Reston Association is reviewing the state of its many recreational facilities, and so far, it’s encouraged by the results.
An initial conditions assessment completed in May found that the five oldest swimming pools all need varying levels of maintenance or repair work, but none of them have deteriorated to the point where they need to be fully replaced.
“It’s really good news for the association,” RA Chief Operating Officer Peter Lusk told FFXnow in a recent interview. “We are not in a place where we need to invest in the pools themselves, but there are items … where we can invest smartly in plumbing and electrical and things like that, so we can keep our facilities up and running without having to go down for maintenance.”
Presented to the RA Board of Directors at its May 29 meeting, the assessment by facility engineering consultant FEA focused on the Ridge Heights, Lake Audubon, Golf Course Island, Newbridge and Tall Oaks pools, examining the sites and bath houses for defects.
Different components of each facility, such as the pool bath house doors or the water heaters, were assigned ratings of one (crisis) to five (excellent), resulting in an overall score for the site and bath house building. The assessment also calculated deferred maintenance costs and the amount of money needed between 2026 and 2031 to address all items deemed to be fair, poor or in crisis.
Ridge Heights
- Pool building: condition is fair with $88,151 in deferred maintenance needs
- Pool and site: good with $244,854 in needs
- Recommended projects include exterior wall patching and painting, roof and electrical work, new pool plaster/coating, and concrete and retaining wall repairs.
Tall Oaks
- Pool building: poor condition, $181,329 in needs
- Pool and site: good condition, $208,000 in needs
- The main recommended project for the pool is a replacement of the plaza and concrete in 2029, but the bath house’s plumbing systems, commercial hot water heater and finishes all need to be addressed.
Golf Course Island
- Pool building: good condition, $77,345 in deferred needs
- Pool and site: good condition, $235,750 in deferred needs
- Recommended projects are relatively minor, including work on the pool house flooring and roof, area lighting, and the concrete.
Lake Audubon
- Pool building: fair condition, $100,039 in deferred needs
- Pool and site: fair condition, $259,250 in deferred needs
- The study recommends addressing the concrete around the pool and bath house in the next five years. RA staff are already looking at fixing the bath house’s exterior doors, which got a crisis rating.
Newbridge
- Pool building: fair condition, $165,702 in deferred needs
- Pool and site: good condition, $217,000 in deferred needs
- Recommended projects involve the exterior bath house doors, plumbing systems, bath house floor finishes, and site fencing and gates.
Needing a total of $1.7 million in deferred maintenance work, the pools at all five facilities are believed to have a remaining useful life of 25 years if upkeep is conducted on schedule, according to the assessment.
The projected lifespan is more optimistic than what another consultant, DMA Reserves, expected in a reserve study released last year. That study, which reviewed all RA facilities, identified structural issues at the Lake Newport pool that needed to be repaired imminently, and noted that six pools would reach the 50-year mark in the 2030s, suggesting they would need to be replaced in the next decade.
The reserve study estimated that it would cost RA $190.8 million to replace all facility components — half of which ($94 million) would be for the pools and splash pads.
Expanded facility conditions assessment in the works
RA had ordered the reserve study after conducting a community survey that urged the homeowners’ association to prioritize maintaining existing recreational facilities, rather than investing in new projects.
According to Lusk, all HOAs are required to conduct regular reserve studies, but with 15 pools, 55 tennis courts, more than 60 playgrounds, four lakes and an assortment of trails to maintain, RA wants to get the most accurate possible data so it “can invest in the right facilities and spend the members’ money wisely.”
“The condition assessment tells us things like, this pool is supposed to last for 50 years, and it’s in great condition, so you should invest in the plumbing of the bath house instead of replacing the pool,” Lusk said. “Really, all it’s about for us is getting better data to make data-driven decisions.”
After seeing the initial results, the board of directors authorized staff at its May 29 meeting to expand the assessment to other facilities, including the remaining 10 pools, approximately 100 foot bridges that RA maintains on its pathways, and community buildings like Walker Nature Center, Brown’s Chapel and the Lake House overlooking Lake Newport.
RA CEO Mac Cummins told the board on June 26 that a $99,000 contract has been awarded for the additional assessment. FEA was the winning bidder, though the new work hasn’t yet started, according to Lusk.
For the five already reviewed pools, items that were determined to be in poor or fair condition will be added to RA’s capital improvement plan (CIP) in the “very near future,” possibly next year, Lusk says.
“If there are things that were a four or five, it just gives us a better timeline to plan for the future,” he said of items rated good or excellent.
At the board’s request, the upcoming conditions assessment will first tackle the next five oldest pools with the goal of making that data ready for consideration in RA’s 2026 budget, which is currently under development. A first draft will be released on Aug. 22.
“That’s the priority, the next five pools,” Lusk said. “Then before the end of the year, we’ll have better data on the bridges and the buildings so that we can start planning in 2026.”
