Park board update: Green Spring renovation to start in May

The greenhouse at Green Spring Gardens

By Marie Reinsdorf

The Fairfax County Park Authority Board’s votes at our final meeting of 2011 included these items of interest to the residents of the Annandale area and the county in general:

The board approved a renovation project at Green Spring Gardens, funded by the Friends of Green Spring (FROGS), to provide new classroom space, allowing the center to provide more programs for schoolchildren. Details can be found in the Planning and Development Committee’s agenda/package for the Dec. 7 meeting. Construction is projected to complete in May 2012. Thank you, FROGS!

The same document has details on a project approved by the board in December to repair the Luria Boardwalk in Holmes Run Stream Valley Park in Annandale. This project includes the design and construction of a 60-foot steel pedestrian bridge, 60 feet of new boardwalk, and new code-compliant pedestrian guard rail and curbing.

Construction is projected to take place in the summer of 2013. (The document puts the start date as the first quarter of fiscal year 2014; in Fairfax County, the 2014 fiscal year starts in July 2013.)

In addition, the board adopted a new FY 2013-15 Financial Sustainability Plan. (See pages 14-110 in the Dec. 14 board package.)

The plan seeks to increase revenue for the Park Authority with a package of over 20 initiatives, including the following: invest general bond funds in fee facilities, such as rec centers and golf courses, to bring in more revenue; explore the potential for leasing park land; launch longer-term development of a multi-field sportsplex for tournaments; and measure programs—what they cost to run and how much money (from the county or fees) they need to “earn.” The agenda item is long, but you can find the initiatives in Appendix G, on pages 89-104, of the PDF file.

I conclude with a quick guide to finding our board documents: Visit the park authority’s website; select “Administration” on the left; then “Park Authority Board” below that. Directly below the board member names, you’ll see two useful links: “Board Meeting Agenda” and “Document Archives.”

The board package for upcoming meetings is posted in the Board Meeting Agenda section a few days before the board’s regularly scheduled meeting and will remain there until the package for the next meeting is posted. It will then be moved to Document Archives. Committee packages, which are also typically presented one meeting in advance of board meetings, contain the details on what the board is expected to vote on.

Marie Reinsdorf lives in the Falls Church/Annandale area and serves as an at-large member of the Park Authority Board. She writes this column to share information about board matters and can be reached via email. Any opinions expressed are her own.