Property values, loss of tree canopy, concerns for children’s safety: these were some of the issues brought up by a concerned group of homeowners at a public information meeting held on May 12 at the Reston Community Center.
Reston Association is considering a proposal from Milestone Communications to allow construction of a 115′ monopole in Hunters Woods Park. Milestone has created a website for this project, Hunters Woods Wireless Pole.
The proposal is to lease RA land at the north end of the soccer field for the pole and its accompanying ground equipment (consisting of up to 4 – 12×20 buildings). Payment would be a percentage of revenue that the monopole supplier receives from a wireless carrier.
The Milestone representative said the average expected revenue is approximately $12,000 per year per carrier. The monopole can support up to 4 carriers (AT&T to be the first), so presumably revenue to RA could be over $48,000 per year. Should this proposal pass through the Reston Association Design Review Board, a zoning application will be filed with Fairfax County.
The following is a list of important meetings that should be attended if you wish to make your opinion heard. If you can’t attend, send an email, or both. It counts!
Monday, May 19, 7:30 p.m.
Reston Planning and Zoning Committee
North County Government Center (map), Community Room
12000 Bowman Towne Drive, Reston
The agenda can be viewed here. The P&Z committee reports to Supervisor Hudgins. Attending this meeting or emailing will let her know how you feel about the project. Parking note – carpool if you can. Due to construction, parking is very limited. Email is [email protected] and suggested subject line is Hunter Woods Park Monopole – Reston.
Thursday, May 29, 6 p.m.
Reston Association Board Meeting
Conference Center, 12001 Sunrise Valley Drive, Reston
Must sign in to be allowed 3 minutes (sometimes the limit is 2 minutes; prepare for the shorter time) during the public comment session. Five minutes if you represent a group such as a Cluster, PTA, etc. You should also email your concerns to [email protected] with a cc to [email protected] (CEO Cate Fulkerson). Subject line should be Hunter Woods Park Monopole.
Tuesday, June 17, 7-9 pm
Design Review Board Meeting
Conference Center, 12001 Sunrise Valley Drive, Reston
Milestone Communications will present their plan for DRB approval
At the May 12 information meeting, we were told that if the proposal does not pass DRB approval, it would not move forward. To be guaranteed a chance to speak you must register as an Affected Party.* To do so, contact Margo Collins, Reston Association Covenants Advisor, at [email protected] or (703) 435-7994 to submit a statement of your concerns. The statement must include your name and Reston address and may be submitted directly to Ms. Collins via email. Individuals are given three minutes; group representatives are given five. Emails should also be sent to [email protected]with subject of Hunter Woods Park Monopole.
This information is provided as a community service. Please feel free to contact me.
Connie Hartke
Director, Hunters Woods District
Reston Citizens Association
571-205-8874
Photo: Cell phone towers at South Lakes High School/file photo
Last week, I announced that I will not be running again for the RCA Board. I’m not the only one stepping down this year, however. Two other RCA stalwarts, Terry Maynard and Dick Rogers, are also retiring at the end of this term.
This week, I’d like to pay tribute to Terry and Dick. They have both served Reston well in their time with RCA, and I’m glad to count them as trusted colleagues and as friends. I will greatly miss working with them both.
Dick and Terry have a lot in common. They have served with RCA for quite a while (Terry joined the Board in late 2009, Dick in early 2010). Both are retired CIA analysts, and they brought that analytical skill to their work with RCA. Both are most interested in planning and transportation. But although they’re similar in background, they have different approaches and have contributed to RCA in different ways.
If you’ve followed the planning for Reston’s future — whether it’s the Silver Line, the Master Plan revisions, or the RCC rec center proposal — you’ve probably heard Terry Maynard’s name. He has been quoted more often than anyone else on the RCA Board, and with good reason. Over the years, Terry has become one of Reston’s preeminent experts on development issues.
Terry’s analytical reports, full of charts and footnotes, are legendary. If you think I’m verbose, you should take a look at one of Terry’s reports, which can run 100 pages or more. But they are lengthy for a reason. Most people don’t have the expertise or the inclination to dive into spreadsheets full of numbers and figures and dig out the real story, but Terry does. Whether he’s examining the accuracy of Toll Road revenue forecasts, quantifying the impact of development on Reston’s traffic and recreational facilities, or raising unanswered questions about the rec center, you can count on Terry to provide a rigorous, reasonable analysis.
In addition to his reports, Terry has taken on a leadership role on planning issues. He has been the co-chair of RCA’s Reston 2020 Committee, serving as a community watchdog on key development-related matters. He also served with distinction as RCA’s primary representative on the Reston Master Plan Task Force, standing up for Reston’s citizens to protect our founding principles and quality of life. While the final Master Plan recommendations weren’t quite as Terry wanted, his staunch advocacy and thoughtful analysis made the final plan better for Restonians. Read More
Nine of Reston Now’s Best Reston Business Award polls are still open. Have you voted yet?
In April, Reston Now asked readers to nominate their favorite businesses in 15 categories. The top vote-getters in each category became finalists for the award.
To vote, click on the categories below, which will take you to polls where you can cast your vote.
The remaining polls will be open until midnight on the days listed. Reston Now will announce the winners next week.
Open through May 14:
Open through May 15:
Open through May 16:
Last month, Gov. Terry McAuliffe announced that Virginia will participate in the Business Incentives Initiative, a joint project of The Pew Charitable Trusts (Pew) and the Center for Regional Economic Competitiveness (CREC) and six other states (Indiana, Louisiana, Maryland, Michigan, Oklahoma and Tennessee) to “reform economic development incentive reporting policies and practices.”
While millions of dollars are spent on tax incentives and grants to lure business to Virginia each year, there is no evidence that the programs are actually working as intended. There is a national debate across the country about the necessity and value of tax incentives to encourage economic development.
In a report issued earlier this year the Pew Research Center issued a fact sheet, “Evaluating State Tax Incentives: How to Measure Economic Impact” (Pew Research Center Fact Sheet), about high-quality evaluations of tax incentive programs in Minnesota, Louisiana, and Massachusetts in what they termed “models for other states to follow when measuring the results of their own incentives.”
In Minnesota, evaluators estimated that 79 percent of the jobs created at companies receiving incentives were likely to have been generated without them. Jobs created cost the state more than $26,000, or about five times more than originally estimated according to the analysts.
All 15 polls are now posted on Reston Now for our best Reston Business Awards.
Have you voted yet?
If not, click the links below to cast your ballot for some of Reston’s top places.
The first polls will begin closing Monday, so cast your ballot for some of Reston’s best pet businesses, Realtors, sweets, burgers, pizza and others.
Open through May 12:
Open through May 13:
Open through May 14:
Open through May 15:
Open through May 16:
Maybe you built your Reston home from the ground up. Perhaps you have one of Reston’s first mid-1960s abodes and you hired some help in giving it a 2014 look.
In any case, you probably called in a professional to get the look just right.
We asked Reston Now readers which local architects, remodelers or decorators they liked, and these are the names that were mentioned most.
Show them your appreciation by giving them a vote for a Best Reston Business Award.
How do you feel about your bank?
We asked Reston Now readers which local financial institution they prefer, and these six names came up the most.
So show your bank and the the bankers some appreciation for good customer service by voting for them to earn a Best Reston Business Award.
By the slice or by the pie, Restonians love pizza.
We recently asked Reston Now readers who makes the best pizza around here, and the six finalists were the ones whose names were mentioned the most.
Who do you like best? Vote for your favorite and help them win a Best Reston Business Award.
Nails, hair, skin and just general pampering. Reston has lots of spots to get glam, from no-frills to the highest of high end.
Where is your go-to place for pretty?
We asked Reston Now readers this question last week, and these six finalists earned the most votes. Now it is time to vote for the winner. Vote now and help one of these salons/spas win a Best Reston Business Award.
All good things must come to an end. After losing my election for the Reston Association board earlier this month, I’ve spent a lot of time thinking about what the future holds for me, including my future with RCA.
With our elections just around the corner and the candidate filing period now open, I felt that I owed it to the RCA and to potential candidates to make a decision about my plans. And after long and careful thought, I announced to the Board at last week’s meeting that I have made the difficult decision not to run for re-election to RCA.
Many factors have gone into this decision. One of the driving factors is the needs of my family. My new wife and my daughter have been very supportive of my work with RCA, but they need and deserve more of my time than I’ve been able to give them.
But perhaps the deciding factor is my belief that it’s time for me to do something different. I have served the community actively for almost a decade, and I have been with RCA for almost all of that time, including the last 3 years as president. I have learned a lot and grown a lot in that time, and now it’s time for me to start a new chapter in my life.
I’m proud of everything that RCA has accomplished under my leadership. We have raised RCA’s profile tremendously, and made ourselves part of the community conversation again. We have been a strong voice for Reston’s citizens on issues like the Master Plan, transportation, open space, parks and recreation, our library system, and many more. We have forged strong relationship with fellow community organizations like RA, ARCH, Rescue Reston, and others. We have renewed our focus on keeping the citizens informed (one of RCA’s original missions) by hosting and co-sponsoring community forums, producing analytical reports, and starting the new Reston 411 series of quick facts.
It’s 5 p.m. somewhere.
That’s when people who live and work in Reston may head for their nearest bar/restaurant for a cold drink, a little snack and a lot of socializing.
We asked readers last week where they liked to go for Happy Hour. These are the six Reston spots that got the most votes.
So put down your martini and vote for your favorite and help them win a Best Reston Business Award. This poll will be open through May 15.
Dessert! It’s sometimes the best part of the meal.
Reston is riding the national frozen yogurt and cupcake shop trend, with places to satisfy your sweet tooth in just about every neighborhood.
We asked readers for nominations for their favorite ice cream/fro yo spot, bakery or other place to eat sweet. These are the six finalists.
So vote for your favorite and help the store win a Best Reston Business Award. This poll will be open through May 15.
Whom do you trust with your family’s health?
With a hospital right in the center of Reston, we have an abundance of doctors and other health care professionals. But where do Restonians go for the best in health care?
We asked Reston Now readers last week, and these six doctors were mentioned the most. If you are a patient of theirs, give your favorite a vote and help them earn a Best Reston Business Award.
This poll will be open through May 14.
Last week, I had the honor of meeting Stan Brock, the legendary Wild Kingdom TV star and founder and president of Remote Area Medical (RAM).
He held a press conference in Richmond to announce the details of expanding the Remote Area Medical program in Virginia. RAM already sponsors a once-a-year health clinic in Wise County in Southwest Virginia where thousands come on a weekend for the only medical care they will receive all year. The expanded effort in Virginia will be headed by Dr. Vicki Weiss, who has been providing volunteer eye care with RAM for over 15 years. Also participating in the press conference was Dr. Teresa Gardiner who serves on the Health Wagon in the region that was featured on 60 Minutes recently.
Stan Brock started RAM in 1985 primarily to help people in South America who did not have access to health care, but as he explained at the press conference, he soon expanded to this country for the needs in Appalachia, Virginia, and other parts of the country are as great as any third world country.
Last year, RAM served nearly 2,000 people in Virginia, but with the expanded program “Stop the Suffering” over the next two years RAM expects to have a clinic within driving distance of everyone living in Appalachia. Stan Brock talked about “the people we do not see but whose health care needs in Virginia could not be greater” with no references to politics, ideology, or partisanship.
In contrast, there were several informational meetings on Medicaid expansion held last week in locations throughout the state, including one in nearby Ashburn. From talking to persons who attended the meeting and reading press accounts, I was struck by the sharp contrast with the press conference I had attended.
These “informational” meetings were sponsored by the Koch Brothers-funded Americans for Prosperity that is spending millions in the state to defeat what it disdainfully refers to as Obamacare. Invited to participate in these meetings were only delegates opposed to any expansion of Medicaid. The meetings focused on legislative maneuvering, constitutional issues and placing blame for the budget impasse. There was talk of a “clean budget.”
By separating the budget negotiations and the expansion of Medicaid, Americans for Prosperity and their legislative puppets hope to defeat expansion of Medicaid in the state. What wasn’t said is that separating Medicaid expansion from the budget would ignore 20 percent of current expenditures and the potential for five million dollars a day in revenue to serve those most in need of health insurance. Noticeably absent from the delegates were real-life references to the people in need of health care.
It is time for legislators in Richmond to stop talking politics and start listening to the people in need of health care and to those in the community who have health insurance but are concerned for the people who do not. The contrast is stark between those who want to wage a partisan ideological battle to deliver a defeat to the President and those who want to help people who desperately need health care.
Reston has dozens of restaurants. Everyone’s got a favorite for one reason or another — they love the food, or the atmosphere or the service or the location.
But which Reston spot fits the bill on all of the above?
We have six finalists that Reston Now readers nominated for Best Overall Restaurant in our Best Reston Business Awards.
Based on the nominees, Best Overall doesn’t necessarily mean most expensive or highest profile. Just simply the best overall. So cast your vote and help your favorite win the title.
