Broadlands Rec Center

[Before any yells at me for creating a new post about this, please understand this is totally different from any other discussion about the YMCA or the Rec Center Property, so I thought it deserved a new thread.]

I want to propose something quite perposterous. And I'm not trying to be trite or wreak havoc upon the fabric of Broadlands- but I thought it's something to toss around.

Obviously the situation with the Rec Center in Broadlands is up in the air- the "Y" pulled out, and the County now has it in the CIP to open in 2011 or 2012 (as long as it survives budget season). Even if the County builds it, my understanding is that it will be similar to a "Y" or Ida Lee in Leesburg- in that it still requires an annual membership. One glance at Ida Lee's membership fees (almost $1200 for a year-long family membership), and it's out of the question for me. In other words, what good is a County Rec Center in Broadlands if I can't afford to go there?

I've heard folks in the past wonder why we don't have a Sports Pavilion like Ashburn Village- instead of answering the question, I say- why not? Why not have a Broadlands Rec Center that is owned and paid for by the HOA through our dues? Why not propose a PPEA (public-private partnership) where the HOA builds the facility on County property, all Broadlands residents get "free" membership (through HOA dues, like Ashburn Village), and other County residents can join for a stiff fee.

This way, the Rec Center gets built, Broadlands gets memberships for much less than if the County builds it (since it's in our neighborhood, for pete's sake), and it's still available for County use as necessary.

Now, I'm no financial expert, and I definitely don't know the status of the HOA's finances or how any of that works. But consider- a $20 additional HOA fee per month creates $720,000 per year for the HOA (approx. 3,000 units, right?). This is a serious chunk of dependable money to assist the County in paying off bonds on the construction of the center, as well as covering operating costs...

If you could get a full family membership for $20/month, wouldn't that be a decent deal?

So, let the flaming begin. I've probably missed some very critical point that makes the whole argument moot. Nonetheless, I'd rather have a "Broadlands Rec Center" than a "County Rec Center in Broadlands."

My 2 cents....

 

FWIW ... we have three pools in Broadlands. Of those 2500 or so homes, about 1/4 to 1/3 of them have never picked up pool passes, and its part of the amenities and upkeep they pay for now. I suspect if they had to pay for a new pool, they wouldn't want to.

In order to get something like this done, we're required to have a majority of homeowners approve this project, we barely see 75 at the annual meetings, and usually make the quorum through proxies, but the quorum is only 10% of the homeowners, about 250 proxies and attenders. I fully suspect that alot of people would either not reply, or say no since they'd never use it. Remember, this would a county backed facility, so even though we'd get free passes, it would have to be open to county residents. And I don't think they'd be allowed to be charged any more than what the HOA members would be charged.

Right now, we get grief for a $5 increase a month. And we have people living here who can't afford that because they bought without taking into account the increase in assessments and real estate taxes we've been seeing.

Sure it'll be nice to have a sports center like Ashburn Village, however, when it was built, the Village was the only thing out here, and the developers needed a draw to pull people out here. There's also a reason why they have one of the highest HOA fees around.

 

Neil-

I actually think they have pretty low HOA fees- not much more than the $67.50 I pay per month...I'll verify that info, but I didn't think they were very high.

 

your right dcdavid about the HOA fee, for the "Ashburn Village" privilage of using the Rec Center (which I used 3 times in 2 years). But if you also have say a Condo association, that's how Ashburn Villagers get tagged with the most expensive HOA's around. I will be saving money by moving to Broadlands

 

What is your total HOA fee there, and how is it broken down ??

 

I don't necessarily agree that pool usage equates to a negative opinion of a rec center, neilz. Unless you have children, the pools really aren't attractive options for adults. There may be other reasons why the pools don't get used. Ideas anybody?

Anyway, since I'm in Marketing my first inclination is to survey residents and see what they think. A rec center would be fantastic. We could use a space that encourages activities for all ages.

We should also consider what oasisrob mentioned in his postings about being a teen and living here. He thinks it's boring. Whether you agree with him or not, bored teenagers are never a good idea, and we're getting more of them all the time (such as the children who used to spend all their time at the sprinkler pool). A rec center with athletic facilities, classes, and other similar orientation would help keep those older kids from getting into trouble.

 

My point was not that the pools weren't used, it was the fact that the packets weren't even picked up!! I don't use the pools, but I got the packet for any visitors I may have during the summer.

When you have about 1/3 of the homes not even bothering to pick up the packet ... that may say something about homeowners bothering to vote about such a project.

And I agree with Steve, I can't see the HOA taking on any project outside of the scope of amenities for Broadlands residents only.

 

I think the HOA cost per home for the Sports Center is a little over $20/month. This is just for operational costs. The cost to finiance a $10-$12 million rec center would be a bit more than 3000 homes would want to afford.

Along this issue, Van Metre is proposing to build the rec center for the county if they can get some more property/rezoning approved and annexed into Broadlands. This way, they foot the bill and the county gets the building.

 

I have two monthly coupon books, one for the Villiage = $68.82
one for the condo HOA = 208.

The odd part, if I owned a townhouse the Village HOA would cover trash, yet I pay for it again in my condo HOA.

Only 3 days till I"m officially out in Broadlands

 

vacliff, this is news! Has Van Metre formally proposed this to the county? More details please...

 

It's still a work in progress and has been discussed with the county. This is similar to what Van Metre is doing in Stone Ridge. In order to get more property rezoned for higher density, Van Metre is building the county a library. In this case, they would build the facility and turn it over to the county.

Van Metre has one small rezoning that will get them some additional lots, but need around 200 more to make it cost effective. That means they would have to get some additional property around Broadlands that they could then get rezoned and annexed in.

 

If the center gets turned over to the county, then why would we have to pay out of our HOA for it. IT should only cost for those who want to use the facilities. In the Village, I was a member of golds gym, and unless I was giong to play basketball, I never went to the Village rec center. Thoughts/comments?

 

I would pay a small increase per month to have a Sports Pavillion/Gym here with group exercise classes!

 

Absolutely! I would agree to a small increase if we were to get a raquetball court or two out here.

 

What I'm saying though, instead of having everyone pay for it, only those that want to play racket ball go and sign up (like you would for a golds gym). For the record, I wouldn't mind seeing one of those in Broadlands

 

I would be fine with a pay-as-you-use it rec center as well. I used to live in Annandale, so I had to pay to use Wakefield Rec Center each time.

Bottom line: I just think it would be great to have a place like that in Broadlands.

 

So far everyone agrees with that

 

So what is Van Metre proposing? What will it include (Pool, racquet ball courts, etc) How do we find out. What is the time frame.

 

Just a heads up .. whatever Van Metre proposes or builds, it WILL NOT have any affiliation with Broadlands, nor will any HOA dues go toward it. It will be a county facility, and as such, will be open to all county residents.