RCA 2014 Election Slate of Candidates

            

Reston Citizens Association

Contact:  Colin Mills

cwmills47@hotmail.com

(703)608-6049

June 7, 2014

RCA Announces Slate of Candidates for the 2014 Board Election

Online Elections run from June 7 to June 22

The Reston Citizens Association (RCA) today released the slate of candidates for its 2014 Board of Directors election. RCA, was founded in 1967 to promote and protect Reston's founding principles and quality of life by serving as a non-partisan forum for all residents and business owners. This year is an exciting one for RCA as they are working hard to educate the community on the new development spurred by the arrival of the Silver Line and Phase II of the Reston Master Plan while also recommending smart growth solutions for transportation, education, environment, and accessibility to local and County officials and associations.

The following seats are up for election: North Point Director, Lake Anne/Tall Oaks/Town Center Director, South Lakes Director, Hunters Woods Director, and an At-Large Director. Each seat carries a three-year term. 

 The 2014 candidates are:

Sridhar Ganesan is running for re-election for the North Point Director seat. Ganesan, a Reston resident for 16 years and RCA Board member for two, has focused on analytical, advisory support, communications, strategic planning, finance and organizational matters.  Prior to serving with RCA, he chaired the RA’s Tennis Advisory Committee and helped organize charity events/tennis tournaments. He would like to help RCA to grow and participate more vigorously in its mission of educating Restonians on community issues and leverage his global corporate, operational and strategic experience to ensure that issues that affect Reston follow due process, offer constructive solutions that enable smart growth, and deliver outcomes that are what a majority of the community desires.

Hank Schonzeit, a 21 year resident of Reston, is running for Lake Anne/Tall Oaks/Town Center Director.  He currently serves as the Chairman of his condominium’s fitness facility task force and participates on the facilities committee. He volunteers regularly for Reston Runners and a suicide prevention hot line and has served as  Governour’s Square Cluster President and Treasurer. He has spent most of his career as an executive in healthcare systems. He wants to help maintain and improve Reston’s life-enhancing character and opportunities for healthy living, play, work  and appreciation of nature. He believes growth and development should be carefully managed and supported by the Reston community and not diminish the Reston experience.

Constance (Connie) Hartke is running for re-election for the Hunters Woods Director seat. Hartke, a Reston resident for 10 years and RCA Board member for one, has focused on developing communication tools and documents and delivering them so Restonians can make informed decisions on matters of import to the Reston community. She would also like to continue to advocate to our county government and our HOA, Reston Association. Hartke has also been a Board member of Rescue Reston since 2013 and Treasurer and Secretary – Cove Mountain Woods HOA (in the Smoky Mountains, TN) since 2005.  She volunteers for the Reston Triathlon, Jim McDonnell’s Lake Swim, and Reston Marathon while  also writing and managing her blog on Reston Patch – http://bit.ly/patch-connie.

Dennis Hays, a 21 resident of Reston, is running for the At-Large Seat. Hays is currently a Board member of Friends of the Reston Regional Library, RR Community Fund, and Community Living Alternatives. He has been President and Chairman of Course and Schedule Committee for Reston Runner’s, a Director of Runners Marathon of Reston, President of American Foreign Service Association, and Chairman of Friends of the Paramaribo (Suriname) Zoo. Hays came to Reston for the “live, work, play” philosophy of the community, the emphasis on preserving nature and the “walkability” of the pathways and trails. He believes progress can and must support the spirit of our community, and that the legitimate concerns of those who live and work in Reston should be factored into decisions about the community’s future. He believes upcoming action on the Master Plan, transportation issues, the balance between parkland and development and our library require close attention and a clear voice..

There are no declared candidates for the South Lakes seat; however, there is a write-in slot on the ballot where voters may support any qualified Restonian for the seat. 

The RCA Board election will take place from June 7 to June 22 at midnight. Continuing the practice established in 2012, this year’s election will be held entirely online. Anyone who (a) is 16 years or older and (b) lives anywhere in Reston (defined as Reston Small Tax District #5) is eligible to vote. 

Voters can go to www.rcareston.com and click on the “CLICK HERE TO VOTE” link to learn more about the candidates and cast their ballots.

. . . But WaPo says end of summer Silver Line operations deadline could be jeopardized

In our previous post, WAMU noted that the Silver Line could be open for operations by the end of July.  On the other hand, WaPo's take, by Paul Duggan and Lori Aratani, says it may not open by the end of summer.

WMATA doesn't really know and neither do we.  We would, however, expect that WMATA would like to meet at least the 90-day timeframe laid out for its testing and evaluation of the line.  That would put the start of operations by the end of August--a good time to start because ridership will be relatively low as potential riders are finishing up summer vacations before school starts in early September allowing WMATA to smooth out the rough edges of this major rail line launch.  But that all depends on Bechtel and MWAA getting their act together to finish the repairs and fix the errors in the Silver Line construction--and that is not a wager we believe would be wise to make after a year of construction delays on what was suppose to be a 4-year project.

Here's what the Post has to say:

Much-delayed Silver Line behind schedule again; Metro worried about summer opening

The builders of Metro’s Silver Line, under pressure to finish the project so that passenger service can begin just weeks from now, are behind schedule on many final work items, leaving transit officials worried about a potential delay of the rail line’s hoped-for summer opening, a top Metro manager said Monday.

Rob Troup, Metro’s chief of operations, noted that contractors working for the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority, which is overseeing construction of the project, agreed in writing to complete 33 “punch list” items in time for riders to start using the Silver Line this summer. That memorandum of understanding was hailed in April as a big step toward finishing the current phase of the much-delayed project.

Read related:

“However,” Troup told reporters in a conference call Monday, “we do have concern that the airports authority and the contractor are behind schedule on approximately half of the items we have listed” in the memorandum. He said: “This is work that has to be completed before we start [passenger] service. We expected them to be further along at this point.”

The Silver Line contractors, led by construction giant Bechtel, are known collectively as Dulles Transit Partners. The project’s first phase is 11.7 miles of track with four new stations in Tysons Corner and one in Reston. That was originally scheduled to be done by late 2013, and its current estimated cost is $2.9 billion, about $150 million over budget.

To hasten the start of passenger service, Metro agreed to take control of the Silver Line before the contractors had completed their work. The transfer of control, on May 27, allowed Metro to begin 90 days of testing the line, with the understanding that Dulles Transit Partners would finish the project in that period. . . .

Click here to read the rest of the Post article. 

Metro Eyes July 28 Start For Silver Line Passenger Service, WAMU 88.5, Jun 9, 2014

Martin DiCaro, WAMU's transportation reporter, has some more insight into when Silver Line operations may begin:

Metro is targeting July 20 for the start of “simulated service” — trial runs to train rail operators — on the new Silver Line to Reston, Virginia, according to union scheduling records. Passenger service could start one week later on Monday, July 28, pending the outcome of ongoing safety testing and the completion of outstanding construction issues by the contractor Bechtel.

“We were contacted [by WMATA] back in May and we were told that the simulated service would start July 20. So for all of the operators and station managers we are in the process of selecting work,” said Amalgamated Transit Union Local 689 president Jackie Jeter, in an exclusive interview with WAMU 88.5 FM. Work shifts are chosen by ATU workers based on seniority.

Barring any further setbacks the long-delayed Silver Line, originally planned for a January opening, will begin carrying passengers by the end of next month, the first new Metro line since the Green Line opened in 1991. The Blue Line was extended to Largo Town Center in 2004. . . .

Click here for this extended piece.

Commuting costs to downtown on the Silver Line will cost you more.

WMATA and the Fairfax Connector have now posted their fares for Phase 1 rail and bus service in Reston.  We have taken the opportunity to calculate what that will mean for the thousands of Restonians who commute to Washington, DC, or other similar distances on the Silver Line.  In every case, peak period fares will be much more expensive than the current combined bus and rail Fairfax Connector to West Falls Church Metrorail station and then downtown, which costs about $2,120 annually for a 200-day work year.  (Most work years are longer, but most commuters also take time for vacation, illness, business trips, etc., which lower the annual commuting cost.)  

In fact, Restonians' commuting costs could nearly double depending on which option they take.  Here's the rundown:

• Current rail and bus users will see a nearly 40% increase over current round-trip costs (from $10.60 to $14.80 per day).  Annually, the total will be $2,960.
• For those who park in the Wiehle Garage rather than ride the bus to the station, daily costs will increase a whopping 56% (to $16.55).  That works out to $3,130 a year.
• Costs for riders with a reserved parking space in the garage will nearly double (rising to an average of $20.45 per day, a 92% increase).  They will face a total annual cost of $4,090.
  

(Click on image for larger view.)

Moreover, while Fairfax Connector has set lower 50-cent fares for routes around the Tysons Metro stations -- and will even offer free transfers from rail to Connector buses on those three Tysons routes, at least for an introductory period -- similar discounted fares and free transfers will NOT be offered in Reston, not even on Route 505 between Reston Town Center and Wiehle Station.  Instead, the standard fare for all local Reston routes will INCREASE 15 cents each way. 

Surprise, surprise! Metro: MWAA Behind in Silver Line Fixes, RestonNow, June 9, 2014

Here's how Karen Goff's latest report on Silver Line progress begins:

Contractors for the Washington Metropolitan Airports Authority have been slow to repair post-Operational Readiness issues for Metro’s Silver Line, and that could slow progress in getting the rail extension ready to open.

“DTP [Dulles Transit Partners] and Bechtel are behind schedule on half the items,” Metro deputy general manager Rob Troup said in a conference call with reporters on Monday. “We expected them to be further along.” . . . .

Click here to read the rest.  

ARCH Issues Bulletin 2014-1: Reston Master Plan Special Study, Phase II, June 6, 2014

 
 Alliance of Reston Clusters and Homeowners

Supporting Homeowner Groups in All of Reston’s Neighborhoods

ISSUES BULLETIN 2014-1

6 June 2014

Subject: Reston Master Plan Special Study, Phase II

TO: Hunter Mill District Supervisor, Reston Association President and CEO, and Reston Citizens Association President

ARCH’s contention is that so much of the success of not only Reston’s past development and high standards of design but also of our recent Reston Master Plan Special Study effort is directly attributable to processes established whereby RESTON residents, RESTON community leaders, and RESTON developers and stakeholders have been charged with the responsibility and authority to CREATE, OVERSEE, and APPROVE the vision, standards and goals necessary to support past and future planning, development and growth.

ARCH believes that similar entities, processes and authorities should also be true for the future development and growth of those areas relevant to Phase II of the Reston Master Plan Special Study.

Our opinion is that the goal for future Village Center development should be the establishment of a vision that ensures the future financial viability of each and creates environments that excite people to come together to establish and sustain long-term relationships, and to form that special sense of community so essential and characteristic to Reston’s past development and character.  With regard to the Village Centers, one size doesn’t fit all.  One center may require more residential; another retail or commercial development, and another the creation of open space to achieve the vision.  

ARCH hopes that—as we move forward with Phase II of the Master Plan Special Study-- processes as outlined above are established and are considered critical to successful analysis and planning of Phase II.

Respectfully,

Gerald R. Volloy, President

Alliance of Reston Clusters and Homeowners