Reston Association executive vice president Gerald Volloy can add a new skill to his resumé: Hot dog vending.
On Saturday, at the Southgate Recreation Center kickoff celebration, Volloy was one of several Reston Association and Reston Youth Club staff members manning various booths featuring free food, face painting and games.
The celebration was organized to raise awareness of the Southgate Recreation Center. Fairfax County has agreed to build a new $2.3 million community center on the site. In exchange, the county has asked that Reston Association transfer the Southgate property over to the county under a 99-year lease.
In order for Reston Association to enact that lease, though, the homeowners association needs to hold a referendum. In September, referendum ballots will be sent out to every home in Reston. For the referendum to be valid, 40 percent of Reston’s homeowners need to vote. And for the referendum to pass, two-thirds of the voters need to be in favor of the project.
RESTON ASSOCIATION has never seen 40 percent participation in a referendum vote. In order to hit that 40 percent mark, the homeowners association will be undertaking a massive public relations effort over the next few months. Saturday’s celebration, at the Southgate Recreation Center, was one of the first steps in that effort. Reston Association is also spreading the word among local churches and cluster associations. There are plans to use local celebrities and athletes to create television commercials publicizing Southgate. Reston Association Board members will be passing out Southgate brochures at places like the Reston Festival, and local youth will be passing out brochures door to door.
"This is the right thing to do," said Suzi Jones, president of the Reston Association Board of Directors. "This makes sense for Reston economically. If the referendum fails, we [Reston Association] will have to do the renovation ourselves."
Jones said Reston Association would only be able to afford a $600,000 to $700,000 renovation. But, if the referendum fails in September, the homeowners association will be able to send out another set of ballots.
"I was just talking to someone who didn’t understand the partnership with Fairfax County. They asked, ‘What if the referendum fails?’" said Bertha Hoskins, Reston Association Board of Directors vice president. "Reston Association is obligated to put something there."
FAIRFAX COUNTY Supervisor Cathy Hudgins (D-Hunter Mill) said the property may have to be rezoned if, ultimately, the county does not take control of the property.
"The building that is planned there will have to be built by the county," Hudgins said. "There is a question of whether or not Reston Association would be able to build it."
The renovated building would include an indoor basketball court, around two-thirds the size of a full size court. There would also be several multi-use rooms available for community groups. The Southgate pool, which is currently closed because of low usage, would be filled in.
Hudgins said she was glad to see so many neighborhood children at the kickoff celebration. She said the county wants to build a recreation center that is neighborhood-oriented.
"The county does community centers that are consistent with the kind of thing Reston Association does," Hudgins said.
Several other local officials attended the kickoff ceremony, including U.S. Rep. Jim Moran (D-8), state Del. Kenneth Plum (D-36), state Sen. Janet Howell (D-32) and Kate Hanley, chairman of the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors.