Regular Board Meeting – President Mulston called to order the regular Board of Directors (Board) meeting of the Reston Citizens Association (RCA) on May 31, 2022 at 7:31 pm via Zoom Call.
Attendees were: Lynne Mulston, President; Gary Maupin, Vice-President; Shawn Endsley, Secretary; Scott Arwood; Vincent Dory; Connie Hartke; Dennis Hays and Yavuz Inanli. Director Jan DeLucian, Director Brian Steiner and Treasurer Joe Leighton were absent. President Mulston determined that a quorum of 8 of 11 members was present at 7:31 pm and the meeting could proceed. There were no guests.
Adoption of Agenda – President Mulston asked for adoption of the agenda. Upon motion made by Secretary Endsley, and seconded by Vice-President Maupin, the Board unanimously approved the proposed agenda.
Approval of Minutes – President Mulston asked for approval of the minutes of the April 26, 2022 Board meeting. Upon motion made by Director Hays, and seconded by Director Hartke, the Board unanimously approved the April 26, 2022 minutes.
Approval of Treasurer’s Report – President Mulston then asked for approval of the Treasurer’s Report. Upon motion made by Secretary Endsley, and seconded by Director Hays, the Board approved the Treasurer’s Report with 7 Ayes and 1 Abstention (Director Hartke).
Reston Comprehensive Plan (RCP) Task Force Updates – President Mulston, Vice-President Maupin and Director Hays are members of the RCP Task Force. President Mulston indicated the RCP is being reviewed by Fairfax County Supervisor Alcorn (Supervisor Alcorn) with various groups within the community. In addition, Fairfax County (County) Staff is conducting their review and providing their edits and changes. President Mulston spoke to the Land Use chapter and noted that a dashboard had been created to track the issues and changes proposed by the County staff. President Mulston then asked Vice-President Maupin to provide his update.
Vice-President Maupin indicated the County Staff has been cooperative in their review of the Transportation Chapter where there have been disagreements. Vice-President Maupin noted that there has been pushback from the County Staff on other chapters of the RCP.
Director Hays then provided his input on the RCP. Director Hays noted that County Staff in some instances is revising elements of the RCP from scratch despite County Staff’s attendance at the numerous RCP meetings. He indicated that County Staff should be making edits and suggestions to the current draft RCP.
President Mulston indicated that the final authority on the RCP is Supervisor Alcorn with input from Planning Commissioner John Carter.
Director Inanli indicated that the Board should be given the opportunity to review the draft RCP and provide input on that draft. President Mulston proposed the following process for Board review:
- June 1st – June 7th – Review of the draft RCP by members of the Board with input provided to President Mulston on edits, comments and changes. (It is understood that not every chapter would be reviewed by all members of the Board.)
- June 10th – President Mulston would compile the edits, comments and changes in a draft memorandum that would be reviewed by the Board. This memorandum would be similar to the input provided by the Sierra Club Great Falls Group on May 24, 2022.
- Subsequent to June 10th – Decision on whether a special Board meeting should be held to review the draft memorandum prior to submission to the RCP Task Force.
The Board agreed that this approach to review of the RCP was reasonable and should proceed as proposed.
President Mulston, Vice-President Maupin and Director Hays will continue to participate on the RCP Task Force.
On June 1, 2022 President Mulston provided members of the Board a draft of the RCP and a copy of the position statement of the Sierra Club Great Falls Group.
Reston Civic Center (aka Reston Town Center North) Unsolicited Proposal – President Mulston asked Director Hays to update the Board on the recent unsolicited proposal for the Reston Civic Center area formerly known as Reston Town Center North (RTCN). The County received an unsolicited proposal from Foulger-Pratt for development of this area on April 1, 2022. The County then issued a call for other proposals with a deadline of May 16, 2022. Supervisor Alcorn has established a Reston Town Center North Public Facilities Community Task Force (RTCN Task Force) to be chaired by Katherine Hanley, former Chair of the County Board of Supervisors. The RTCN Task Force is to include members from the 4 communities bordering RTCN. Director Hays in his personal capacity is writing County Staff on their compliance with Virginia law regarding transparency in the handling of this proposal.
President Mulston noted that RTCN is part of the Land Use chapter of the RCP and that information on this proposal was not provided to members of the RCP Task Force that developed the Land Use chapter. President Mulston indicated that was disconcerting given Supervisor Alcorn’s participation in the RCP Task Force and knowledge of the RTCN proposal. How the development of RTCN proceeds will be an area of Board interest.
Fannie Mae Rezoning – President Mulston reported that she presented testimony to the Planning Commission on April 27, 2022 as discussed at the April 26, 2022 Board meeting. President Mulston indicated that there were 7 interested parties that provided testimony. She indicated that changes were being made to the proposal and that this was an excellent example of Wheelock, McGuire Woods and the interested parties working together to resolve outstanding issues. It is expected that the proposal would be approved by the Planning Commission at its June 3, 2022 meeting.
Golf Courses Update – Reston National Golf Course (RNGC) – President Mulston asked Director Hartke to provide an update on RNGC. Director Hartke noted that the developers (through Gregg Hamm) are planning on a number of community meetings to push their agenda. It is clear that the developers are trying to create a north/south Reston divide within the community to help establish their development agenda. Rescue Reston is planning a campaign to counter the developers’ presentations with community facts.
Hidden Creek Golf Course (HCGC) – President Mulston reported no new developments with respect to HCGC.
Reston Association (RA) Updates – President Mulston provided an update on RA matters. Tim Dowling, a member of the RA Board, resigned in April and the RA Board selected John Farrell as his replacement. On May 31, 2022 Caren Anton, a member of the RA Board, also resigned. The RA Board has issued a call for candidates with a deadline of 9:00 am on June 10, 2022.
President Mulston also noted that the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) search continues. Larry Butler also continues as acting CEO until a replacement CEO is selected.
Lake Anne Village Center – President Mulston asked Director Dory to update the Board on Lake Anne Village Center matters. Director Dory requested an executive session to discuss personnel matters at Lake Anne Village Center. The Board concurred and entered into executive session. At the conclusion of Director Dory’s comments, the Board exited executive session and resumed the normal Board meeting.
Other Business – President Mulston noted that she, Vice-President Maupin and Secretary Endsley attended the Fairfax County Federation of Citizens Association (FCFCA) Zoom call to hear from Fairfax County Police Department (FCPD) officers. Robert Blakely, Deputy Chief of Operations, replaced FCPD Chief Kevin Davis. Other officers attending were Captain Rex Pagerie, Commander of the Reston District, and Captain James Krause. These officers responded to questions provided by the Board and other FCFCA members. President Mulston asked whether the Board would be interested in hearing from Captain Pagerie, the Reston District Commander. The Board indicated its assent and President Mulston agreed to contact Captain Pagerie and arrange for a presentation to the Board.
President Mulston then asked Director Hays for his comments. Director Hays noted several items.
- The Reston Marathon was cancelled due to the shortage of police officers for support. This reflects the impact of 164 vacancies at FCPD noted by Deputy Chief Blakely.
- Director Hays noted the success of the Great Falls Citizens Association (GFCA) in obtaining a stop-work order for a Washington Gas pipeline installation project along Georgetown Pike after receiving complaints from GFCA. Director Hays noted that GFCA had noticed that the Washington Gas contractor was not digging on the Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) right-of-way but on the roadway’s paved surface.
- Director Hays noted that the Board of Supervisors was considering a proposal to increase water and sewage rates to pay for developer improvements as opposed to having the developer directly pay for those improvements as had been the case in the past. Director Hays noted the Board should be aware of this expected increase in water and sewage rates.
- Director Hays noted that a proposal was pending to increase the rates on the Dulles Toll Road to $6 starting in January under a proposal being considered by the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority (MWAA) Board. The additional revenue would be used to pay for construction of the $5.8 billion Silver Line Rail Project. MWAA took responsibility for overseeing construction of the Silver Line extension from Virginia. MWAA also assumed control of the Dulles Toll Road and was given the authority to raise tolls on the 14-mile stretch. (This information comes from a Washington Post article dated May 18, 2022.) Director Hays felt that this increase resulted from inefficiencies in construction of the Silver Line extension. Both Directors Dory and Inanli indicated the toll increases were justified.
Secretary Endsley noted that there are a significant number of developer projects in the pipeline including Reston Town Center North, the Golf Courses redevelopment, Fannie Mae Rezoning and Comstock North and South development. Developers usually use debt to finance their activities and current economic conditions are certainly less favorable with rising inflation, increased debt costs and supply side issues that could impact the realization of these developments. The Board needs to consider these issues as RCA presents its case in these various circumstances. President Mulston reiterated to the Board that RCA is not opposed to all development but works to ensure smart development in the context of Reston’s principles and past.
Closing – President Mulston indicated the next meeting of the Board would be a dinner meeting on June 30, 2022 at Hidden Creek Country Club starting at 6:30 pm. President Mulston then asked for a motion to adjourn the meeting at 9:11 pm. Upon motion made by Vice-President Maupin and seconded by Director Hays, the Board unanimously agreed to adjourn.
Items Subsequent to Board Meeting – As noted above, President Mulston provided the Board with a draft of the RCP along with the position paper of the Sierra Club Great Falls Group on June 1, 2022.
The resignation of Caren Anton from the RA Board, as noted above, was reported on June 1, 2022.