| RCA
Board Discusses Management Areas |
By Erick Soricelli
Observer Staff Writer |
| The Reston Citizens Association Board of Directors met Dec.
20 and discussed specific areas they plan to assess in present-day
Reston and in the near future. |
| The RCA Board has thus far completed an updated study of
governance options for Reston, comparing items such as public
services, tax rates, and management areas in scenarios where
Reston remains as an unincorporated area, a town, a city,
or a tax district. |
| A similar study was completed in 1988, and the RCA Board
is supporting the option for Reston to become a town. |
| The Board adopted a schedule at their Oct. 25 meeting that
pushes their goals one year back to 2006. Initially, the Board
had hoped to draft a charter in time for the Virginia General
Assembly's legislative session on Jan. 10, 2005, but the Board
felt discussions with local leaders reflected that it was
too soon. |
| "Everybody we've talked to said, ‘you're about a year off,'"
said RCA Board president Mike Corrigan Oct. 23. |
| The Board has subjected their study to what they termed
as a "blue team" review, presenting it to several local leaders
on Oct. 23. They plan to conduct what they term as a "red
team" review, or community input meeting, which has not been
scheduled. |
| At the Dec. 20 meeting, the Board discussed areas such as
multiculturalism, immigrant assilimation, accessibility and
visitability, and a virtual infrastructure. |
| "Pre-town, I certainly think we want to participate in the
Reston Multicultural Festival," Corrigan said, an annual festival
held every September in Reston. |
| Vice-president Marion Stillson said the Board is looking
for people to fill vacancies in their director spots, which
could possibly include representatives from immigrant communities. |
| "The issue is it's very easy to stay in your own community,"
Corrigan said, adding that language courses could be a possible
solution. |
| "I'm concerned about evacuation of people in times of public
emergencies," Stillson said in regards to public safety. |
| "I think it's a double issue; public safety and access,"
Corrigan said, which carried over into their next topic. |
| Stillson was concerned with those with disabilities, who
may not be able to leave a building via the front door. |
| "I know a lot of building in Reston that are four stories
tall," said director Jan Bradshaw. |
| "It's not hard if you have a townhouse or single-family
home, that's not a problem," Corrigan said. "Stairs-only,
that's a problem, and elevators and ramps." |
| Corrigan suggested a possible ordinance that could be drafted
for Reston, and he and Stillson said they wanted to work on
the area further. |
| For a virtual infrastructure, Corrigan said he wanted to
encourage Verizon to cover all of Reston for digital subscriber
lines, or DSL. The company has a Verizon Online office in
Reston. |
| Other issues the Board discussed included health care, business
development, and affordable housing. |
| At their next meeting, tentatively scheduled for Jan. 24,
the Board will decide on case studies to determine for homeowners
and business "What's in it for me?" in regards to Reston as
a town. |
