Location: Reston Community Center
Attendees: C.J. Basik, Sridhar Ganesan, John Hanley, Diane Lewis, Colin Mills, Terry Maynard, Tammi Petrine, Gary Lee Thomas, Dick Rogers, Gary Walker.
Visitors: Rob Bonham, RCC Executive Director Leila Gordon, RCC and FCPA Board member Bill Bouie, RCC Board member Bill Penniman, Steve Canner and another citizen concerned with the elimination of the BC dog park were present.
Absent: Hank Blakely
Meeting Minutes
Call to Order: President Colin Mills called the meeting to order at 7:35 p.m. He reported on the Accessibility Committee’s recent successful outreach at the Reston Farm Market.
Agenda: The agenda was adopted as proposed.
April Meeting Minutes: The minutes were adopted as written.
Treasurer’s Report: Treasurer Diane Lewis provided the Treasurer’s Report for April which was approved as written. The ending balance for the Operating account was $348.50 and Restricted funds totaled $1,726.13.
Bus Report: Rob Bonham discussed the latest developments in bus service with the winter 2013 advent of the Silver Line. In a presentation to the Board of Supervisors on May 7, 2013, the County revised some of its proposed bus line changes. The 505 and 981 routes will be combined. Reston Town Center and Wiehle Avenue stops will feature 10 minute service intervals during peak periods.
2020 plans to come out with a new proposal in a few days. They are particularly concerned about the gaps between non-peak and peak service times. Copies will be forwarded to Cathy Hudgins and the entire BOS. Supervisor Hudgins has an open forum on June 3rd from 1 to 4 p.m., where this could be presented. The BOS meeting on June 4th will not feature public comment.
Technology Committee Report: Gary Walker reported that the RCA Patch blogs will be cross-posted on the RCA website. The 850 email sending of the newsletter had a “pop” or opening rate of around 33%, which is excellent. He pointed out the need for redundancy on the various technical tasks. GW will investigate whether it is better to start using Twitter or Facebook first.
RCA Finances: John Hanley proposed that Sridhar Ganesan head up an RCA Finance Committee. SG suggested that RCA hold a strategy session to brainstorm funding needs from blue sky ideas to concrete necessities. Clear goals and objectives and an action plan are needed. It was suggested that RCA start with the strategic plan that is already in place to determine already identified funding needs. Date and location for the strategic funding planning meeting will be determined later.
Official RCA Communications: A motion by C.J. Basik to create a disclaimer which Board members can use when speaking/writing for themselves passed unanimously. Colin Mills will compose and circulate a statement for review.
TechShop, NOVA Labs, Maker Fair: Gary Thomas plans to meet with Brian Jacoby of NOVA Labs and their event planner for the 2014 Maker Fair to hear their ideas and how they might link with RCA resources and goals.
RCC Facility Paper: A question from the audience about whether RCA will followup on the possible conflict of interest question for Mr. Bouie was answered in the negative by President Mills. Bill Penniman asked to speak and was given permission. He gave some background information on RCC’s plan. He stated that there is no commitment yet from the RCC Board on moving forward with the referendum. They will vote in their June meeting on whether to have staff budget for this plebescite.
Bill Bouie unequivocally stated that the dog park at Baron Cameron Park would not be eliminated. He was questioned about why the Hunter Mill District did not have its own Indoor Rec Center like every other district. He stated that need was not shown and that district citizens had not asked the Park Authority for one. Board member, Tammi Petrine stated that a requirement to lobby FCPA for a facility standard in every other district was insulting and defied common sense. Bouie cited the 20 million dollar Water Mine and the 1.4 million dollar Skate Park as major “gets” from the Park Authority for Reston. Tammi questioned the value of the Water Mine to the Reston community, given the presence of 20 other existing self-funded outdoor pools.
Leila Gordon brought up Reston’s ability to create partnerships, which is how the community has realized attributes that other communities envy. She said that towns like Fairfax, Falls Church, Herndon, and Vienna have all chosen to pay for facilities beyond what Fairfax County provides. She also questioned the need for 400 parking spaces that both Spring Hill and Oak Marr have at their Rec Centers.
Bill Bouie was asked how a district park such as Baron Cameron could be considered as the site of a Small Tax District 5 (STD5). Bouie stated that the facility would be open to the public, but that STD5 taxpayers would get preferential rates. He further stated that the FCPA board would have to vote to accept a RCC partnership as part of its consideration of an entire park master plan.
Terry Maynard outlined the major points of the RCA resolution supporting the draft white paper proposing a joint Reston Community Task Force to study the community center issue. After much discussion and objections to some of the resolution wording by Gordon, Penniman, and Bouie, as well as several Board members, a motion was offered to endorse the white paper and recommend the creation of the joint community panel described in Terry’s original resolution.. The motion passed with 6 “yes” votes, 2 “nos”, and 1 abstention.
Community Calendar: This item was tabled due to a lack of time for discussion.
Wiehle Station Access – Hudgins Response: This item was tabled due to a lack of time for discussion.
Next Meeting: The next Board meeting will be held on June 24, 2013 at the HW RCC.
Adjournment: The meeting was adjourned at 10:00 p.m.