Brown's Chapel Rec Center: An "Experienced Journalist" Weighs In, Plus Another "Web Log" Post From the RA

So an actual "experienced journalist" has finally weighed in after Monday's awesome unveiling of the feasibility study on whether it makes sense to have an idea that might someday lead to the construction of an awesome $65 million rec center / juicery at Brown's Chapel Park in North Reston. His account shockingly omitted the juice bar revelations in the report -- an error known to "experienced journalists" as "burying the lede" -- but did reveal a few bits of new information:

• Carol Ann Bradley, chair of the RCC Board of Governors, assured the crowd that the project would only go forward with the consent of the community and if it could be done without raising the tax rate in Small Tax District 5, which supports the RCC. RCC plans to issue a survey in the fall that will touch on whether people want a juice bar recreation center, plus where it should go.
  
  
• Former RA President Rick Beyer is now co-chair of the grassroots group Save Brown’s Chapel. The group has now retained legal counsel and said Monday it would take action if the RA and RCC tried to build the center without putting it to a referendum.
  
  
• We haven't heard much from the pro-rec center crowds, which don't have a nifty "Web site" or anything, but they did speak at Monday's meeting, and even wore nifty stickers saying "Yes! Support the rec center."
  
  Reston Masters Swim Team President Gordon Gerson said his group — and the community — badly needed more indoor swimming. "A most excellent planned community should have a most excellent recreation center," he said. Gerson said the community center at Hunters Woods was not designed for athletics and the pool was too small. If half of the 118 members of his team showed up for practice, he said, they would be swimming 10 to a lane. Meanwhile, practices could not be split up because too few available hours existed. He said there were too few lanes for individual swimmers to use for exercise and nowhere for Reston children to swim during the winter.
  
  "We’re not against anything," Gerson said. "The only thing we’re against is not doing anything."
  
  Evan Bass, chair of the RA Tennis Advisory Committee, said Reston needed to fight the growing problem of childhood obesity by providing a place to exercise during winter and in bad weather.

Let's hope that juice bar offers low-calorie drinks then.

You can also see lots of video action from Monday's meeting on the YouTubes, all collected here, if you're into such unspeakable filth.

Meanwhile, RA President Robin Smyers Administrator Account has updated her "Web-blog" with a "post" asking residents to envision Reston 40 years from now, only without the earth-toned cyborgs that will have enslaved us all by that point.

We love the natural areas, tennis courts, pools, pathways, camps, the diversity of housing and the ability to live, work and play. All of us want to preserve what we have come to expect.

But we also need to preserve and improve our facilities. Face it. Our newest pool is more than a decade old. We have incredible staff that maintains our pools, tennis courts and open areas. Covenant helps property owners keep their homes up to standards. But many of our properties are as old as Reston itself.

We have to be ready to accept and plan for our impending growth. Metro will bring people and despite the bleak economy now, there will eventually be an improvement. This will not only bring jobs to our beautiful community, but we will welcome more neighbors who will live and work here.

So, now is the time in look at ways to improve and re-invest in Reston. What amenities will we need to provide to the community in the next four decades? One option that people have indicated an interest in is year-round recreational facilities that would allow them access without having to travel. Over the years, we’ve discussed enclosing tennis courts, covering a pool to be able to accommodate year-round swimming, and tried to light baseball fields to meet various community needs and interests.

Now, we have an opportunity invest in the next 40 years and build something for the next generation.

The RA Board has not made any decisions about building an indoor facility or a potential location. There are plenty of ideas. The most important are those we will get from you. Please plan to attend one of the four community sessions scheduled for each of our districts. We want to hear from the entire community on your vision of Reston in the next 40 years. I hope you will have time to attend.

Something tells us the board will get its wish.