diggs said she and her son have to travel to Hunters Woods Park or Hunters Woods Elementary School so he can play.
“It would be nice to be able to let him play with his buddies and be able to go down and interact and see what’s going on and use it,” she said. “I hear people singing and I hear people talking, but I can’t get down there.”
A statement from Michele “Cookie” Hymer Blitz, Hunter Mill District representative on Fairfax Area Disability Services Board, was also read. Blitz said updated to the park are much-needed and should be done in a timely fashion.
“I have always been very impressed with the Reston community’s reputation and behavior regarding progressive, healthy living,” read Blitz’s statement. “I am disappointed and quite surprised that long overdue, relatively simple changes to this area are being pushed aside.”
A pavilion replacement for Pony Barn Park was first approved by RA in 2013, at a cost of $30,000. RA later approved, as part of the 2016-17 capital projects budget, $350,000 for a full-scale renovation project. That money has been locked up since last July, however, when RA put major capital projects on hold in the wake of the controversy over the Lake House purchase.
Screenshot via Reston Association YouTube channel
During a work session Monday (video) with the Reston Association Board of Directors, representatives of RA’s Capital Projects department broke down expenditures scheduled for 2018 and 2019.
Just over $2.8 million is budgeted for projects in the coming year. The highest-ticket item is dredging of Lake Thoreau (about $500,000), while other top costs include work on asphalt trails (over $186,000) and lighting for the North Hills tennis courts ($156,000).
Looking forward to 2019, several more high-cost items help the budget go up to nearly $4 million. This includes continued work on the dredging of Lake Thoreau ($646,000) and the asphalt trails (over $192,000). In addition, over $875,000 is budgeted for renovation of the Lake Thoreau pool facility, after about $110,000 for planning in 2018.
The Board approves its Capital Projects and Operating budgets every two years.
Garrett Skinner, capital projects director, said the 10-year study of the Repair & Replacement Reserve Fund is being used in an effort to ensure that assessments don’t spike in years that larger capital projects are planned.
“We know we can still execute the work in that year without necessarily asking residents to pay significantly higher assessments just to execute what we know we need to get done,” Skinner said. “The intent was to make sure there wasn’t a significant impact on the residents to the assessment value if you can kind of make it … a consistent steady amount in terms of the capital contribution to the assessment, so when we get to those significant years, the blow isn’t right at once or a surprise to anyone.”
About $6.3 million in reserve fund balance is projected to be carried over into 2018, Skinner said, with about $1.6 million being unencumbered. To get to those numbers, the Board is being asked to fund the reserve in the amount of $2.9 million, which was already approved by the Fiscal Committee.
The Board is also being asked to consider a number of additional capital projects that have been suggested by members. Each was listed for directors along with an estimated cost and what that impact it would have on the assessment.
Next Monday, the Board will have another work session on the 2018 and 2019 Operating Budget.
Screenshot via Reston Association YouTube channel
Season Subscription Now Available for Players — The 51st season of Reston Community Players will include performances of “Aida,” “Peter and the Starcatcher,” “Cat on a Hot Tin Roof” and “Thoroughly Modern Millie.” Season tickets are $82 for adults and $72 for students and senior citizens. [Reston Community Players]
Telehealth Provider Expanding in Reston — An expansion of Avizia, who partners with providers to deploy and power system-wide telehealth, will bring 27 more jobs to the community. [Fairfax County Economic Development Authority]
Reception for ‘Althea’ is Tonight — The latest public artwork installed on the Lake Thoreau spillway by the South Lakes High School STEAM Team will have its official reception tonight from 6:30-8 p.m. at Reston Association headquarters (12001 Sunrise Valley Drive). RSVP to [email protected]. [Reston Now]
Sobriety Checkpoint Planned for Saturday Night — A sobriety checkpoints will be conducted by the Fairfax County Police Department on Saturday from 11 p.m. to 2 a.m. [FCPD]
BXP Senior VP Talks About Reston Gateway — In an interview with Bisnow, Boston Properties Senior Vice President Peter Otteni says the property between Reston Town Center and the future Silver Line Metro station will be “a great complement to Reston Town Center” that won’t have “as soft-goods-driven of a user base.” Rather, he says, it “will be much more food, entertainment and convenience.” [Bisnow]
Best Reston Business Awards Ballots Go Out Today — Don’t forget to sign up for Reston Now’s email list so you can vote in the 2017 Best Reston Business Awards. [Reston Now]
Usage of Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits at the Reston Farmers Market has been strong from the get-go, but it hit a new high this past weekend.
“We had 32 households come by and use their SNAP benefits,” said Bill Threlkeld, division director for neighborhood resources at Cornerstones. “The high before that was 29, so we keep trying to outdo ourselves.”
A SNAP at Market Appreciation Day has been scheduled for Saturday, Aug. 12, at the farmers market. The free event will include activities for kids, cooking demonstrations, giveaways and raffles, music, demos and tours, VIP recognitions, and health screenings. It will also provide an opportunity for families and individuals to learn how SNAP beneficiaries are able to access healthier food options by shopping with their benefits at participating Fairfax County farmers markets, including in Reston.
The community is also invited to learn about SNAP at Market volunteer opportunities at the Reston Farmers Market, and about the financial support that is needed to provide matching dollars for the program. Through grant funding and donors, SNAP at Market allows beneficiaries to get up to $20 in matching funds for the purchase of fruits and vegetables.
“I like to tell the recipients it’s like finding $20 on the ground,” Threlkeld said.
This is the SNAP at Market’s third year in Reston. Saturday’s event has been scheduled as part of National Farmers Market Week.
The Cornerstones program at Reston Farmers Market has been the most successful of the four in the county, in terms of number of SNAP dollars spent and matching funds received, since it began. Threlkeld said $15,000 in SNAP sales took place at the market in 2016, and the program is on pace to increase that number by 30 percent this year.
“[SNAP at Market] is a real great opportunity as part of our mission, which is helping folks with basic needs,” he said. “It provides a great opportunity for those who are receiving SNAP benefits to use those benefits at the market and have access to some really great food, improve their nutritional habits and just be able to shop there like everybody else.”
For more information about SNAP in Virginia, including eligibility limits, visit the state’s Department of Social Services.
The Reston Farmers Market takes place each Saturday morning, from 8 a.m. to noon, at Lake Anne Plaza.
Weird Brothers Coffee (321 Sunset Park Drive, Herndon) has announced via social media that co-owner Kenny Olsen died unexpectedly Thursday.
https://www.facebook.com/weirdbroscoffee/posts/1432179380231518
Brothers Paul and Kenny Olsen founded the popular business as a mobile coffee bar before they opened their permanent location in Herndon in April. Paul told Connection Newspapers the next month about how close he and his brother were, leading to the name “Weird Brothers.”
“My brother and I, for our entire lives, have just always marched to the beat of a different drummer. It always turned out that when we were together, all these weird and strange things would happen. It just fit.”
Friends of the Weird Brothers have shared their condolences on social media.
https://www.facebook.com/lakeannebrewhouse/posts/1965675710375559
Sorry to hear about your loss, sending condolences from The Frenchman team
— The Frenchman (@TheFrenchmanFT) August 4, 2017
Sorry to hear. 😞Our prayers are with you in your time of loss.
— Love Herndon (@loveherndon) August 7, 2017
A GoFundMe page has been set up to help the business as it copes with Kenny’s death.
A memorial service has been scheduled for Friday, Aug. 18 at Adams-Green Funeral Home (721 Elden St., Herndon).
Photo collage via Weird Brothers Coffee/Instagram
Flash Flood Watch in Effect — The National Weather Service says multiple rounds of showers and thunderstorms are expected today with localized heavy rainfall rates of 1 to 2 inches per hour possible. [NWS Alert]
RA Budget Work Session Tonight — The Reston Association Board of Directors will meet tonight at 6:30 p.m. at RA headquarters (12001 Sunrise Valley Drive) for a work session on the 2018-2019 Capital Projects & Budget Plan, as well as the Five-Year Strategic Capital Projects Plan. [Reston Association]
Volunteers Needed for Senior Olympics — The Northern Virginia Senior Olympics is looking for volunteers ages 16 and over to support the games, Sept. 9-20. The annual event is a celebration of fitness, camaraderie and living healthy longer. Over 50 events are scheduled at 20 venues. Anyone interested in helping should email [email protected] or call 703-403-5360. [Northern Virginia Senior Olympics]
Lake Anne Village Center, which was recently added to the National Register of Historic Places, faced some challenges on its path to becoming the nation’s first zoned planned-unit community.
So did its champions as they worked diligently to have its history nationally recognized.
Shelly Mastran and Cheryl Terio-Simon, longtime residents who are chair and vice chair — respectively — of the Reston Historic Trust and Museum Board of Directors, spent several years compiling the information required to seek the NRHP designation.
Mastran said they began working on the process in 2011, submitting written narratives at the state level to justify the social and historical significance of the Village Center. The state’s Department of Historic Resources then encouraged them to continue their effort to the national level.
But the quest for NRHP recognition was halted for a time, Terio-Simon said, as some worried it may hinder potential growth in the plaza through proposed redevelopment — something she said would not have been affected by the designation. In addition, Mastran said, the women began to feel daunted by the amount of work the process entailed.
“A lot of the process involves data entry, in the state’s database,” she said. “Every single property has to be individually described in the database, in a very particular way.”
There are more than 100 properties within the boundaries of the designated zone. The women ended up hiring an intern to help them do the data entry, while Vern Wingert was tasked with taking photographs of all the properties.
“We gave [the National Park Service] much more than they probably wanted,” said Terio-Simon, widow of Reston founder Bob Simon. “But we thought as long as we were doing the research, we’d put everything in there.”
The boundaries of the nationally designated area also include all of Lake Anne, which was made at the same time as the village center. All residents who live within 300 feet of the lakefront needed to be notified of the nomination.
“If more than 50 percent of the owners within the district protested, it could fail,” Mastran said. “I don’t think any [did].”
Seventeen days from now, a lot of people are going to be staring up at the sky.
Locally, the Fairfax County Park Authority wants to make sure they’re doing it safely.
The first total solar eclipse over the continental United States in 38 years will reach us at 2:42 p.m. on Monday, Aug. 21. In Fairfax County, about 80 percent of the sun will be blocked by moon. The full solar eclipse will be taking place at that time in South Carolina.
NASA warns that the only safe way to view the sun, even when it is partially eclipsed, is with the use of special-purpose solar filters or hand-held solar viewers. The American Astronomical Society has provided a list of reputable vendors for these glasses.
Every child who attended one of the Park Authority’s Adventures Away Rec-PAC camps this week received a pair of solar-viewing glasses courtesy the Fairfax County Park Foundation. Remaining glasses will be made available to the public at select parks, where a donation can help cover the costs.
The eclipse can also be viewed, with your back to it, by using a pinhole projector. The Park Authority is offering some programming to teach people how to make these.
Fairfax County also has numerous events planned for watching the eclipse, including on Burke Lake and Lake Accotink.
Graphic via NASA
https://www.facebook.com/Herndonpolicedepartment/photos/a.918201318209768.1073741831.783516198344948/1747091011987457/?type=3&theater
For the second time this week, one of Herndon’s main thoroughfares is being affected by a natural gas leak.
Elden Street will be closed between Center Street and Monroe Street through the evening rush hour, according to the Herndon Police Department. The natural gas leak was first reported on HPD’s Twitter account just after 11 a.m.
On Wednesday night, a natural gas leak on Herndon Parkway between Van Buren Street and Palmer Drive required repair. The work at that site continued through Thursday.
Kids from around the area laughed, screamed and honked horns Friday morning during Reston Association’s annual “Totally Trucks” event at the Central Services Facility.
Kids were encouraged to climb on all the big construction equipment that services Reston, including RA trucks and a fire truck, police vehicle and other public safety vehicles. All children who took part in the event received a “Totally Trucks” construction helmet.
The annual summer event included blasts of water from a tanker truck, demonstrations from dump trucks and other equipment, and much more.
There is also a Big Trucks event scheduled for 5-8 p.m. tonight at the Fairfax County 4-H Fair and Carnival.
Photo at left: Jack Blanchard, of Herndon, climbs a tree with help from RA staff.
Hook Road Project Info Session — Anyone interested in learning about the Hook Road Recreation Area project and the forming of a working group may attend an information session on Tuesday, Aug. 29 at 6:30 p.m. at Reston Association headquarters (12001 Sunrise Valley Drive). Email [email protected] for more about serving on the working group. [Reston Association]
Third Outreach Session on Bikeshare Announced — The Virginia Department of Transportation has announced a third public outreach event to gather community input on the proposed sites for Capital Bikeshare expansion in Reston. It will be Saturday, Aug. 26 from 9 a.m. to noon at the Reston Farmers Market. [VDOT]
Aquatics Center To Close for Annual Maintenance — The Terry L. Smith Aquatics Center at Reston Community Center (2310 Colts Neck Road) will be closed from Aug. 19 to Sept. 15. It is scheduled to reopen at noon Sept. 16. [Reston Community Center]
County Short-Term Rental Survey Ongoing — Fairfax County is developing regulations to govern the use of short-term rentals (e.g., Airbnb). It is gathering community input through Aug. 31. [Fairfax County/Survey Monkey]
Column: Virginia Should Not Pay for ‘Skins Stadium — Regular ARLnow columnist Peter Rousselot wrote this week about how the costs of bringing a new Washington Redskins home field to Virginia would far outweigh the benefits for taxpayers. [ARLnow]
