Local Reston youths looking for a new after-school hangout or community groups in search of a little extra meeting space will have new options if a referendum, promoted heavily by the Reston Association, passes this fall.
Ballots will be mailed out on Sept. 18 and Reston home owners will have until Nov. 7 to vote on a referendum that, if approved, would bring a 7,733 square foot recreation and meeting facility complete with three basketball courts, one tennis court and a flexible multi-purpose room, to the Southgate community. Voters will have seven weeks to mail in their ballots or vote on-line at www.reston.org.
In order to ensure passage of the referendum, RA is planning an unprecedented public relations and community education drive, dubbed Operation Southgate. From putting former South Lakes High School basketball standout, current NBA star and Southgate proponent Grant Hill on promotional posters to enlisting local Boy Scout troops to go door-to-door urging residents to vote for the project, RA is campaigning for the proposed Pinecrest Road facility.
Under RA bylaws, 40 percent of the nearly 17,000 eligible Reston voting households must participate in the election and two-thirds of those must vote yes if the project is to continue.
<b>RA OFFICIALS</b> are not worried, at least publicly, about the two-thirds majority of yes votes needed; they are, however, concentrating their attentions to the mandatory 40 percent participation that is also needed. "It's all about the 40 percent. That's the magic number," Gerald Valloy, the association's executive vice president, said at a recent meeting to promote the project. "It's an attainable goal and we will meet it."
Voter participation in previous Reston referendums has been less than overwhelming. The Nature House vote in 2000 holds the distinction of drawing the most voters to the polls for a referendum. Yet only 31 percent voted in that election. According to RA, the Southgate referendum will require 1,600 more voters than during the Nature House debate.
Though it has never been done before, the 40 percent figure is not something to fear, RA officials say. "The difference between Nature House and Southgate is the tremendous public relations and community outreach program we are doing for this project," Karen Monaghan, RA spokesman said.
The referendum is required because the RA members would have to agree to convey the property to the county via a long-term lease. "The Southgate Center will be a successful partnership between Fairfax County and the Reston Association," Hunter Mill District Supervisor Cathy Hudgins has said. "The winners in this community partnership are all the citizens of Reston."
First built in 1974, the original Southgate site was one the first recreational multi-purpose facilities in Reston. Seven years ago, the then-1,200 square foot center and its centerpiece community swimming pool were closed. In a survey conducted in 1995, RA found that the Southgate pool was the most underutilized community pool in Reston. Two years later, it was closed.
<b>"WE ARE VERY EXCITED</b> and we are all looking forward to the ballots going out on the 18th," Volloy said, of the day the ballots will be mailed. "We truly believe that this is a win-win situation for the entire community. Everyone we talk to supports going forward with this project 100 percent."
The history of the current Southgate referendum dates back to 1997 when a task force, made up of representatives from Fairfax County and RA, surveyed residents about what they wanted to see done with the property. Recreational and sports facilities, along with meeting and classroom space topped the list, RA officials said. Later that year, the association approved the design of the redeveloped project which would replace the pool with an indoor multi-purpose room and additional meeting rooms.
Last May, Hudgins announced Fairfax County would build the proposed facility in South Reston and pay the expected $2.3 million price tag. In return, the county would then operate and maintain the nearly 8,000 square foot facility. Fairfax County would also pay the estimated $5 to $6 million operating expenses over the course of the proposed 99-year lease. "It's a win-win situation for Reston," said Susan Jones, president of the association. "Southgate residents will get the programming and recreational options they have said they want and Reston taxpayers will see their county tax dollars spent in Reston."
If the referendum is defeated, association officials warned that RA members' assessment dollars will need to be spent to build and operate a smaller facility for Southgate.
If passed with the required two-thirds of the 40 percent of eligible voters, construction is slated to begin sometime the first half of next year on 2.4 acres of Reston Association common land located at 12125 Pinecrest Road near Glade Drive, RA said. If all goes according to RA's plan, the doors to the new Southgate Center will open in early 2004.