A project that began as an idea to add a concrete floor to Reston Association’s Pony Barn Pavilion has morphed into a total remodeling of the park, including a playground accessible for people with disabilities, a tot lot, a paved pathway, a historical information kiosk, cooking grills and a deck to overlook a butterfly garden.

The makeover has also upped the price tag to about $350,000.

Reston Association’s Board of Directors unanimously approved the new concept at its meeting on Thursday. The RA Board allocated $30,000 for the project more than a year ago, but it has not made a commitment to paying the remainder of the costs.

Larry Butler, RA’s senior director of Parks, Recreation and Community Resources, pointed out that the board has “$175,000 for each of the next two years available in the capital budget.”

Whether to allocate the needed money will be discussed at upcoming 2016-17 budget hearings. There was also mention on Thursday of fundraising and partnership opportunities to be explored.

Butler said the $350,000 price tag is not out of line considering the North Hills Pavilion area cost about $250,000 to build in the early 1990s.

The Pony Barn area, once the site of an actual pony barn in Reston’s early days, is a small park at Triple Crown Road and Steeplechase Drive. It currently has a swing set, a grill, a small parking area, a grassy area and a picnic pavilion with a mulched floor.

RA asked members for ideas at a series of meetings in summer 2014, where the mention of a Memorial Garden of Reflection, endorsed by the Initiative for Public Art Reston (IPAR) caused some friction among citizens.

By late 2014, that idea was tabled, and a Pony Barn Working Group was formed. The group came up with the current proposal.

“We really value the parks,” said group member Renette Oklewicz. “Our primary goal is to refresh the parks and keep them part of the neighborhood and accessible to all Restonians.”

Oklewicz said the Pony Barn is really two parcels of land “that have been neglected.”

“Maybe we have earned some extra [money],” she said.

North Point Director Dannielle LaRosa questioned whether the working group had a prioritization list in case the entire funding amount does not come through. At-Large Director Ray Waddell said that the board should save money for what may a battle to fight development at Reston National Golf Course.

“This is a pretty big budget,” he said. “I am not saying it is not necessary, but I consider the golf course the biggest issue in this town. This is one example of competing for resources. The Pony Barn may be able to wait 6 or 12 months; the golf course cannot.”

RA will pay for an upcoming engineering study, said RA spokesman Mike Leone. The concept will also move on this fall to RA’s Design Review Board for discussion, changes and approval.

Spend a night at the movies watching some short films about the world around us.

Reston Association is hosting a Summer Shorts Environmental Film Festival on Aug. 7, 7 to 9 p.m., at Walker Nature Education Center, 11450 Glade Dr. Admission is free, but a $5 donation is suggested.

Here is what is on the screen:

Among Giants, a 2013 film about an activist who spends more than three years disrupting the clear-cutting of a redwood grove by sitting on a tiny platform a hundred feet up in the tree canopy.

Snows of the Nile, which explores the Earth’s only equatorial glaciers in Uganda’s Rwenzori Mountains. The glaciers have shrunk by more than 80 percent in the last century. The film follows Dr. Neil Losin and Dr. Nate Dappen, two scientists and photographers, on an ambitious expedition to re-capture historical glacier photographs.

An Opossum’s Tale, which looks at the survival of Virginia Opossum in the outskirts of Detroit.

Popcorn, soda and beer available for purchase. All proceeds benefit Friends of Reston.
Reservations are requested by Aug. 4. Email [email protected] or call 703-476-9689.

Photo: Still from Snows of the Nile/Credit: Days Edge Productions

Totally Trucks, one of Reston Association’s most popular summer events, returns on Aug. 7.

At Totally Trucks, RA lets kids climb on all the big construction equipment, as well as a fire truck, ambulance and other public safety vehicles.

Totally Trucks is 9:30 a.m. to noon on Aug. 7 at RA’s Central Services Facility (12250 Sunset Hills Rd). Admission is free and the event takes place rain or shine.

The fifth annual Reston Kids Triathlon is Sunday, and its organizers could use some volunteer help.

The event, sponsored by Reston Association and the YMCA Fairfax County Reston runs from 8 to 11 a.m. The swim portion is at Ridge Heights Pool. The bike race runs down Ridge Heights Road and Soapstone Drive. The run is on paths around South Lakes High School.

The event is intended to be a fun opportunity for youngsters to stay active through the summer and learn about the fast-growing sport of triathlon. All net proceeds from this event will be used for The Y and RA youth scholarship programs.

Volunteers receive a T-shirt and breakfast.

Some of the volunteer areas: Race set-up; food and water; course marshals; transition area; swim officials; and more. See the more details and sign up on the Reston Kids Tri website.

Reston Association brought in more than $12 million in membership assessments and paid out more than $8 million in salaries, other compensation and benefits in 2014.

These are some of the details made public in the association’s 2014 tax return.

The returns are made public and will be reviewed at Thursday’s monthly board of directors meeting as RA prepares for the upcoming budget cycle.

Among the details:

The association earned $15.8 million in program services revenue, slightly up from the previous year.

RA has $30.8 million in total assets, including property.

Top base salaries at RA were paid to CEO Cate Fulkerson ($180,000); Senior Director of Parks, Recreation and Community Resources Larry Butler ($129,076); CFO David Harirs ($116,846) and Director of Communications Kirsten Carr ($108,039). Harris and Carr both left the association in 2015.

The highest paid contractors were Chadwick Washington (legal): $430,683; KTL Solutions (IT): $233,808; Brittenford Systems (IT): $207,143; Odin, Feldman & Pittleman (legal) $139,731; and Millennium Pool Services: $205,853.

RA earned $15.8 million in program service revenue, including $12.8 million from memberships, $1.1 million from recreational programs, $1,064,546 from management and staff services and $711,467 from operating programs. RA’s investment income was $24,248.

RA’s total expenses were $14.8 million. Among them:

• Salaries: $6.5 million
• Grants: $27,772
• Payroll taxes: $541,404
• Legal fees: $645,448
• Accounting: $45,576
• Investment management fees: $18,129
• Advertising: $12,576
• Office expenses: $1,090,605
• IT: $118,179
• Occupancy: $825,736
• Travel: $136,638
• Insurance: $375,833
• Program supplies: $306,688
• Equipment: $593,884
• Bad debt: $85,000

(Update, Friday 2:30 p.m.) — Reston Association says the Lake Audubon water has been tested and it is now OK to go boating and paddleboarding.

A sanitary sewer pipe leaked into Lake Audubon on Monday. County water officials fixed the pipe Tuesday, but on Thursday RA told residents to stay off the lake until testing was finished.

RA removed temporary caution signs around the lake on Friday after test results showed no hazardous levels of bacteria in water.

Original story: Reston Association officials are asking residents to “restrict recreational activities” on Lake Audubon until further testing of the water can be done.

Earlier this week, a sanitary sewer pipe located between Wakerobin Lane and Cedar Cove Court was discovered to be draining into Lake Audubon. The pipe was fixed by Fairfax County Wastewater management on Tuesday.

Signs have been posted around the lake cautioning people to stay off.

“Until further assessments of water quality and potential clean-up are completed by the county, recreational use (boating and fishing) at the lake is restricted,” says RA. “As always, residents are being asked to abide by RA’s regulations that prohibit swimming in any of Reston’s four lakes.”

Meanwhile, a Cedar Cove resident reports the pipe is fixed, but the sewage smell “and a white film” remains in the creek leading to the lake.

Reston Association closed on its acquisition of the Tetra building on Thursday and will now move forward on refurbishing the building and its 3.47-acre property for community space.

Reston Association members in May approved the $2.65 million purchase via referendum. The referendum capped a busy few months of community discussion, debate and opposition to the purchase.

Opponents cited expense (the purchase price was nearly double the most recent tax assessment), borrowing money and whether Reston needed the additional space among the reasons not to purchase.

Reston Association maintained the acquisition — which gives the association 98 acres of contiguous space at Brown’s Chapel Park and Lake Newport Tennis — would stave off commercial development and offer an additional location for community and private events, as well as a park on the banks of Lake Newport.

“The Tetra Property purchase represents a historic moment for our association,” said RA President Ellen Graves. “It is the first time in RA’s history that property has been acquired to protect against over development, to enhance green space and to increase community and recreational use opportunities for members.”

RA CEO Cate Fulkerson says RA is eager “to begin site and building improvements and renovations so that the community can take advantage of this wonderful venue  for meetings, recreational programs and corporate/event rentals by spring 2016.”

Fulkerson said there will be no impact to the RA assessments until “2018 at the earliest.”

Some details of the deal:

Reston Association assumed a $2,650,000 term loan issued by Access National Bank secured by the assessment revenues collected by RA.

Seller Lake Newport, LLC placed $275,000 of the Purchase Price in escrow to be used by RA for improvements, renovations and repairs to the Property.

Lake Newport, LLC will lease back the Tetra building and 20 reserved parking spaces from RA from the July 23 settlement date through Dec. 31, 2015. The lease rate is $32 per square foot net of utilities and cleaning.

RA has also received $650,000 from Comstock as developer contributions from the deal to add BLVD apartments to the association. Comstock will also have 10-year naming rights to the building. That money will also go towards renovations.

RA will now narrow down ideas for the site’s use. The association is forming a working group to develop an initial the plan by December.

Members interested in joining the working group can download the application form at on Reston Association’s website or contact RA’s Board/Committee Liaison Sabrina Tadele at [email protected] or call 703-435-6570.

Reston Association staff will be collaborating Cresa Partners to oversee all aspects of the project including: exterior design and maintenance, developing interior space reconfiguration plans, managing the engagement designers, contractors, voice/data suppliers, furniture and other contracts.

Reston organizations appealing a recent decision about the future of Reston National Golf Course will have a day in court this fall.

Reston Association, Fairfax County and advocacy group Rescue Reston, all of whom are appealing the 2015 Board of Zoning Appeals (BZA) ruling on Reston National, will have a hearing on motions for summary judgment to reverse the decision in the Circuit Court of Fairfax County on Oct. 23.

The BZA ruled in April (following a January hearing) that golf course owner RN Golf Management would not need a zoning change in order to redevelop the 166-acre golf course from open and recreational space to residential.

That leaves open the possibility that residential development could occur at the course at Sunrise Valley Drive and Colts Neck Road. That would affect golfers, of course, but also hundreds of homeowners who purchased nearby because of golf course views and nearby open space.

“We’re very pleased that our evidence will be heard at the Circuit Court level,” said Rescue Reston’s Connie Hartke. “A few weeks ago, RN Golf’s attorney tried to get this dismissed, saying that Reston Association and the petitioners who live around the golf course had no standing.”

“It is time to step up and help financially so that we can send our strongest message ever to the investor-owner, Northwestern Mutual (NWM), that it is time to STOP.”

The future of the golf course has been a matter of community and legal discussion since summer 2012. That’s when Fairfax County’s Zoning, responding to an inquiry from RN Golf, told the golf course owners that the space is recreational and developing it would require a comprehensive plan amendment.

After several years of delays and continuances by RN Golf Management, the company’s appeal was finally heard in a six-hour hearing in January. There has never been a redevelopment plan filed or made public by the golf course owners.

In the BZA’a April decision, board member Paul Hammack’s motion that “we overrule the zoning administrator to the extent she says a comprehensive plan amendment is a precondition [to development]” was unanimously approved.

Rescue Reston board member David Burns said at that time that the BZA ignored the law and rights of thousands of people in Reston.

“We believe the BZA has ignored not only the law and the property rights of the thousands who own property adjacent to the golf course, ” he said. “But also the will of the more than 6,000 supporters of Rescue Reston, and the thousands more members of the Reston Association, who respect the Reston Master Plan and oppose development of the golf course.”

A January county staff report also upheld the 2012 ruling.

Reston Association’s Board voted in May to also appeal the BZA ruling.

“The decision reflects RA’s position that any redevelopment of PRC zoned land within Reston, including the Reston National Golf Course, must be reviewed and compared to the existing zoning development plans, and any proffers or conditions attached to the development plans,” RA said in a statement at the time. Read More

Update: 3:30 p.m. Tuesday – A permanent repair was completed Tuesday afternoon, Reston Association says.

Reston Association and Fairfax County Wastewater Management are working on a permanent fix for a leaky sewer pipe near Lake Audubon.

The sanitary sewer pipe located between Wakerobin Lane and Cedar Cove Court was discovered to be draining into Lake Audubon on Monday afternoon, RA spokesman Mike Leone said.

Fairfax County Wastewater Management was notified and dispatched workers to stop the leak. A temporary patch was placed by 7 p.m., and county personnel are expected to return to the site on Tuesday to determine how to permanently fix the pipe, RA says.

Testing of the water for bacteria levels will be done later this week, RA says. Residents are being asked to abide by RA’s regulations that prohibit swimming in any of Reston’s four lakes.

There is still a lot of summer left.

If you are not a Reston Association member and want to join the RA pools and tennis courts, season passes are now half price.

A pool membership gives you access to all 15 pools. A tennis membership gives you access to RA’s 52 courts, including kid-sized courts at North Shore and 28 lighted courts.

There are a wide variety of prices and memberships. Among them:

• Family Pool & Tennis: $315
• Family ZIP Code Pool & Tennis Pass: $265
• Family ZIP Code Pool Only: $197.50 (Zip code within Reston but not part of Reston Association. Proper documentation and in-person purchase required)
• Family Pool Only: $300
• Family Tennis Only: $180
• Couple Pool & Tennis: $272.50
• Couple Pool Only: $265
• Couple Tennis Only: $157.50
• Individual Pool & Tennis: $227.50
• Individual Pool Only: $185
• Individual Tennis Only: $127.50
• 10 and Under Tennis Pass: $35

Passes are available online or at RA Headquarters, 12001 Sunrise Valley Dr.

Reston Association’s purchase of the Tetra building is still on track for a summer closing — and could be in use as early as next spring, says RA CEO Cate Fulkerson.

RA members voted in a spring referendum to allow the association to purchase the former Reston Visitors Center, which is currently being used as office space for Tetra Partners commercial real estate.

After a often-contentious community discussion, RA voters approved, by a narrow margin, the association borrowing up to $2.7 million for the purchase. RA plans to repurpose and renovate the 3,128-square-foot building for community, meeting and event space.

Fulkerson said RA is finishing bank paperwork and hopes to announce a closing date soon. RA said in its contract it wanted a closing date of July 31, but would not take possession of the property until 2016.

“We are talking with a full service firm for exterior and interior renovations,” said Fulkerson. “”We are trying to see if there is a possibility of finishing renovations by mid- April. It would be a dream of mine to have [the April 2016] annual meeting in the facility.”

RA plans to borrow $2.7 million with an interest rate of 3.35 percent locked in for 10 years, at which time RA would most likely refinance.

Developer Comstock is contributing $650,000 to the project as part of a deal for adding its new residential building, BLVD, to the association. Comstock will also get naming rights to the building for up to 10 years.

A Tetra working group is also in the process of being formed, said Fulkerson. The group will formulate some potential uses for the building, which is set on the shores of Lake Newport, where RA also plans to add enhancements for a lakeside park.

RA projects more than $100,000 in annual revenue from special event rentals and after-camp care at the building.

The task force will be made up of one resident from each of RA’s districts (Lake Anne/Tall Oaks, Hunters Woods/Dogwood, South Lakes and North Point); three residents of the neighborhoods adjacent to the property; and a member from each of RA’s advisory committees.

Reston founder Bob Simon told the Reston Association Board last week that they should stop listening to residents who decry traffic, expense and other issues that get in the way of progress here.

“For the past several years, Reston has been run by the NIMBYs (“Not In My Backyard”),” Simon said, recalling issues such as a tennis facility at Lake Newport and the more recent bocce court proposed for a pocket park off of South Lakes Drive.

“This is why I am here — to strengthen your resolve, all the way up to the [Fairfax County] Board of Supervisors,” the 101-year-old founder told the RA Board at its regular meeting. “A lot of attention is paid to the naysayers. It is a bloody fact when an issue comes up, people in favor stay home and NIMBYS come out to holler. A good NIMBY knows first thing you holler is traffic. It takes sophisticated analysis to know whether it will affect traffic. But that is what they use to terrify the board.”

Simon recalled several proposals that he said would have benefitted the community, but which died due to community conflict.

“There were three proposals to cover RA tennis courts,” he said. “In each case, NIMBYS prevailed. There was a proposal for Barton Hill, where they were going to cover the tennis courts and then you climb up the hill to the houses. People brought forth a 13-year-old girl to testify who told us if we covered the tennis courts she would not dare go out of the house.”

Simon said if he had the responsibility of starting bocce here, I would “have had a budget of $127 for the bocce court and would have had two stakes and bunch of balls.”

Bocce was proposed and discussed in 2013 and 2014 and met with neighbor pushback. Neighbors close to Cabots Point, where the courts were planned and approved by the RA Board, said traffic, crowds and a possible increase in crime would happen. They also did not like the way the association and then-South Lakes Director Richard Chew went about notifying residents of the possibility of bocce.

“Bocce is a lot of fun,” said Simon. “Can you imagine the traffic that would be with two old gentlemen throwing balls on the ground?”

Ultimately, after nearly a year of discussion, the board voted to revoke its approval after it determined the cost estimates would be exponentially more than originally forecast.

“I beg of you, when the happens, no matter what there will be NIMBYs there telling don’t do it,” said Simon. “You listened on Bocce. Don’t do that again.”

Simon also spoke out on village centers. He encouraged the directors to look at the future of Reston as plazas surrounded by mixed use, rather than continuing to have strip centers serve as village centers.

The Reston Master Plan amendments recently put planning in place in the event developers want to make over the existing village centers. They will not need a comprehensive plan amendment to make changes.

Simon originally planned Reston’s village centers to resemble Lake Anne Village Center. But by the time the subsequent village center’s were built, Simon was no longer involved in the project and Hunters Woods, South Lakes, North Point and Tall Oaks were built in a more traditional, suburban manner.

Bob Simon/file photo

The Reston Association Board of Directors voted unanimously on Thursday to add Comstock’s BLVD residences to the association, potentially paving the way for other new buildings to become RA properties but at a different assessment structure.

Under the new model, the association will receive an initiation fee and/or proffers from developers.

Residents will not initially have to pay RA assessments. BLVD, which will begin leasing 540 units at Reston Station this fall, is built in Reston’s former industrial corridor and is not required to join RA. Also, it will have extensive on-site amenities, so residents should not require all of RA’s membership benefits.

Comstock has agreed to pay $300,000 of an expected $650,000 in proffers to RA as an association initiation fee. Comstock’s payment will go towards the refurbishment of the Tetra Building, which RA is in the process of purchasing for community space. Comstock will get naming rights to the building for 10 years.

BLVD will offer to residents optional RA recreational packages, which will give residents access to RA pools, tennis courts and camp priority, for $350 annually.

When and if the building goes condo, residents will pay 50 percent of the RA full-member assessment (currently $642 annually), according to RA and Comstock’s Memorandum of Understanding (MOU). Those members will still have to pay an additional fee for RA recreation access, RA CEO Cate Fulkerson said.

BLVD will not be under the guidelines of the RA Design Review Board. Its design guidelines were already approved by the county as part of the initial plans in 2010.

The upcoming Bozzuto residential building, which will have 421 units across Reston Station Boulevard from BLVD, will also likely be added to the association in the same manner, Fulkerson said.

Along with bringing new revenue into the association, adding former industrial corridor properties to RA will help create a more unified Reston, she added.

“With the Silver Line spurring new mixed use development in those areas, we believe it is important to bring the corridor properties into our organization to make one Reston,” said Reston Association CEO Cate Fulkerson. “More than anything, so that the people who are coming into our community have a sense of place, that they belong to all of Reston and are not separated or treated differently.”

The board also passed a motion to begin adding future corridor properties using a list of eight options recently adopted by RA.

Reston Association might have some new members soon: a couple of hives full of bees.

An RA member has asked for the RA Board’s OK on keeping bees on RA land near the Golf Course Island community gardens off North Shore Road.

RA will discuss the item at its June meeting on Thursday.

RA President Ellen Graves has introduced a motion that the board approve the bee hives and enter into a maintenance covenant agreement with Martha Lappin, the resident who has made the request.

The deal is subject to legal and Design Review Board approval, and there will be a three-hour emergency removal provision. There will also be a provision for a backup beekeeper should Lappin not be available if an emergency arises.

RA says there are already privately maintained hives at Hunters Woods and Golf Course Island gardens, as well as one near Lake Anne’s community garden.

Citizens have been interested in beekeeping in those areas because the declining population of bees has affected the health and survival of many native species of plants, shrubs and trees, Graves’ motion says. More bees mean more pollination of the shrubs and trees.

The existing hives, in place for a number of years, are on the Williams Pipeline Easement and were approved under older license agreements,” says RA.

There have been no reported incidents of bee stings or other problems related to the hives.

The new hives would be managed in coordination with a local Master Bee Keeper. Some safety rules would have to be followed. Among them:

Location: An adequate distance from people and common spaces (25-50 feet radius in all directions) is recommended for the beekeeper to safely open the hive for maintenance. The proposed location for the bee hives is about 400 feet south east of the Golf Course Island Garden Plots along North Shore Drive. The hives will not be visible from the road.

Sun exposure: Colonies should receive a minimum of eight hours of direct, south-facing solar exposure to support the bees’ innate ability to communicate direction and maintain overall mood and health.

Photo: Bee hive/Credit: ladele88 via Flckr.

Reston Association is considering new Design Review Board guidelines that will make it much tougher to remove a tree from your property.

Tree removal is just one area, but an extensive one, for the proposed DRB updates. See the entire list on RA’s website.

Among the tree rules under consideration: residents will no longer be able to say “excessive shade, establishing a lawn, and undesirable litter” are reasons for getting rid of a tree, RA says.

The DRB said it received feedback from RA staff, the Environmental Advisory Committee and RA members on the topic an is making changes in order to more clearly convey the DRB objective to protect and preserve Reston’s natural wooded areas and maturing landscape.

Among the other tree rule changes:

The height from the ground for trunk diameter measurement is changing from 4′ to 4.5′ to match industry standard.

Wording is being added requiring an application if the removal of smaller trees and understory vegetation will change the overall character of a natural wooded area.

Clear information on the expected treatment of stumps has been added (Stump Treatment).

Definitions of Tree Save or Save Tree Area, Natural Area, and Resource Protection Area (RPA)/Conservation Easement have been added.

Instructions to obtain documentation for dead trees, allowed non-tree vegetation removal and instructions on allowed pruning have been added to the No Application section.

A requirement for notification signatures has been added to all live tree removals (any size ornamental and 4″ or greater diameter for deciduous) with the allowance of staff level review for up to three trees.

The requirement of a certified arborist statement when photos do not clearly substantiate the reason for removal and that the statement must include the arborist’s certification number and reason for removal have been added.

A requirement that replacement trees must be maintained has been added so that owners know they must replace required replacement trees which die.

A requirement to obtain DRB approval for changes which alter the overall character of a natural wooded area has been added.

The application checklist has been edited to more fully represent all items necessary for submission of an application for tree removal.

The proposed changes for all categories will go before the RA Board for a vote later this summer.