It's back again! RA Board to ask FCPA to include INDOOR TENNIS in proposed recreation center.

In a last minute move, the RA Board of Directors has added indoor tennis as item to their agenda for tomorrow, July 25, 2013.  (See documents below.)  The move comes as part of an RA effort to rejuvenate its agenda for the Reston Master Plan Task Force in 2010 to have indoor tennis included in the task force’s consideration as well as other RA efforts to try to build indoor tennis courts.

Including indoor tennis ONLY in its proposed letter to the Fairfax County Park Authority (FCPA) endorsing the construction of a recreation center at Baron Cameron Park does two things:

• Ignores the dozens of other recreation facilities requiring more than 100 acres of new space the FCPA, RCC, RA panel recommended be included in the Reston Master Plan to meet the needs of the Reston community.   See this letter from FCPA to DPZ noting the entire list of parks and recreation requirements for the new Master Plan, none of which have yet been picked up in the draft Plan language.    Why is indoor tennis more important than playgrounds and sports fields for kids?

• Places the entire financial burden for the tennis courts and the whole rec center on Restonians through property taxes in Reston's special tax district under the current RCC proposal.  If placed in the Reston Master Plan, these recreation facilities (and many others) might well be made available through proffers from developers or even general county-wide tax revenues—just like the rest of the County got its recreation centers (although without indoor tennis).   The 2009 Brailsford & Dunlavey feasibility study (Exhibit D) on the then-proposed recreation center put the cost of four indoor tennis courts at $3.5 million.  That would probably cost $4-$5 million now.  Are you ready to pay one million dollars or more each for four indoor tennis courts? 

Whatever your views, Restonians need to attend the July 25 RA Board of Directors meeting at RA headquarters and express their views on the matter.  It’s your community, your taxes, and your Board of Directors.  

Make them listen--and hold them accountable.  

As presented in this RCA white paper, RCA believes there are a lot of unanswered questions about moving forward with an RCC-managed Reston Recreation Center built at Baron Cameron Park and financed only by Restonians.

   FINAL New Item 2 RA Requests for Baron Cameron Park Master Planning-2