Proposed Broadlands Rec Center Falls Short

By Arianne Aryanpur (Contact)

Friday, November 9, 2007

Although Loudoun County voters Tuesday approved issuing more than $60 million in bonds for various projects, they gave a resounding “no” to the biggest item on the bond referendum: $31.4 million to fund construction of the Broadlands Recreation Center.

Of the eight measures on the ballot, it was the only one that failed — and it marked the first time since 2000 that Loudoun voters have turned down a bond proposal.

The vote against the Broadlands project was 32,412 to 17,911. It lost in every district except Dulles, where the center would have been located. Even in Dulles, supporters barely outnumbered opponents, 4,695 to 4,425.

Residents who voted against the facility said they didn’t think the county needed another recreation center after having just opened one in Sterling in March.

“We have the Claude Moore Recreation Center — and to contract more debt for another recreation center?” said Marna Gettleman, 40, a stay-at-home mother who lives in Ashburn. “A recreation center just isn’t essential in my view, and right now the county is trying to keep up with the essentials.”

County officials say that additional recreation centers are needed to keep pace with Loudoun’s explosive growth. The county’s guideline is one recreation center per 75,000 residents. Under that formula, four more recreation centers will be needed by 2018, when the county’s population is expected to reach 388,710, according to the county’s capital needs assessment for 2009 through 2018.

Loudoun’s only recreation center, Claude Moore, was funded by a combination of bonds and proffers totaling $24 million, said Claire Smith, spokeswoman for the county Department of Parks, Recreation and Community Services.

Smith said park officials have not decided whether to explore other funding options for the Broadlands center, adding that such discussions typically take place during the budget process.

Cliff Keirce, president of the Broadlands Homeowners Association, said the bond question would have gotten more support if voters had received more information about the proposed center.

“There was no publicity — nothing — explaining what it was,” Keirce said.

He also said he thinks that because of the center’s name, many voters mistakenly believed it would only serve Broadlands residents.

“I think people thought they were paying for a private facility,” he said. It would have had more backing, he said, “if they had called it Dulles North or Eastern Loudoun.”

Gettleman said she knew that the center would serve all county residents. She said she opposed it because she wants county government to focus on funding schools and public safety.

“A recreation center isn’t a need, it’s a ‘want,’ in my opinion,” Gettleman said. “Especially with property values going down and tax bills going up, you have to make choices and prioritize. A recreation center just wasn’t a priority for me.”

The items that voters approved in Tuesday’s referendum include purchasing land for three future schools and proposals to build or upgrade four fire stations, five community centers, two sheriff’s substations and a library.

Before Tuesday, the last bond question that voters rejected was a request in 2000 to spend $7.8 million to acquire and develop Dulles South Regional Park, a county budget official said.

Two bond questions failed in 1999. One was for $7.6 million to build a multi-use ballfield at a high school and aquatic centers at a middle school and an intermediate school. The other was for $5.3 million to construct a school administration building.

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