A significant portion of Reston Association’s future capital planning will depend on the future of its pools, according to a recently released reserve study.
A report by DMA Reserves estimates that it’ll cost RA nearly $94 million to replace its pools and splash pads in the coming decades — a whopping 49% of the roughly $191 million in anticipated facility replacement costs facing the organization.
While the Lake Thoreau pool just finished a replacement, the Lake Newport pool is already “dealing with some structural issues,” and four pools — Golf Course Island, Newbridge, Tall Oaks and Ridge Heights — will near the end of their life in the next 10 years, per the report.
RA’s Board of Directors voted on Aug. 29 to defer consideration of the reserve study — in concert with other planning tools — until an early December meeting.
The study will be used to help develop RA’s budget and guide its five-year capital improvements plan, along with a pool and associated amenities replacement plan.
“In the near term, our spending that we’ve had in our capital planning…stays stagnant with what we’re sort of accustomed to, but then you start running into pool replacements, which is a big consideration, given that we have 15,” RA Chief Operating Officer Peter Lusk said.
Based on the study, RA will need to transfer roughly $5 million into reserves in 2025 compared to $2.3 million transferred in 2024. RA will likely continue to contribute its reserve fund for repair and replacement beyond 2028 at varying year-over-year rates.
The consultant recommends a 9.5% year-over-year increase to the reserve balance until 2038.
RA CEO Mac Cummins said the reserve study would help identify big ticket items due to their age.
“What’s missing and we tried to do this year is embark on creating a much more deliberate strategic thought process for how to do CIP planning as compared to ‘I’m interested in [a] project, can we fund it next year?’” he said.
The report cautions that many projects will be initiated by “structural problems” with a particular pool, requiring “significant” money to repair.
“At that point, many associations look at full replacement in order to take the opportunity to better address the needs and desires of current owners with updated modern facilities,” the study reads. “This ultimately plays into property values because home buyers have many choices of competing communities to buy into, many with newer amenities.”
This year’s study uses a variable rate of inflation to more accurately forecast future costs, particularly in the post-Covid climate.
Virginia law requires associations to conduct a reserve study at least once every five years to determine the necessity and funding reserves required to handle community facilities and capital components.
Costs are broken down by the estimated useful life, remaining useful life, and current replacement cost. The study helps guide the contents of the association’s budget — a role several RA board members emphasized during the board meeting.
At-large board member John Farrell encouraged a more substantial role for RA’s parks and recreation advisory committee, especially when evaluating what to do with an aging pool and what needs to fulfill.
“I struck me that we have a parks recreation advisory committee that at least in my experience ought to be more upfront or taking more of a lead in this conversation actually than fiscal,” Farrell said.
RA’s fiscal committee has formally reviewed and endorsed the report earlier this year. RA initiated the reserve study in April.
The next reserve study will take place in 2029.
