Winter Weather Advisory In Effect — A Winter Weather Advisory is in effect for the area until noon today. Light, mixed precipitation is possible and snow accumulations of up to one inch are expected. [National Weather Service]

Reston Men Charged in Vehicle Pursuit — “An officer attempted to stop a 2007 Ford Focus for a traffic violation. The driver initially pulled over but then drove away, resulting in a pursuit. The driver, Chris Kpadeh, 20, of Reston, stopped down the road and was taken into custody. He was charged with reckless driving, speed to elude, and driving on a suspended license. A passenger, Mohamed Abdalla, 21, of Reston, was charged with two counts of possession of a concealed weapon and possessing a magazine for a firearm with the capacity of 20+ rounds.“ [Fairfax County Police Department]

No Snow Day Today — All county schools will take part in virtual learning today. Students will follow their regular Monday schedule for virtual instruction. [Fairfax County Public Schools]

Deadline for Reston Association Assessments Approaches — Members have until March 1 to pay their 2021 assessment. Installment plans are also available. [RA]

Photo via vantagehill/Flickr

Lake Audubon Pool, operated by Reston Association, is in the midst of renovations. The pool is undergoing re-plastering, the pump and filter are being replaced, and other plumbing is being fixed.

Work began in mid-January and is expected to be completed sometime between mid-April and early May. But weather could delay the project, cautions Mike Leone of Reston Association.

This week work on the Lake Audubon Pool capital project began. This project will involve a full removal (pictured) and re-plaster of the pool, as well as replacing the pool pump, filter, and associated plumbing in totality. The project will be completed by mid to late April. pic.twitter.com/AO40Nul3Ps

— Reston Association (@RestonOnline) January 22, 2021

This is all part of Reston Association’s regular maintenance plan and required for compliance under Fairfax County Health Department code. Plaster coatings have about an eight-to-ten- year service life, writes Leone in an email to Reston Now.

Another Reston Association pool, Lake Thoreau, is also expected to undergo renovations but a funding hang-up has caused delays. The Lake Thoreau Pool project could cost up to $3.5 million.

At this time, it remains unclear when Reston Association pools will open this summer. In 2020, four out of 15 pools opened in late June.

“RA does not have hard dates for the opening of any of our pools for the 2021 summer season,” wrote Leone. “We are planning to open as many facilities as we can this summer.”

As pool season inches closer, updates will be posted on the Reston Association website.

Photo courtesy of Reston Association

Fairfax County’s Zoning Ordinance Modernization Project (zMOD) remains a point of discussion among members of Reston’s community as the heft project moves forward.

The project, which was launched in 2017, is aimed at modernizing the county’s zoning ordinance that was established in 1978. It has been the subject of debate in recent months, but the project’s progress was authorized by the Fairfax County Board of Directors on Dec. 1 to be advertised for public hearings.

The board’s decision to move forward with the project in December was billed as an opportunity to “provide sufficient time to advertise” today’s 7:30 p.m. planning commission public hearing on zMOD and a public hearing with the county’s board of supervisors on March 9.

While the project has moved forward, it has come under scrutiny by various community members and organizations.

The Reston Association (RA) issued a letter to Hunter Mill district Supervisor Walter Alcorn in November wherein RA President Julie Bitzer outlined a number of concerns regarding zMOD. In Bitzer’s letter on behalf of RA, the listed concerns outlined issue with proposed changes for accessory living units (ALU), home-based businesses, parking, and traffic.

RA and Reston Citizens Association (RCA) have discussed those initial concerns and more over the last week. Each organization has taken umbrage with the zMOD proposal to remove a 55-and-over age requirement for ALUs due to a belief that the change will create a strain on the local infrastructure and population density.

Both organizations also have opposed proposed changes to home-based businesses due to concerns about traffic congestion and losing the character of single-family residential neighborhoods.

RCA adopted a set of resolutions to outline community concerns with the latest zMOD draft on Jan. 21 while RA held a special Board of Directors meeting to discuss a resolution on the project to be presented to the county. RCA offered a measure of support in its resolutions to defer a detailed review of these points for future study.

“RCA has carefully followed the progress of the county staff’s proposals in the zMOD project,” Reston Citizens Association president Dennis Hays said in a release. “We believe the staff has gone far beyond the intended purpose of zMOD, proposing far-reaching changes with little to no consideration as to the impact such changes would have on established communities.”

Among the primary concerns that RA and RCA have raised is the amount of time to suitably address the zMOD changes as a whole when there is not a sufficient redline version or chart to identify potential changes in the zoning ordinance. The current executive summary of the zMOD project was released Nov. 24 is 741 pages.

“Our goal is to slow this down and give us a bit more time to participate and drill down into some of the details,” Bitzer said during RA’s Board of Directors meeting.

Image courtesy Fairfax County

Comscore to Launch New Movie Measurement Solution — The Reston-based company is launching Comscore Movies Everywhere, a cross-screen measurement tool that allows companies to track box office movies performance across all platforms. [Comscore]

Investment Firm Invests in Reston Tech Startup — ‘New York City-based Tracker Capital Management LLC announced Monday that one of its affiliates has acquired a controlling interest in Reston-based tech startup Presage Security. Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed.’ [Virginia Business Monthly]

Reston Association Seeks to Fill Board Vacancies — The association is seeking to fill new vacancies on its Design Review Board. An application is available online. [Reston Today]

Photo via vantagehill/Flickr

Reston Association has finished construction on a new Polo Fields Bridge, which is located near Cross Country Lane and Stirrup Iron Lane.

The roughly $55,000 project was delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, underground utility obstruction and bad weather, according to RA.

Work on the project began in Jan. 2020 and the structure has a 50 year service span.

RA also recently updated its interactive capital project map, which offers additional information on the progress of projects.

For example, RA removing plaster from the inside of Lake Audubon pool and installing new plaster, tile and coping stones. The work is expected to produce noise and dust.

Photo via RA

A rare winter algae bloom that has both toxic and non-toxic forms has formed over Lake Thoreau.

Reston Association is advising caution after the bloom — known as Aphanizomenon flos-aquae – took over parts of the lake. The bloom is toxic if humans ingest it but dogs can become ill after ingesting or coming in contact with the algae.

The association has no immediate plans to treat the lake until water temperatures are in the upper 50s.

In the latest budget cycle, RA’s Board of Directors significantly increased its funding allotment by 86 percent for lake management and water treatment after major blooms — caused partially by ineffective or delayed water treatment — consumed Lake Thoreau over the summer.

Monthly treatment is expected to begin in the spring as part of RA’s new lake management strategy.

But winter blooms are more uncommon in Reston.

In a statement released today, RA noted that Reston typically does not have algae blooms in the winter because of colder temperatures. Water temperatures have hovered in the upper 30s and lakes have not completely frozen this season.

RA’s spokesman Mike Leone said that the organization has not yet determined the toxicity of the current bloom. He noted that certain species of cyanobacteria are referred to as toxic because they can harm people, pets and wildlife.

‘The current algae bloom has the potential to be toxic but it does not mean that it is toxic all the time. Given the potential though, RA encourages individuals and their pets to avoid contact with water where they see visible algae just to be safe,’ he wrote in a statement to Reston Now.

RA staff found that areas where the algae bloom was before have already been reduced.

Photo via RA

Fairfax County Teacher Arrested for Sexual Assaults of Student — “A Fairfax County Public Schools teacher is in custody for sexually assaulting a student more than twenty years ago. Detectives assigned to our Major Crimes Bureau Child Abuse Squad recently learned of the unlawful sexual contact and began an investigation. Last night, detectives arrested Marc Damon Cheatham, 51, of Woodbridge.“  [FCPD]

Repairs to Lake Anne Fountain Completed — Reston Association has completed repairs to Lake Anne Fountain at Lake Anne Plaza. Residents can expect to see the lights function on schedule. [RA]

CORE Foundation Celebrates 15 Years — “CORE Foundation in Reston, “Helping Others Be the Change for 15 Years,” held its MASKerade and Community Hero Awards Saturday evening, Jan. 16. Celebrating the nonprofit organization’s 15th anniversary, co-hosts Doug Bushée, founder and Chairman of the Board, and Taralyn Tharp Kohler, Executive Director, welcomed guests and honorees to the virtual event. “

Photo via vantagehill/Flickr

Friends of Reston, the nonprofit organization that supports Reston Association, has named a new executive director.

Kia Coles-Hines, a business engagement and sales manager for RA, will take over for Katie Shaw, RA’s Walker Nature Center manager who is leaving her position after 16 years.

Although Shaw will continue her position at the center, she said she is working with Shaw to ensure a smooth transition. Carol Nahorniak, president of FOR, said the organization is understandably disappointed about Shaw’s departure.

“At the same time, we are excited to be working with Kia, and very pleased that our new Executive Director has an equivalent perspective of Reston and the good works of FOR. With her strong ties to the community, she is a great match for this organization,” Nahorniak wrote in a statement.

Here’s what FOR said about Shaw and her work

Donors, partners, FOR’s founders, past and present board members are familiar with Shaw’s outstanding representation and administration of Friends of Reston over 16 years, which includes her instrumental work in the successful capital campaign to build Nature House, completed in 2009. In the past 2 years alone, Shaw has overseen approximately $200,000 in funding for projects such as camp and tennis scholarships for children, park improvements, habitat restoration, and tree planting. T

Cole-Hines previously worked with connecting businesses with sponsorship opportunities for RA events and special projects.

“I am extremely excited and honored to become Executive Director of Friends of Reston,” stated Cole-Hines. “As a native Restonian, this position will further allow me to have a hand in preserving and enhancing the community where I live, work, and play.”

Photo via Friends of Reston

Delayed since mid-December, the Reston Association’s project to inspect and repair Lakes Audubon, Anne, Newport, and Thoreau dams will finally get under way later this month.

In a statement posted to social media, Reston Association will start work on January 25 on the trash racks and riser structure in Lake Audubon. This requires lowering the lake on January 21 and 22, a foot and a half to two feet a day. That work is expected to take a week.

Then, on February 1, the organization will draw down the lake again, this time to a total of eight feet, to allow for a full inspection of the dam infrastructure. It will be drawn down no more than a foot a day, so this work could talk up to one and a half weeks.

Due to this, Lakes Anne, Newport, and Thoreau will also be lowered to prevent spillage.

Later that month, February 15, more dam inspections will be done. This is expected to take until February 24. Once finished, the lake will be allowed to refill naturally which could take up to a few months to happen.

Reston Association asks all residents to provide slack in their moor lines so that boats can lower safely with the water level. The lake bottom will be “deep mud” so do not attempt to walk on it, RA advises.

Every year, the Reston Association performs these inspections and repairs. They are a state requirement, Chris Schumaker, Director of Capital Projects, tells Reston Now via email.

The project was initially pushed due to “delays both in the fabrication and delivery of key materials for the Lake Audubon trash rack and valve replacements,” writes Shumaker.

Update on Lowering of Lake Audubon and Dam Inspections:
After a meeting with our contractor, we have an updated timeline for the upcoming inspections and work on the dams on RA lakes, which will include lowering Lake Audubon.

Full details in the image attached. ⬇️
(1/2) pic.twitter.com/1tjwuBT2c8

— Reston Association (@RestonOnline) January 12, 2021

Photo via Reston Association/Facebook

Reston Association is planning to refine its official position on Fairfax County’s Zoning Ordinance Modernization Project (zMOD), a major overhaul of the county’s zoning regulations.

The Board of Directors will meet on Jan. 21 at 6 p.m. to formalize a response to the project. The special meeting, which will take place virtually via Zoom, follows concern from the board about the project.

In a Nov. 25 letter, the board highlighted areas of concern to Hunter Mill District Supervisor Walter Alcorn.

Board President Julie Bitzer noted that the timing and approval of the project were of concern, especially since she said the public and other stakeholders did not have sufficient time to review and comment on the 741-page draft of the ordinance.

The letter also cited concerns about dropping some requirements surrounding home-based businesses that “will only create conflicts among neighbors regarding parking, access, and traffic.”

RA plans to submit a more detailed position to the Fairfax County Planning Commission ahead of a public hearing that’s set for Jan. 28.

Information on how to join the Zoom meeting is available online.

Image via handout/Fairfax County Government

Reston Association is honoring several employees for reaching career milestones and recognizing others as they leave the organization.

In a release from earlier today,  RA recognized mechanic Dale Wilson for 20 years of service with the association.

Lily Melgar, a financial services supervisor, Sandy Behrs, a senior administrative assistant, and Ashleigh Soloff, the events supervisor, were also recognized for reaching 25 years of service respectively.

Several RA staff are also leaving the organization, including Dave Schumaker who has been with RA for nearly seven years as a construction supervisor.

Bret Nelson, also a construction supervisor, is leaving as well. RA described him as “one the of the most skilled craftsmen to ever work for RA’s Central Service facility.”

Claudia Thompson-Deahl, RA’s senior advisor on environmental resources, has also left the organization. She was instrumental in getting Reston to be recognized as a Tree City and an international Biophilic City.

New Construction Acquired for $105 Million — “Snell Properties has acquired the new construction multifamily building at 11500 Commerce Park Drive in Reston from Lincoln Property Company for $105M. Now called, Russell at Reston Station the building features 260 apartments, a mix of 1 through 3 bedrooms with amenities including a pool, fitness center, and library.” [BLDUP]

Reston Association Seeks Members for Focus Group — The association is looking for members to take part in a website focus group as it gears up to launch a new website this year. [RA]

Dunkin’ Offers Coffee for Fairfax County Blood Donors — Dunkin’ of Washington, D.C. has come up with a sweet deal to encourage people to donate blood and platelets during National Blood Donor Month. The company is partnering with the American Red Cross National Capital & Greater Chesapeake Region to provide 10,000 coupons redeemable for 1 pound of Dunkin’ packaged ground coffee for all donors in the region.” [Reston Patch]

Photo by Marjorie Copson

The county is seeking to gauge the public’s support for pickleball, a new and rapidly expanding paddleball sport that combines elements of badminton, table tennis, and tennis.

The Fairfax County Park Authority has launched an online survey to gauge support for new pickleball activities. The survey is open through Jan. 24. County officials say they’ve received multiple requests to expand the number of pickleball facilities in its parks, recreation centers, and community centers.

The game was invented in 1965 by two dads in Washington who wanted to entertain their kids and use an old badminton court.

A feasibility study is underway on how to address the desire for the sport, identify sites for possible improvements or new facilities, and develop criteria and design guidance used for selecting and constructing pickleball amenities.

The parks at Stratton Woods and Stuart Road (12001 Lake Newport Road) have pickleball facilities. A map of other options available in the county is linked here. Reston Association’s tennis courts also offer some options for pickleball enthusiasts, who appear to be growing in number.

The county’s feasibility study will be completed by the spring of 2021. Currently, the county has 15 parks with either a tennis or basketball court lined for pickleball. Within these parks, there are 28 courts available to play the game.

Photo via Joan Azeka/Unsplash

With Christmas just around the corner, many government offices and services will be closed for the remainder of the week, as employees take Thursday and Friday off for the holiday.

Fairfax County government offices will officially close at noon on Thursday (Dec. 24), and they will be closed for the entirety of Christmas Day.

All county parks and recreation facilities, including golf courses and RECenters, will be closed on Christmas.

However, all RECenters will be open until noon on Christmas Eve, and other facility hours vary that day depending on the specific location.

Reston Association offices, including the Central Services Facility and the Nature House will be closed Wednesday through Friday. No RA news will be distributed on Friday.

Fairfax County libraries will close at 1 p.m. on Thursday for the holiday weekend.

The Town of Herndon is also implementing a new trash and recycling collection schedule through the beginning of the New Year. Government offices in the town will also run on an abridged schedule. Offices will close at noon on Thursday and remain closed on Friday and Jan. 1.

Fairfax County will not provide any trash and recycling collection services on Christmas Day. Customers who typically have their waste collected on Fridays will instead get service on Saturday (Dec. 26). In addition, the county’s recycling and disposal centers at the I-66 Transfer Station (4618 West Ox Rd.) and the I-95 Landfill Complex (9850 Furnace Rd.) will close at 1 p.m. on Dec. 24 and stay closed throughout Dec. 25.

For transit users, Fairfax Connector will operate on Christmas Day according to its Sunday service schedule. Information about specific routes can be found here.

With students on winter break since Monday (Dec. 21), Fairfax County Public Schools has put its meal distribution services on hold starting today through Jan. 1. Yesterday, FCPS offered four days of breakfast and lunch to students who picked up meals at bus stops, and students who used Grab & Go locations or meal kits sites received 14-day meal kits.

Bus route meal distributions will resume on Jan. 4, while distribution at Grab & Go locations and meal kits sites will return on Jan. 5 and 6, respectively.

Photo via Reston Farm Market website