E-mail to Supr. Hudgins: RCA Reston 2020 Wants Silver Line Completed, Tammi Petrine, April 3, 2012

Hello, Supervisor Hudgins,

Can you help us with this, please?  The Reston Task Force, in the very near future, needs to discuss implementation strategies fair to both developer and resident.  As Terry states in the attached comments to this article, we can see from Tysons’ current dilemma that this is a terrible omission which will surely lead to future problems for us and the fleecing of the taxpayer by big business.  We intend not to have this happen to us in Reston/Herndon.

I am a country gal from the forests of northern Illinois , and I speak plain English so bear with me.  Terry and others are more sophisticated and politic with their prose.  But I call it as I see it.  And it seems to me that we need to communicate hereafter as directly as possible with no nonsense.

At the recent Fairfax Federation awards dinner, I was very interested that both Gerry Connolly and Sharon Bulova communicated to several of us from RCA/Reston 2020, that they thought we were against the Silver Line, Phase 2.  Are YOU of this opinion?  If so, may I assure you that nothing could be further from the truth as we have stated repeatedly in our reports and studies.  As I told Chair Bulova, deleting Phase 2 would just as surely kill Reston as continuing along with Phase 2 in its current form with 55% of the Entire line being laid on our backs as DTR users.

I am somewhat shocked at this impression and know that Patti Nicoson is of the same opinion.  Her recent personal disdain at the task force meeting on schools and at the public hearing was palpable.  Is it possible that she is spreading this mistruth?  Disagreeing about funding and seeking to find alternative sources is NOT the same as not wanting the line to Dulles.  It is akin to standing up in the crowded square and informing citizens that the “emperor is naked.” 

RCA/Reston 2020 will continue to publicize our observations until effective care and concern is given to the welfare of the Fairfax RESIDENTS in the corridor area.  Wringing of hands and proclaiming that “we are working to keep the tolls as low as possible” is not effective care and concern.  (We all know that the results of those efforts will evaporate with the ribbon cutting for Phase 2.  Human nature and crowded plates do not good promise-keepers make.  Whatever solutions may be found later, are available right now.)

Indeed at the Federation dinner where Walter Alcorn was appropriately lauded for his tireless work with Tysons, the emphasis by Fairfax elected officials, including Connolly, was on the coronation of Tysons as the salvation for Fairfax County as its urban business nexus.  As I sat listening to this dream with its winding Metro path and 4 elevated stops, I couldn’t help but wonder why those same powerful people could not see what we see: the killing off of an existing vital corridor and important Tysons adjunct by the omission of a sound (= fair, legal and reasonable) fiscal plan for financing the infrastructure including Metro that this “Urban Engine” so needs. 

No doubt the Reston/Herndon business community has brought handsome tax revenues into the county coffers for many years and could continue to grow if not sacrificed for the Tysons dream.  Indeed, if I were a county official, I’d hedge my bets by keeping both children alive, especially the one with the world-wide golden reputation: Reston. 

Obviously, Tysons was the favorite child in the Metro race to Dulles and it shows in many, many ways.  And how clever to end Phase 1 in Reston where, if not continued, would surely mortally wound our community.  Oh, yes, Metro must reach Dulles and hopefully Loudoun Co.  But not on the backs of the same citizens who have loyally and proudly supported our beloved community for decades.  Tysons may be your dream for future Fairfax prosperity but it will never surpass the spirit and soul that Reston engenders in the hearts of those who love her and will not let her be sacrificed.

Reston 2020 members will continue constructive, positive contributions to finding solutions for both the implementation issues AND the sound funding of Metro Silver Line as long as these impediments to protecting our community and ourselves collectively remain.  Any and all assistance you may render in those activities would be greatly appreciated as have been your past good works.  I would hope that we are all on the same page and could work together on these common goals.

Please inform Ms. Nicoson and the BOS of our loyalty to Reston, Fairfax County and Metro as we pursue our vision of a healthy, happy, prosperous future for us all. 

Sincerely,

Tammi Petrine

Reston Citizen since 1976.

PS: We most specifically are NOT affiliated with those in the community who are radical naysayers and right-wing tea baggers who denounce all government and all taxes.  Fairness for all, respectful caring for all and prudence in planning are the only tunes to which 2020 dances.