Board Meeting – On August 27, 2024, President Mulston called to order the meeting of the Board of Directors (Board) of Reston Citizens Association (RCA) at 7:30 pm. This was an in-person meeting at Hartke Building, 11890 Sunrise Valley Dr., Reston.
Board Member attendees: Lynne Mulston, President; Shawn Endsley Vice President; Joe Leighton, Treasurer; Michele Silver Secretary; Connie Hartke; Jerry Volloy; Gary Maupin, Rich Hoffmann, Dennis Hays (arrived at 7:35pm), J Orisha (joined via Zoom approximately 7:45pm) and guest Sophia Lundgren.
Stephanie Oliver was absent.
Other attendees included: Sophia Jungenberg special committee member working with Reston Strong; and Sammie Parrish, a former and now new resident of Reston, who came to observe the meeting and learn more about Reston since she moved away.
Given a quorum of members were in attendance, President Mulston determined the meeting could proceed.
Adoption of Agenda – President Mulston asked for adoption of the agenda. Upon motion made by Treasurer Leighton, and seconded by Director Volloy, the Board unanimously approved the proposed agenda.
Approval of Minutes – President Mulston asked for adoption of the July 23 Board meeting minutes. Director Maupin made the motion, which was seconded by Director Hoffmann. Secretary Silver acknowledged that the file name of the July minutes sent to the Board for approval had the incorrect date, which Secretary Silver updated in real-time. As amended, the Board approved the minutes.
Approval of Treasurer’s Report – President Mulston asked for adoption of the Treasurer’s report. Director Maupin made the motion, which was seconded by Secretary Silver. The Board unanimously approved the report.
Wiehle Ave Study Update – Director Hoffmann remarked that Fairfax County staff met with their consultant and are reviewing public comments, charting a path forward, and working on a preferred option. Director Hoffmann added that a public meeting will be scheduled in the Fall. Director Hoffmann also opined that he thinks that many metro/bus commuters were not aware of the study.
Director Hoffmann said Commissioner John Carter has his own ideas and Gary mentioned it was discussed in the July Fairfax County Planning Commissioners meeting. Commissioner Carter, with Director Maupin’s assistance, will develop a list of short-term action items. Director Maupin also noted that on August 23, he and Director Hoffmann met with Commissioner Carter, who is supportive of these efforts, and suggested that meetings need to occur with Supervisor Alcorn.
Director Hoffmann said the idea of round-abouts/circles at Sunrise Valley has been eliminated and that County staff want to remove several lanes of traffic and make it more pedestrian-friendly. The next opportunity to obtain more public comments will be in the fall.
President Mulston said we should make recommendations to County staff to advise commuters. Director Hoffmann said he would reach out to County staff on behalf of RCA.
There was a pause in the meeting so that President Mulston could introduce a guest, Sammie Parrish, who once lived in Reston and has recently moved back. President Mulston invited her to attend to learn more about the RCA.
Fannie Mae Update
President Mulston and Director Hartke met with representatives of Wheelock, the owner of the Fannie Mae property and the Hidden Creek Golf Course. There are some action items that need to be moved along.
Secretary Silver provided a brief history of what is occurring at the Fannie Mae property. In summary, the Fannie Mae property was originally zoned for Commercial use only and after several failed attempts to get the property rezoned to Residential, the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors (BoS) approved Wheelock’s application in September 2023. As such, demolition started in July 2024.
Secretary Silver indicated that Wheelock has allegedly violated two of the application proffers. Wheelock’s contractor, Hazel Land, removed part of the barrier fence adjacent to the Ivy Oaks Cluster and chopped down many mature trees that were in the “save” zone. Vice President Endsley asked if RCA could get the name of the County Arborist, to which Director Hartke said she would take the action item to find out.
As the Director representing the Tall Oaks/Reston Town Center/Lake area, Secretary Silver said she sent e-mails to Fairfax County staff, to include Mark Goldberg-Foss, the land use staff member of Supervisor Alcorn. Supervisor Alcorn’s staff member acknowledged the email and said they would do an investigation. President Mulston and Secretary Silver agreed that a follow up email to check on the status of the investigation should be sent after Labor Day.
Director Maupin asked if RCA could write a memo to the County about the proffer violations to which President Mulston said yes, once we have more information.
RCA Newsletter – President Mulston thanked Director Orisha for laying out the August newsletter and the Board’s quick review. Director Orisha asked if Board members would be willing to write a short article on a topic to include in some of the newsletter to improve the readability and provide more of a “personal” touch. Director Hartke commented that RCA should provide input to the Reston Patch as well.
Secretary Silver suggested using Board member quotations in the newsletter and maybe having a short “member of the month” highlight. Director Orisha volunteered to do the first one next month. She also offered to write an article on Reston Strong and will send to Secretary Silver for inclusion in the final version of the minutes.
Data Center Zoning Ordinance Amendment (ZOA)
President Mulston stated that Director Oliver will serve as the RCA point person for the Data Center ZOA effort. The next BoS meeting to discuss this topic is Sept 10, and RCA has an opportunity to speak again before the BoS. President Mulston will ask Director Oliver if she is willing to speak.
There was discussion of how far away data centers had to be from a Transit Station Area (TSA). There was question of whether it was a half a mile. President Mulston stated Data Centers have to be located one mile outside of TSA and added that Data Centers are not allowed in a PRC. Moreover, the closer you get to a residential area, the lower the height of the data center has to be.
Vice President Endsley noted that Data Centers have a significant impact on electricity and water. When there is a drought, who gets the water first? Data centers or residents? President Mulston said for every data center going up, the citizens need to have an opportunity to speak up. Vice President Endsley said Reston doesn’t have the space to build the data centers like the ones being built out in Loudoun and other western counties. Director Maupin noted that a recent newsletter from the Chairman of the Fairfax County BoS discusses Data Centers and that the Chairman wants to regulate/control how many are built in Fairfax so it doesn’t become a problem like other counties.
No Casino Coalition Update – President Mulston reiterated two important upcoming meetings:
- Sept 18 at 7pm: Leaders of County organizations – the No Casino Coalition is hosting a webinar where they will share key lessons learned and focus on education so that the Leaders (e.g., Presidents of PTAs, Presidents of HOAs, etc.) may go back and pass the word/educate to their residents to oppose a Casino in Fairfax County.
- October 27 at 3pm at McLean High School: Community Outreach – Supervisor Alcorn plans to attend and hopefully other BoS Supervisors. Senator Jennifer Boysko is the keynote speaker.
President Mulston encouraged the Board to continue getting out the message for Fairfax County residents to sign the petition and attend the session in October.
Director Hoffmann asked if a Casino bill could move forward without a referendum? President Mulston said yes. Director Hartke said there is a risk that the Legislature could write a bill without having a referendum.
Director Hays took the action item to contact the President of the Fairfax Federation of Citizens Associations to see if they could help with the effort.
As a reminder, the No Casino Coalition consists of RCA, the Great Falls Citizens Association, the Vienna Town Council, the Greater Tysons Citizens Coalition, and the McLean Citizens Association.
Update on Reston Association Matters – Vice President Endsley, who is now on the Reston Association Fiscal Committee, provided a short update. Thus far, Vice President Endsley has been to three meetings. Highlights include:
- Forecast for the rest of 2024 does not have any unexpected or unusual expenses
- Capital Reserve Study, which Virgina mandates be done every five years, and went from 2024 to 2053. The estimated cost of component replacements for RA is $195.8M (e.g., replacement of pools). A new reserve study will be required in 2029.
- RA 2025 budget
- Public hearings on September 26 and October 24 with final budget approval planned for November 21
- Budget planning expects funds to be allocated to trails and pools
- Includes money for outside consultants to fight a Casino in Reston, if required
RTCN Update – Director Hays said the Reston Library renovations are going well and that library staff are expected to go back on September 8 with the hopes of opening back up the 16. He also stated that they have written to Supervisor Alcorn to meet with group doing the design work for the new library. Director Hays suggested that RCA may to talk with the design group on the services being offered at the new library, which was well received by the attendees.
Director Maupin said there is money in the Fairfax Count budget for the new library and is targeted to be complete in 2029.
Golf Course Updates – Connie/Lynne
President Mulston and Director Hartke noted that members at Hidden Creek Golf Club are not satisfied with the condition of the course and all amenities. There is speculation that the owners, Wheelock, may be doing this on purpose as they still want to develop on the property. Supervisor Alcorn has stated on the record that he will not open the Comprehensive Plan unless the community agrees with development.
Other Business:
- Director Hartke stated that someone responded to the last newsletter and made a general remark regarding the Meals Tax for Fairfax County. The Board agreed that Director Hartke should refer the individual to the latest article on the topic.
- Next Meeting – will be in person and Zoom at the Hartke Building at 7:30pm on Sept 24
- The following meeting is scheduled for October 22. President Mulston indicated she was trying to get Reston Association CEO Mac Cummins to attend either the September or October meeting.
Adjourn – President Mulston asked for a motion to end the meeting, made by Director Gary made, and seconded by Director Endsley. The meeting adjourned at approximately 9:03pm.
Action Items:
- Wiehle Study – Director Hoffmann said he would reach out to County staff on behalf of RCA to ask for them to target outreach to metro commuters.
- Fannie Mae – Director Hartke said she would take the action item to find out who the County Arborist was that was assigned. Director Hartke sent an email to Secretary Silver on August 29 noting the County Arborist was Madeline Evans. Complete
- Newsletter – Director Orisha volunteered write an article on Reston Strong and do a personal write-up for the next newsletter.
- RTCN – Director Hays took the action item to contact the President of the Fairfax Federation of Citizens Associations to see if they could help with opposing a casino.
Addendum: On September 17, 2024, RCA emailed Supervisor Alcorn expressing concern over two contradicting press reports pertaining to the Fairfax County budget and its current surplus.