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Fairfax County’s oldest rec center inches closer to planned renovation

Built in 1977, the Audrey Moore Recreation Center in Annandale is slated for an overhaul if voters in the Northern Virginia suburb approve a bond package next fall.

During a Board of Supervisors meeting with Park Authority leadership last week, Deputy Director of Planning Nigel Fields said the department is “looking forward to focusing on Audrey Moore in particular for our next bond and being able to raise the level of community service there.”

According to county documents, the renovation project is expected to cost about $60 million. Some of the remaining bond package, which is expected to total $180 million, could be used to renovate either the Franconia or Providence rec centers. The Franconia center was built in 1980, and the Providence facility was built in 1982.

Jai Cole, the Park Authority’s executive director, told the board they may only be available to improve parts of one of the two centers.

Construction costs have been going up since the pandemic, Cole said: “Audrey Moore is going to be a slimmed-down version of a rec center, just because of all the construction costs that have gone up through COVID.”

Some of the rising costs are material and others are permitting, Cole said.

“It’s all of these things that are creating the situation where everything is just costing more money,” she said.

The county is considering ways to bring costs down.

Earlier this year, the Mount Vernon Recreation Center reopened and has become increasingly popular.

“Having driven by there a few times since, I don’t think I’ve gone by there where the parking lot is not completely packed,” McKay said.

After getting sworn in to represent the Braddock District on Fairfax County’s Board of Supervisors, Rachna Sizemore Heizer said renovating the Audrey Moore recreation center, after delays, was a priority.

Fairfax Co. seeks to exempt Potomac River to protect water if Va. declares drought emergency

Northern Virginia remains under a drought watch, and Fairfax County leaders want to make sure there’s enough drinking water to go around if Virginia declares a drought emergency. The Fairfax County Board of Supervisors authorized Chairman Jeff McKay to write to Governor Abigail Spanberger, to request that the Potomac River be excluded from a Virginia drought-specific declaration, since Fairfax Water is dependent on the Potomac as its drinking water supply.
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