The Reston Association and Future Maintenance Expenses in Reston

The RA meet tonight to review the Criterium study of maintaining Reston. The Criterium are engineers and they analyzed Reston 18 different categories of things that need maintenance among them such things for example as tot lots, foot bridges, pathways, boat docks, Lakes and ponds. Based on their findings we should be able to maintain everything adequately for the next 18 years by our current spending. But then the costs will go up dramatically.

There were three suggestions:

Alternative One-increase the current spending from 2.1 million to 2.7 million a year.

Alternative Two- Increase annual spending by 3% a year.

Alternative 3 Retain current funding levels, but but plan on a special assessment or other infusion of about $20 million in about 18 years.

The thing that I don't like about it is that there seems to be no control on how the Reston Association maintains things. For example I regurally see Reston Asssociation workers driving trucks on the pathways. The pathways are not designed for vehicle travel they don't have the needed base and as a result the shoulders of the roadways crumble. Yet I often see multiple vehicles with Reston workers transporting themselves each carrying a diffrent tool simultaneously deteriorating the pathways while they are also maintaining it. So no wonder it is a constant expense. Could they not instead use wheelbarrows and park nearby I wonder?

There is no one to supervise Reston workers except aparently other Reston workers. Board members do not I was told at candidate orientation night recently.

So if we have a organization with increasing funding to fund increasing maintenance that sometimes is self perpetuating I worry that things will just get more and more expensive which we'll be asked to fund somehow.