A recent rash of incidents spurred residents and shopkeepers in Reston's signature community to invest in increased security, but not everyone is happy with the plan.
At its June 26 Reston Association (RA) Board of Directors meeting, the board voted 5 to 2 to contribute $1,000 towards funding a private security firm to patrol Washington Plaza and Lake Anne.
Eve Thompson, vice president of the Lake Anne condominium board, told the board that while security has always been a problem at Lake Anne, their community's concerns have been increased since last summer. Thompson said she has seen increasing problems ranging from public drunkenness to public urination to vandalism in around the plaza. "The wooded areas have been a particular concern to residents," Thompson said. "Recently the police removed some temporary residents out of the woods.
"It's a wonderful place and because of that it invites loitering," she said. "We don't want that to stop, on the other hand, we just want to feel safe and comfortable."
Supervisor Cathy Hudgins (D-Hunter Mill) said she has been in contact with the Lake Anne condominium board to discuss their concerns and possible solutions. "It's safe," she said, "but we are always looking for the ultimate amount of safety in the community."
THOMPSON INSISTED that she and others have tried a variety of approaches, including "nonstop calls to the police." Thompson said she was speaking on behalf of a group of Lake Anne stakeholders including homeowners, the Reston Community Center and area business interests. In a recent 30-day period, Thompson said she and others logged more than 30 complaints to the police.
According to a call history log with the Reston substation provided by Officer Joe Gould to Larry Butler, the RA parks and recreation director, Reston police received only seven calls for services between Jan. 1, 2002 and June 20, 2003. Standing up from her seat, Thompson disputed the deflated numbers. According to the police records, the calls were in response to charges ranging from destruction of property to petty larceny to open container violations.
"Clearly there is a discrepancy," Butler said.
Last summer, Lake Anne did use a private security detail, Thompson admitted but she said it was not successful. "We didn't have full community participation," she said.
A new security firm would "help create a presence on the property." According to the plan, two security guards, armed with cell phones, would not patrol the property 24 hours a day, seven days a week, but they would be on site during unspecified "peak" hours.
OPPONENTS OF THE DONATION argued that what's good for Lake Anne should be good for the entire Reston Association.
"All clusters and areas of individual homes have security problems, ranging from parking to vandalism and sometimes theft and personal attacks," said Donn Dears, a Reston resident. "If RA pays for security at Lake Anne why shouldn't RA pay for security at all clusters and in areas where there are single-family homes?"
South Lakes representative Joe Leighton, one of two members to vote against the plan, was sympathetic to Dears' argument. "If we help one, we should help them all. There are a lot more dangerous area, like my South Lakes district," Leighton said. "There are lots of things we should spend money on, but unfortunately we don't have it."
RA president Susan Jones and at-large representative Vicky Wingert, who both supported the plan, argued that unlike the other RA centers, Lake Anne, because of its characteristic mixed-use development, was different. "There are some differences," Wingert said. "We are property owners there and we have a long history of contributing to Lake Anne. It behooves us to develop solutions to the problems there."
Larry Butler, the RA's parks and recreation director, agreed. Because of RA's pathways running through the area and the popular boat rental, it is a different situation, he said.
Michael Corrigan who represents Lake Anne supported the measure and warned the board that failure to protect Lake Anne would be very shortsighted. "This relates directly to the property values of our members. If Lake Anne goes down hill, so goes Reston," he said, agreeing that the combination of residential and commercial interests made Lake Anne different than the corporate owned shopping centers in Hunters Woods, South Lakes and North Point.
WINGERT SUPPORTED limiting the contribution to a one-year trial. "We can see where we stand a year from now," she said.
Dears argued that if there are legitimate security concerns in Lake Anne and elsewhere, then it was up to the county's police force and not RA to provide for the solution. "The only action that RA should take is for the president to contact Supervisor Hudgins and insist on better police surveillance for Reston," Dears told the RA board at last Thursday's meeting. "This is a job for Supervisor Hudgins, not the Reston Association."
For her part, Hudgins said she anticipated meeting face-to-face with Lake Anne representatives and police very soon. Hudgins insisted that any group, be it a shopping center, cluster or neighborhood watch group should coordinate their security detail with the police. "Being able to sit down and plan a security plan with an association helps a lot," Hudgins maintained. "This has happened before. Many associations as well as our centers — Town Center and Hunters Woods Center — have added security. I think people want to have as high a level as possible, but unfortunately we can't provide a police officer on the plaza 24 hours a day."
After similar complaints at Reston Town Center, which is not on RA property, Hudgins said she met with all parties involved. "What we did with Town Center has been very helpful. Together we decided what the issues were, how to best address them and what role can Fairfax County police play to give better security," she said.
"I think you see a lot that is happening at town center that makes people feel more comfortable," the supervisor said. "Those are the kinds of things I would do with Lake Anne."
Thus far, Thompson said she has been disappointed in the police's level of attention to Lake Anne. "It's not the response that I would like to see," she said. "I don't want to diminish their jobs, but 45 minutes to one hour is not quite the response you want from your police when, for instance, people are breaking bottles in the bus stop alcove."
"IT IS A SHAME that Reston members have to plead for security when Supervisor Hudgins should have been looking out after the interest of Reston residents," said Dears, a former president of the Republican Club of Greater Reston. "RA should not use its members' dues to subsidize one cluster over another."
Dears and Leighton were not the only ones at Thursday's meeting irritated by the motion to subsidize part of the proposed security cooperative. Board member Doug Bushée, the North Point representative and the Republican nominee for Hunter Mill District Supervisor, expressed his frustration that the issue had not been previously vetted through the Board Administration Committee (BAC), as is protocol. "The bylaws clearly state that this process should go through the BAC," Bushée told his colleagues.
RA president Susan Jones said she felt Bushée's comments were "directed at me," and Jones apologized for what she called an oversight. "I thought it was already in the budget," said Jones, who had been on vacation recently. "It slipped through the cracks, but you are absolutely right, it should have gone through the BAC process."
Jones insisted that the board did not have time for the request to travel through appropriate channels. "We've got to act on this tonight," she said.
Clearly uncomfortable with the proposal, Bushée reiterated his concern that the issue had not been discussed before making its way to the board meeting. Bushée also said he didn't think a strong enough case had been made to justify spending member dollars. "Having the data on time and earlier maybe we could have gotten the police involved because I am concerned about the discrepancy in numbers. We really need to understand that," the North Point representative said. "I am also concerned about how quickly we are acting on this. This would be setting a precedent."
Corrigan, the Lake Anne representative, disagreed, saying he put his trust in the citizens' contention that there had been 30 calls in 30 days. "I don't find any credibility in that," he said of the police report.
Balvinder Sandhu, the apartment owners' designate floated the idea of adding additional lights or a security camera to Washington Plaza. "Maybe we haven't tried enough," Sandhu said. "Maybe a camera is an answer, I don't know. They will discover very quickly that the security is not there 24 hours."
Corrigan said it was an interesting proposal to possibly explore, but "we have an immediate need," he said, urging his fellow board members to adopt the motion.