Third FCPS hiring event for furloughed workers — After two previous events to help furloughed federal employees, Fairfax County Public Schools will hold its third hiring event today from 5-7:30 p.m. at the FCPS Administration Center in Merrifield. [Tysons Reporter]
Senior movie day — The Reston Association’s “Meet Me at the Movies” will screen “Operation Finale” — a 2018 American historical drama — at 10 a.m. with free refreshments. Tickets are free for people age 55 and older. The monthly movie event is done in cooperation with the Bow-Tie Cinemas at Reston Town Center and is sponsored by Tall Oaks Assisted Living. [WebTrac]
Aslin moving to Alexandria — Herndon’s Aslin Beer Co. plans to open a production facility and a 3,500-square-foot tasting room in the city’s West End neighborhood. The beer company recently faced hurdles with design plans for a tasting room it wanted to open in Herndon. [Alexandria Living Magazine]
Lake Audubon’s dredging project is slated to start as soon as Feb. 1.
The Reston Association announced today (Jan. 18) that it plans to hire Lake Services, Inc. to dredge the accumulated sediment from the lake’s main coves. Dredging could begin as early as Feb. 1 with expected completion by the end of April.
The announcement came five months after residents were warned to avoid the lake after a harmful algae bloom was spotted. The bloom, called Microcystis, can produce toxins that are lethal for livestock, fish and people. Some of the toxins have been linked to liver cancer.
“Routine dredging is part of the association’s lakes maintenance program, which helps to extend the life of the lake,” the press release say. “As lakes age, they eventually fill in through sedimentation.”
Sedimentation occurs when materials such as soil from stream erosion, construction sites, road sand, leaves or other debris accumulate in the lake.
RA anticipates that the dredging will require removing 13,500 cubic yards of material, which will be placed in trucks and hauled to a disposal site in Loudoun County.
While the dredging is underway, locals can expect truck traffic to affect the Lake Audubon Pool’s parking lot, according to the press release.
The dredging operation staging area will be located at the Lake Audubon boat ramp. Dredging will not occur at the shoreline edge or within 5 feet of any dock structure, according to the press release.
Before dredging can begin, RA’s Board of Directors will need to approve the project contract with Lake Services, which is anticipated at the upcoming meeting next Thursday (Jan. 24).
Photo via Reston Association
Several government facilities around Fairfax County are closed today (Jan. 18) for Lee-Jackson Day and on Martin Luther King, Jr. Day this coming Monday (Jan. 21).
Fairfax County
Fairfax County’s courts are closed today and Monday.
Fairfax County’s government offices and libraries will be closed on MLK Day.
The county’s public schools will get off three hours early today and be closed on MLK Day.
The Fairfax Connector will run on a holiday weekday schedule MLK Day. A full list of routes running in the Reston area is available online.
Frying Pan Farm Park will remain open on MLK Day, while Colvin Run Mill Historic Site will be closed.
County trash and recycling collection will not have any changes to its schedule on MLK Day.
Reston
The Reston Association offices, including Central Facilities and the Nature House, will be closed on MLK Day.
Herndon
Town of Herndon government offices will be closed on MLK Day.
The Community Center will have altered hours from 6 a.m.-10 p.m. on MLK Day.
Metro, DMV and more
All Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) customer service centers will are closed today and Monday.
Metro will operate on a Saturday schedule, opening at 5 a.m. and close at 11:30 p.m. on MLK Day. Off-peak fares will be in effect all day, and parking will be free at all Metro-operated facilities. Meanwhile, Metrobus will run on a Saturday supplemental schedule with some late-night trips canceled on selected routes.
Speaking of closed offices, Reston Now will be on a break on MLK Day.
File photo
RA urges members to attend PRC meeting — In the latest Reston Today video, Reston Association’s Board President Andy Sigle urges RA members who are concerned about population density to attend a Jan. 23 meeting related to the county’s proposed amendment to the Planned Residential Community zoning ordinance. [YouTube]
Dense fog alert — This morning the National Weather Service issued a dense fog advisory until noon today for portions of the region, including Fairfax County. Drivers are encouraged to slow down, use their headlights and leave plenty of distance ahead of you. [National Weather Service]
“Superior Donuts” opens tonight — Reston Community Players’ production opens tonight at RCC Hunters Woods at 8 p.m. Tickets are $28. [Reston Community Center]
Ed-tech merger — Herndon-based Real Time Cases merged with Delray Beach, Fla.-based Elearis. The Herndon startup’s ideo-based business case studies paired up with the technology platform from Elearis for a new Herndon-based firm. [Washington Business Journal]
Photo via Marjorie Copson
Reston Association’s Design Review Board was skeptical about a proposal made during the meeting on Tuesday (Jan. 15) asking for deck boat design standards.
Watershed Specialist William Peterson presented two requests that resulted from the Lakes, Boats and Docks Working Group: addition of floating deck specifications in the DRB guidelines for docks and creation of DRB guidelines for deck boat construction.
Peterson asked the board to make a Reston Association standard for deck boats, which could information about appropriate float materials.
He noted that contractors make many of the deck boats on lakes around Reston, and without a standard, people can build a deck boat any way they want to. Use of inadequate materials can result in them falling apart.
Currently, the resolutions have deck boat guidelines for size, lights and motor size for deck boats, and the “Boat Guide” also has stipulations. “The ‘Boat Guide’ is not a standard. It is not required,” Peterson said.
“We’re talking about staff overload as it is and now we’re talking about a whole new design and review of deck boats?” W. Neal Roseberry, the board’s vice chair and architect member, said. “It doesn’t feel like it belongs in the design guidelines.”
Anna Donato, director of covenants administration, said that it may be possible for DRB to create standards without having to review any noncomplying deck boats. “I don’t think it’s something that would be thrown in the hands of the DRB in terms of governing moving forward.”
Donato and Roseberry both questioned whether or not noncompliance would fall under the Legal Committee instead.
“It feels difficult to have it go both ways — to use the authority of the DRB to set a standard and then to say we’re not going to regulate the standard,” Roseberry said. “I don’t think we should be setting the standard in the first place.”
If deck boats can only get regulated by DRB, Roseberry said he would be open to supporting the idea.
While the board was skeptical about creating a deck boat standard, the members signaled a willingness to update the dock guidelines.
Peterson also showed an example of the DRB dock guidelines, which included a picture of a nonfloating dock, and photos of different ways to permanently attach floating docks. The Lakes, Boats and Docks Working Group has disagreed about what “permanently attached” means.
“Some people think a bungee cord or a rope constitutes permanently attached,” he said. “Others think it needs to be more permanent like a hinged structure.”
Peterson also asked for the removal of a sentence in the guidelines that directs readers to RA’s Park and Recreation Department guidelines, which do not exist.
Clarification of “permanently attached” could include language saying that pilings or a hinge system are sufficient for attachment. Peterson said that he plans to come back to the DRB at a later date with a draft with updated language.
“Improving the guidelines for stationary docks with all of the different ones you showed makes sense,” Richard Newlon, the board’s chairman, said to Peterson. “I don’t think that the DRB wants to get into things that move.”
Images via Reston Association/YouTube
Reston Association’s Design Review Board approved minor changes to the size and number of windows for previously approved architectural designs for the Tall Oaks Village Center redevelopment on Tuesday night.
The redevelopment plans to transform the village center (12022 North Shore Drive) into a mostly residential neighborhood by adding 156 residential units, which include 42 two-over-two multi-family units, 44 single units and 70 multi-family units in two residential buildings. Nearly 8,500 square feet of retail and 5,800 square feet of office space are also slated for the site.
On Dec. 19. Stanley Martin Homes officially purchased the residential portion of the property from Jefferson Apartment Group. Currently, Stanley Martin is completing the site plan and brought “small changes” to abide by the county’s zoning to the Design Review Board.
Richard Newlon, the board’s chairman, said he was concerned about replacing some of the larger windows with smaller ones. “It’s not going to have the same architectural drama we thought we were getting before,” he said. “We’re always looking for good design and stuff that is a little bit different and a little bit progressive.”
Ultimately, the board approved the changes.
During the nearly three-hour-long meeting on Jan. 15, the Design Review Board also approved stream restoration with a year-long timeline for the Colvin Run Stream.
Tree clearing is set to begin for the stream restoration on Feb. 4, with an estimated completion of the work sometime in the summer. Planting will then follow in the fall.
The board also OK’d playground equipment and signs at the Primrose School of Reston (1309 N. Village Road).
An affected party — who did not show up to the meeting — had previously raised a concern about the size and color of a red plastic fire truck in the school’s playground.
“Reston is pretty much known for the lack of vibrant color in all of its playgrounds. It’s always supposed to be natural looks — greens and browns,” Newlon said. “I personally have never seen a green or brown fire engine.”
W. Neal Roseberry, the board’s vice chair and architect member, was the only member to vote against approving the playground equipment’s appearance.
Images via Reston Association/YouTube
(Updated at 9:30 a.m. on Jan. 14) The Reston Association is honoring the memory of David Bobzien, a former president of the RA who succumbed to cancer in December.
“David was a great steward of Reston,” RA President Andy Sigle said in the homeowners’ association’s newsletter sent today (Jan. 11).
Sigle highlighted Bobzien’s service to the Reston community. “Much of his time was spent volunteering, be it for his church, Reston Runners, the Reston Triathlon or for the legal community in Virginia,” Sigle said. “His time on the RA board really showed what a professional David was and that whatever he chose to pursue he did it passionately and diligently.”
After serving as a captain in the U.S. Army Judge Advocate General’s Corps at Fort Meade, Md. for four years, Bobzien became an associate with Fitzgerald and Smith in Fairfax, Va. He then served as assistant counsel in the Department of Justice’s Office of Professional Responsibility from 1979 until 1992.
He was the president of the Virginia State Bar from 2004 to 2005 — the first local government attorney to serve in that capacity. He was also a past president of the Local Government Attorneys of Virginia, Lawyers Helping Lawyers, the Virginia Law Foundation and the Fairfax Law Foundation.
He also served as a Virginia State Bar Delegate to the American Bar Association’s House of Delegates, on the ABA Commission on Domestic and Sexual Violence and as chairman of the Virginia Law Foundation’s Virginia CLE Committee.
In June of 2016, he retired after 23 years as the county attorney for Fairfax.
Bobzien was first elected to serve a three-year term as the RA apartment owners’ representative in 2017 before accepting the role as president. In May last year, he resigned from his position as RA president after revealing he has recently been diagnosed with cancer.
“My hope is to get through this so that I can continue to enjoy the people and pathways that [my wife] Cathy and I fell in love with when we moved to Reston in 1975,” Bobzien said at the time of his resignation, the newsletter wrote, adding that he publicly revealed the nature of his illness so that he might help others in similar situations.
Bobzien died at the age of 72 on Dec. 30 at The Johns Hopkins Hospital after battling leukemia, according to his obituary.
He is survived by his wife, two sons, a daughter-in-law, three grandsons, a granddaughter, a sister-in-law, niece and four nephews.
A memorial mass will be held on Friday, Feb. 8, at St. John Neumann Catholic Community (11900 Lawyers Road). The family will receive friends at the church from 10 a.m. to 11 a.m. prior to the mass and reception in the church hall. Interment at Arlington National Cemetery will happen at a later date.
In lieu of flowers, the family asks that donations be made in Bobzien’s name to either the Fairfax Law Foundation or the Virginia Law Foundation.
RA Chief Executive Officer Hank Lynch said the association will contact family members to discuss ways to honor and recognize Bobzien’s service to Reston.
Photo via Reston Association
This story has been updated
The Fairfax County Planning Commission will hold a workshop tonight on a proposed zoning amendment opposed by several local groups.
The proposal would increase the maximum allowed population per acre in the Planned Residential Community (PRC) district — Reston’s primary zoning district — from 13 persons up to 15.
While county planning officials say the change is needed to put into action Reston’s Master Plan, which allows for future growth over the next 40 years, critics argue it is rushed through and under-explained. Several opponents reaffirmed since the New Year why they think the proposal should get axed.
Reston Association’s Board of Directors, which opposes the proposal, held their own workshop last week on Jan. 2 where the board considered various options to try and prevent the county from passing the amendment. The RA does not have legal jurisdiction in the matter, yet the board voted to send a letter to tell the county that RA membership, which includes 21,000 residential units, need a prominent voice in the decision.
Less than a week later on Tuesday (Jan. 8) RA President Andy Sigle, on behalf of the Board of Directors, sent a letter to the Fairfax County Planning Commission, reiterating RA’s opposition to the proposed PRC zoning amendment. The letter outlined initiatives the association could take to potentially stop the adoption of the amendment and strongly urged the commission to ask the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors to not approve the amendment.
“As we have often stated, our primary basis for our opposition stems from the repeated failure of Fairfax County’s staff to provide a thorough and convincing explanation of the need for the proposed ordinance amendment at this time,” Sigle wrote in the letter.
RA’s position is that any potential change to the density cap must be done concurrently with the next upcoming review of the Reston Master Plan. Sigle said the Reston Association “has no choice but to vigorously pursue any and all options available to us to inform and engage its members, including, but not limited to, a ballot initiative adjunct to its upcoming elections as well as a strong and substantial social media campaign about the proposed PRC zoning amendment.”
Reston 2020 wrote in a post on Monday (Jan. 7) that Reston would get crowded if the proposal is approved. “At the same time, the county has not funded plans to meet Reston’s transportation, school, park and other needs associated with this growth, even as required by its own county policies,” the post says, adding that the “massive unplanned imbalance between growth and infrastructure will be a dramatic loss of quality of life in Reston.”
Also on the same day, Coalition for a Planned Reston encouraged locals to write to the Board of Supervisors and Planning Commission and also to wear yellow clothing to the upcoming Planning Commission public hearing scheduled for Jan. 23.
Dennis K. Hays, the president of the Reston Citizens Association, outlined 10 reasons to leave the cap alone in a letter to the editor posted on Reston Now last week. (Letters to the editor do not reflect the opinions of Reston Now.)
Amid the many concerned voices, the proposal has still found supporters.
On Jan. 2, 17 people, including Greater Reston Chamber of Commerce President and CEO Mark Ingrao and Reston Master Plan Study Task Force Chair Patricia Nicoson, sent a six-page letter to Hunter Mill District Supervisor Cathy Hudgins supporting the Reston PRC District Residential Density Zoning Ordinance Amendment.
They wrote the following in the letter:
The intent of this letter is not to prejudge or determine what if any changes may be appropriate to address specific issues discussed in the extensive community meetings the county pursued in recent months. But we think it [is] important that there be greater understanding and appreciation for what is actually contained in the Comprehensive Plan and the rationales that underlie those decisions. We all appreciate that growth is not universally accepted and is not without challenge, but the decision to embrace very significant growth, with an accompanying process and plan for necessary infrastructure development, was incorporated into the Reston Comprehensive Plan as the result of an extensive and participatory community process that had the widespread support of community representatives intimately engaged in that process…
Reducing or disincentivizing residential growth is at odds with the comprehensive vision the Task Force so powerfully (and almost unanimously) endorsed. These issues were exhaustively discussed throughout an arduous, inclusive, five-year Task Force and Village Center process; revisiting and endlessly debating these issues will create uncertainty about the Plan’s stability and risks halting needed development or creating uneven or disjointed results, which we don’t think is in Reston’s interests. There will be numerous opportunities for community input as this process evolves over the next several decades, and individual projects will be subject to multiple approvals and community input before they can proceed. For all these reasons, we support County Staff’s pending administrative recommendations, which we think are broadly consistent with implementation of the vision adopted in the Comprehensive Plan.
The letter included eight points “that are sometimes missing from the ongoing dialogue about staff’s proposals,” arguing that adding significant new residential development is central to the Task Force recommendations and essential to ensure balanced growth. The letter also said that build-out — along with “phased-in infrastructure” — of the plan will take decades and that the community’s ability to participate throughout that process is protected.
Hudgins has supported moving forward the zoning proposal’s consideration. Meanwhile, Dranesville District Supervisor John Foust and Braddock District Supervisor John Cook have expressed frustration about the process.
The Planning Commission workshop takes place tonight at 7:30 p.m. at the Board Auditorium of the Government Center at 12000 Government Center Parkway in Fairfax, Va. The workshop will be for the commissioners’ questions and discussion only and will not be an opportunity for public input.
People can watch it remotely via online streaming.
The Fairfax County Board of Supervisors’ public hearing is set for March 5. The Planning Commission must say “yea” or “nay” to the proposal by March 15, according to county rules.
File photo
Fine arts photography collection closes — The “La Lumiere DuBois VII” exhibit by Michael DuBois, who highlights his love of nature, closes today at the Reston Community Center Hunters Woods. [Reston Community Center]
Swearing-in ceremony — The Herndon’s mayor and Town Council will be sworn in tonight at 7 p.m. at the Herndon Municipal Center Lobby. [Herndon Connection]
Former county attorney and RA Board of Directors member died — David Bobzien, who was the Fairfax County attorney for 23 years and a member of the Reston Association Board of Directors, died on Dec. 30 at The Johns Hopkins Hospital after battling leukemia. A memorial mass will be held on Feb. 8. starting at 10 a.m. at St. John Neumann Catholic Community. [Adams-Green Funeral Homes and Crematory]
Reston loses conference due to government shutdown — The Institute of Navigation has decided to postpone the Cognizant Autonomous Systems for Safety Critical Applications Conference originally scheduled to take place Jan. 28-29 in Reston because of the partial federal government shutdown, which impacted some of the speakers and attendees. The conference has been rescheduled for Sept. 16-17 in Miami. [GPS World]
Photo via Matt Paulson/Instagram
Reston residents ages 55 and older now have an online resource created just for them.
The Reston Association launched a new page on its website yesterday (Jan. 7) that provides information on housing, transportation, recreation, home services and wellness.
The “Resources for Better Aging” webpage also lists more than 75 local organizations that offer different services around Reston that older residents might want to check out, including AARP Reston, Herndon Senior Center, Seniors-On-The-Go and Reston Runners.
The webpage can be found under the “Around Reston” section on the RA’s website.
RA’s 55+ Advisory Committee and the Reston for a Lifetime, a citizens’ group, initiated the webpage project. The committee, which advises the Board of Directors on how to enhance the welfare of RA members ages 55 and older, collaborates with the citizens’ group to encourage aging-in-place.
Photo via Reston Association
Do you know an avid volunteer? Nominations opened today (Jan. 4) for the Reston Association Volunteer Reston Service Awards.
Each year the awards recognize people, groups and community businesses who helped serve the community through various volunteer projects.
Nominees are not required to live in Reston, but must have volunteered for at least one year in Reston and contributed either 30 volunteer hours as an individual or 50 hours as a group during 2018, according to the guidelines.
Categories include the following:
- Youth Volunteer
- 55+ Volunteer
- Youth Group Volunteer
- Family Volunteer
- Group Volunteer Service
- Community Partner of the Year
- Committee and/or Work Group Volunteer of the Year
Locals have until 5 p.m. on Feb. 8 to submit nominations with a completed form, a narrative up to 400 words, a reference and supplemental materials. Submissions can be sent via email to [email protected] or by mail to 12001 Sunrise Valley Drive.
The 2018 award winners will be unveiled at a ceremony from 6:30 p.m. to 9 p.m. on April 18 at The Lake House (11450 Baron Cameron Avenue).
Photo via Reston Association
Candidates interested in running for one of the five spots in the Reston Association’s 2019 Board of Directors election can attend an informational session tomorrow.
The session for prospective candidates will be at RA’s headquarters (12001 Sunrise Valley Drive) at 7 p.m. on Thursday (Jan. 3).
The open seats in 2019 are the following:
- At-Large for a three-year term
- Apartment Owners for a one-year term
- Hunters Woods/Dogwood for a one-year term
- North Point seat for a three-year term
- Lake Anne/Tall Oaks seat for a three-year term
The one-year terms are due to prior mid-term resignations and the appointment of interim replacements in 2018.
Candidates must be RA members, and residents seeking a district seat must live in that district.
The Reston Association Elections Committee wants interested members to fill out a candidacy statement form and return it by 5 p.m. on Jan. 25. The committee will then validate candidates by the end of the month.
The month-long election begins on March 4, with the election results unveiled at the Annual Members’ Meeting in April.
File photo
This letter was submitted by Dennis K. Hays, the president of the Reston Citizens Association. It does not reflect the opinions of Reston Now. We publish article and opinion contributions of specific interest to the Reston community. Contributions may be edited for length or content.
Fairfax County has proposed to increase the population cap of the Reston Planned Residential Community district (PRC) from the long-standing 13 persons per acre (ppa) to as many as 15 persons per acre — which when combined with already approved projects would add an additional 30,000 people above our current population for the established, primarily residential areas of Reston. Please keep in mind this doesn’t include the areas around the Metro, where the county is on track to authorize building enough high rises to add an additional 80,000 residents.
Here are 10 reasons why the cap should be left alone. There undoubtedly are more.
1. If the ceiling (13) is shattered, there is no new ceiling: Fourteen or 15 today will be 16 tomorrow, 17 the day after and 20 down the road. The current 13 ppa has been in effect since Robert Simon created Reston. Does anyone believe the county will stop at 15?
2. The county bases its proposal on numbers that are rough estimates at best, gross misrepresentations at worst. The county has provided no established methodology that can be used to arrive at accurate numbers. The county promised to meet with the Coalition for a Planned Reston (CPR) and the Reston Association to agree on a methodology before any action would be taken. We’re still waiting.
3. There are thousands of dwelling units (what the county calls where we live) that have been approved but not yet built (1,400 at Spectrum alone). How will all these already authorized residences affect roads, schools, first responder services, and parks? The county counts them for cap purposes, but not for the provision of services.
4. The county doesn’t count people who live in affordable or workforce housing as part of the cap, despite CPR’s frequent complaints. These neighbors of ours have kids in school, drive to work, go to the library and play ball in the parks just like everyone else. So why are they second-class citizens in the county’s eyes?
5. Although the county is in a frenzied hurry to authorize new high-density construction, they are in no hurry to provide the needed infrastructure that should go along with it. Reston has received no funding from the county in its current transportation budget. There is no land for additional athletic fields or open space confirmed. The Master Plan calls for infrastructure to be phased in with development. County officials talk for hours about their “plans” for roads, schools, parks, etc. but when pressed they are forced to admit they have no funds, no identified land and no timetable for the required infrastructure.
6. Why the push to raise the cap now? Even using the county’s questionable numbers there aren’t any development proposals that take us over the 13 ppa limit. So what is the rush? Why not use this time to assess how we grow in phase with the services needed to support our neighborhoods?
7. Until five years ago the county had an official on the Planning staff dedicated to working on Reston proposals. This provided some coordination. They haven’t replaced that official. Now the county can’t say specifically where the development allowed by their increased cap will go, although it doesn’t take much to figure this out — initially it will go to build high rises in the Village Centers, take parking spaces away from the library and push again on St. Johns Wood and the other “hot spots” the county believes should be more urban. And by urban they mean you will only walk, bike or Metro to work, the grocery store, the movies, to see family and friends and everywhere else. And then they will come for the golf courses.
8. The Reston Master Plan was changed in significant ways after community representatives had signed off on what they believed to be the final version. Leaving that aside for the moment, the Virginia Code calls for Master Plans to be reviewed and updated at least every five years. The Master Plan for the Metro areas is up for review next month. The PRC portion must be updated no later than next year. Yet the county has taken no steps to begin the review process. Given all that has happened, isn’t it time to pause and take stock?
9. The more you dig into the county’s assertions, the shakier they become. The CPR and the Reston Association met with county officials in four sub-groups last summer. It became immediately apparent that a lot more information and data was needed to properly review and assess the issues surrounding the cap. We had agreement coming out of all four meetings that the additional information would be developed before any action on the cap was taken. CPR and RA asked over 30 specific questions. On Dec. 11 the county responded by sending a blizzard of paperwork — that restated what we had already been told but provided no new information. Why hasn’t the county met its commitment to answer these questions? Could it be that the answers would be more damning than not answering?
10. The county speaks often of the need for “community involvement” and the Master Plan lists community participation as the foundation stone on which all else rests. So why has the county refused to meaningfully engage with its citizens? We remain ready to work with the county to further the unique vision of Reston as a balanced, welcoming community that takes to heart our motto of “live, work, play.” Is that too much to ask?
If you agree that raising the cap is unneeded and counterproductive, please let our Fairfax County Supervisor ([email protected]), the other supervisors ([email protected]), the Planning Commission ([email protected]) and the Department of Planning and Zoning ([email protected]) know. We can make this a Happy New Year if we act together.
— Dennis K. Hays
Holiday movie time at the library — Christmas and Hanukkah might be over, but locals can still enjoy the Disney holiday movie “Frozen” starting at 10:30 a.m. today at the Herndon Fortnightly Library. [Herndon Fortnightly Library]
Dulles Toll Road hikes start next week — Starting Jan. 1, prices are scheduled to increase from $2.50 to $3.25 at the main toll plaza and from $1 to $1.50 on ramps, according to the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority. [Tysons Reporter]
Beware of burglaries — Fairfax County Police are reminding residents to lock their doors after a wave of burglaries hit the McLean, Reston and Fair Oaks Districts. [Tysons Reporter]
Vote for Reston, Herndon theatre — The Reston Community Players and NextStop Theatre Company have several nominations for the BroadwayWorld Washington, D.C. Awards, including “Best Actor ina Community Theatre Production.” Voters have until Dec. 31 to pick the winners. [BroadwayWorld]
Last day to apply for the Northern Virginia Fine Arts Festival 2019 — Applicants can submit up to two applications by midnight tonight consisting of “original, well-conceived and expertly executed” works made within the last five years for the festival, which will be held in Reston. Art categories include ceramics, digital & multimedia art, furniture and more. The late fee is $60. [Zapplication]
Take one last splash in the pool at Reston Community Center’s Terry L. Smith Aquatics Center before it closes for renovations.
Built in 1979, the Terry L. Smith Aquatics Center will undergo a more than $5 million renovation starting on Jan. 2.
The pool area is expected to reopen in October, featuring an expanded lap pool with a zero-depth entry and water play area and another pool for warm-water therapy, exercise and teaching.
During the construction period, Reston patrons can receive discounted rates, which are offered through RCCs’ partnership with the YMCA Fairfax County Reston, Reston Association and Herndon Community Center. Patrons can pick up a “Construction Pass” at RCC’s Customer Service desks to take to the partner locations and get special rates.
“The Last Splash Aquatics Renovation Party” is set for Friday (Dec. 28) from noon to 9:00 p.m. Admission is $1. The pool party will include open swimming with games and races, music, a farewell gift and a graffiti wall for locals to pen their pool goodbyes.
Rendering via Reston Community Center
