The Town of Vienna will soon dive headfirst into planning for its potential aquatics and fitness center with some financial assistance from Navy Federal Credit Union.
A majority of Vienna Town Council members agreed on Nov. 10 to authorize an agreement that will allow staff to accept a $3 million advance from Navy Federal for hiring a project manager and architectural firm, fulfilling the company’s offer last year to help fund the facility’s design.
As indicated when the offer was first announced, the town is obligated to repay the credit union by Dec. 31, 2029, but no interest will be charged, Town Attorney Steven Briglia explained, noting that the two parties entered into a similar advance funding agreement for a reconstruction project to reduce traffic backups on Follin Lane.
“That got the project done a little faster than it would’ve through normal funding mechanisms,” Briglia said of the Follin Lane agreement.
According to the attorney, Navy Federal became interested in supporting the proposed facility after determining its corporate headquarters at 820 Follin Lane doesn’t have enough employees present at any given time to justify providing a fitness center on the campus.
The credit union is Vienna’s largest employer, with approximately 5,400 workers based at its headquarters, but many of them now work remotely.
“When they heard about [the aquatics center], they said a lot of our employees are residents of Vienna,” Briglia told the town council. “Can we do something like what we did at Follin Lane and help you jump-start the project, maybe get it started a little sooner with the idea that hopefully their employees will be able to join?”
Briglia said the agreement establishes a “mechanism” that the town can use to draw funds from Navy Federal, but no money will be spent unless or until the council approves contracts with a project manager and design firm. He also stressed that the credit union will have no say in the design, construction or operation of the facility, and there’s no requirement that the town move forward with the project.
However, Councilmember Chuck Anderson suggested that the agreement should include language explicitly protecting Vienna from any financial penalties or future conflicts with Navy Federal should it opt not to go forward with construction.
“The town has business with Navy Federal. Occasionally, there are some conflicts, so an entire agreement clause is to protect you against the claim that ‘Oh, well, we were nice to you here, so you should be nice to us here,'” he said. “… I feel quite strongly that we need to essentially tamp down our zeal to get this done to make sure that we are prudent in how we do some sort of an agreement that will obligate the town to repay $3 million somewhere down the road.”
While Briglia and Town Manager Mercury Payton indicated that they don’t believe Navy Federal officials would take issue with those revisions, some council members worried foregrounding the possibility that Vienna might not ultimately build an aquatics center could introduce unnecessary uncertainty.
“What this proposed amendment does is add uncertainty and a change of mind,” said Councilmember Ray Brill, who is retiring at the end of 2025. “When the new council comes in, we’re going to relitigate this and go back and forth with the idea to wear people down and finally say forget it.”
Mayor Linda Colbert and Councilmember Jessica Ramakis said they trusted Briglia’s judgment and were comfortable with the agreement as it was originally drafted.
“If we actually didn’t build it, which of course is an option, that could happen down the road, but nothing in here says anything about building, so why would we want to mention that?” Colbert said. “I think we have a town attorney for a reason. He’s explained what’s appropriate, which is what’s in front of us.”
Anderson’s proposed amendment failed by a 2-4 vote.
Recommended by a consultant based on community feedback, the proposed aquatics and fitness center would be constructed on the 3-acre, now-vacant Annex site at 301 Center Street South previously occupied by the Vienna Faith Baptist Church.
The Town of Vienna set aside $200,000 in its fiscal year 2026 budget for the facility and contemplated temporarily increasing its meals tax to help fund it. The town council did approve a meals tax hike in August but decided to forgo a sunset date and to funnel the additional revenue toward its overall capital improvement plan, rather than a specific project.
While the town is aiming to get the aquatics center finished by 2030, it’s still debating how to use the Annex property in the interim.
Town staff are seeking a conditional use permit for the site that would allow a range of temporary activities, including overflow parking, storage, parks and recreation events, and police training activities.
According to Vienna Deputy Director of Planning and Zoning Kelly O’Brien, the Fairfax County Department of Public Works and Environmental Services and Fairfax County Public Schools hope to use the Annex, respectively, for construction parking as work begins to replace Patrick Henry Library and to store mulch for a fundraiser.
Town staff presented a detailed list of potential activities and hours of operation, but the town council suggested that simpler rules would be better, giving its support to a permit request allowing parking on the site from 7 a.m. to 11 p.m. with all other activities ending at 9 p.m.
The permit must be approved by the town’s planning commission and Board of Zoning Appeals.
