Approved Materials - Reston Community Center

March 18, 2013 Board of Governors Finance Committee Meeting Report
Public Comment
Bill Morrissette, Reston resident, indicated that he is speaking on behalf of the Baron Cameron dog
park, which he uses regularly. He said that he knows that there is a Long Range Planning Meeting
scheduled next week regarding Baron Cameron Park. He is interested in knowing the timeline with
respect to Baron Cameron Park being changed from its current situation to a recreation center.
Leila said that the Fairfax County Park Authority owns Baron Cameron Park. On May 7, 2013 they will
have their first public meeting for the community to discuss the park in its totality. The master planning
process for the park will take careful consideration of the existing use of the park, which currently includes
field users, the dog park community and garden plot users. To Leila’s knowledge, it is not in the Park
Authority’s plan to displace any of those parties. In fact, it is in the Park Authority and RCC’s interest to
improve the park and its amenities. Bill explained that he also represents soccer players since he works
with many of them in the construction business. He is a small business construction owner. He said that
despite the fact that he’s a builder, he does not love everything that’s being built in Reston. He has
opposed much of it. He used to sit in the Reston Town Center and enjoy the sunlight. As buildings have
gone up, shade has replaced the sunlight. He misses the old Reston Town Center and all the sunlight.
His friends in the construction business (including himself) are developing in Reston and he supports the
construction business, but he’s concerned with the amount of development happening in Reston. He
thinks Reston is losing sight of what was an important design element when it was founded. He moved to
Reston for the low-profile lifestyle. Now he’s concerned that we’re only 5-6 years away from being a city
like Arlington, which might make folks move out of Reston. Bill asked about the format of the March 25
meeting. Leila said that we will be specifically discussing amenities of a potential indoor recreation center.
Bill said that he is also concerned with environmental responsibility, such as putting fields on the roof or
including green walls. He said that if RCC does build a new facility, he hopes that the Board pursues an
environmentally friendly design. Also, Bill indicated that he supports the poor in terms of lower rates and
RCC subsidies. He thinks RCC should keep children’s rates the same but raise adult rates. He also
suggested offering a 3-month pass to non-Reston residents. He thinks that will boost revenue. He added
that the name of his company is Forrester and that they are an elite company that is about to build a 16-
million dollar data center on Sunrise Valley Drive. However, he believes in family and nature first.
Marsha Parkinson, Herndon resident and dog park user, asked if RSVPs were required for the March
25 meeting. Leila said they were requested. Marsha asked about public input submitted via e-mail. Leila
confirmed that we are keeping a volume of all of those public input comments. That public record is
shared with and reviewed with the Board.
Marsha asked if the public could see where the rec center will be located. Leila said that we haven’t
reached that point in the process yet. Leila said that if the public votes to proceed with the new facility,
she hopes the construction itself will go quickly, but we currently do not have any plans or even a footprint
for the facility. She added that the Park Authority is interested in pursuing a range of usages, including
current uses and new uses.
There was general discussion about how to keep open space while also providing for current and new
use of the land. Leila indicated that the RCC footprint would likely be 2-5 acres of a total 68 acres of
usage. Leila said we want to be environmentally sensitive. Any amenities in a potential RCC facility would
need to complement the Park Authority amenities, as well as our own amenities at other RCC facilities.
Bill P. added that the Board is in the process of determining if RCC can pursue this opportunity for a new
building and where it would be. No decisions have been made yet. Bill Morrissette wants to ensure it is a
LEED project. Leila agreed and said that was a County initiative for all County facilities. Bill Morrissette
asked about future opportunities for input. Leila explained that the public is invited to all Board meetings,
which are publicized on our website, in our buildings, in the media and in several other places.
Marsha Parkinson asked about an old proposal to put an indoor rec center at Brown’s Chapel Park. Leila
responded that there was discussion in 2009 about putting a center at Brown’s Chapel Park. That was a
considerably smaller parcel of land, was in closer proximity to residential neighborhoods, and the existing
space included robustly used baseball fields and picnic areas. Baron Cameron fields are comparatively
underutilized and the area of that park is larger and farther away from neighborhoods. Transportation
issues are much better at Baron Cameron in terms of traffic egress and ingress. The proposed Brown’s
Chapel facility was a much larger facility. A lot of the issues with Browns Chapel do not exist at Baron
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