Dranesville Supervisor, MCC Board Disagree with Citizens Association Action on $12M Surplus

The Dranesville supervisor and the  McLean Community Center Board disagree with the McLean Citizens Association about a $12 million surplus held by the Community Center and a perceived lack of accountability.

MCC board chair Kevin Dent, in a statement, criticized a recent MCA resolution about the surplus, saying it was based on inaccurate information.

Foust, in a separate statement, voiced support for the surplus and MCC's attempts to expand into downtown, perhaps by building a taxpayer-financed gym.

The MCA resolution "was drafted and passed without discussion or consultation with MCC; thus, we were not given the opportunity to discuss the factual inaccuracies contained in this resolution," Dent said.

"Unfortunately, very few members of MCA have attended our public meetings; in my 5 years on the Board, I’ve only seen 3 MCA members at a total of perhaps 5 or 6 of our meetings," Dent also wrote.

MCA, McLean's unofficial town council, unanimously approved a resolution that "strongly urges the MCC Governing Board and the Board of Supervisors to resolve the question of the disposition of the taxpayer-funded surplus and the possible expansion of the MCC’s facilities in the Fairfax County budget for fiscal 2013."

"We've got a big problem with them having this big reserve," said MCA President Rob Jackson after approval of the resolution. "To have a taxpayer reserve is not right. They should not be having this huge reserve."

The surplus has accumulated over the years because the MCC board charged taxpayers more than was needed to finance the center. The MCC board is an agency of Fairfax County government. Its actions and $6.6 million budget plus the $12 million surplus must be approved by Dranesville Supervisor John Foust and the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors. (See attached 2012 MCC budget.)

McLean's 14,600 households pay an extra property tax to finance the community center. If the entire $12 million surplus was refunded, each household would receive nearly $1,000.

"The Board is discussing a number of possible uses for the excess reserves. Based on recent (and public) Board discussions, we expect that the plan that the Board will recommend will have three key components," Dent said in his statement.

• Returning a portion of such excess reserves to taxpayers by reducing the tax rate (similar to what has done with the fiscal 2013 budget)
• Expending funds to upgrade and modernize existing MCC facilities;
• Consider options to expand MCC facilities and services. "As we have repeatedly stated, no decision will be made to expand MCC facilities or services without soliciting public input through public meetings."

Foust wrote, "I believe the MCC can continue to use a portion of the surplus to pay operating expenses and thereby reduce the tax rate. I also believe a portion of the surplus should be used to expand the MCC’s facilities."

"I believe it would be a significant benefit to the McLean community if the MCC expanded into the Central Business District and I believe our community very much needs a public gymnasium," Foust said.

Foust's statement did not explain why the community center would build a gymnasium and not the county's Parks and Recreation Department.

A few years ago, Foust encouraged the MCC board to talk with well-known developer and McLean resident Dan Montgomery about redeveloping downtown McLean. Montgomery owns much of downtown including the Giant shopping center, the PNC bank building and the adjacent stores, and half of the shopping center containing McLean Hardware.

But Montgomery told Foust and the MCC in the summer 2010 that with the recession he was abandoning plans to redevelop downtown.

A year ago the MCC board hired as a real estate consultant Jones Lang on a single-bid contract and has paid them at least $40,000 to help them with their real estate plans.

This fall, at Foust's suggestion, the MCC board started meeting with JBG development, which had proposed building townhouses behind an existing office building on Elm Street. They talked about whether MCC might build a black box theater, which would need a $1 million annual taxpayer subsidy, on part of the property.

Some members of the MCC board met in unusual Sunday session last month to talk about the future of the downtown plans.

Addressing the question of accountability, Foust wrote that the Memorandum of Understanding agreed to in 1984 by the county supervisors and McLean residents "provides that prior to proceeding with any major capital construction or acquisition, the Governing Board must develop a master plan in support of the capital funding required. The plan, including justification for all proposed projects, must be submitted to the Board of Supervisors for approval.

"The MOU also provides that provision must be made for advising citizens of the fiscal impact of proposed capital projects and for soliciting citizen input regarding the advisability of embarking on such capital projects." There is an entire section in the MOU that addresses “Assurance of Public Accountability.”

The MOU is a public document and citizens can request a copy. Neither Foust nor the MCC has published the MOU on their websites for the convenience of the neighbors.

*For the 2013 budget, the MCC board voted to lower the tax rate from 2.3 cents to 2.2 cents per $100 of assessed value. That decrease would save taxpayers $7 to $10 a year.