Deadline Approaching for Community Center Board Candidates

Friday is the deadline for filing nominating petitions if you wish to run for probably the most powerful board in McLean --- the one that collects part of our tax dollars.

Five seats are up for election in May on the 11-member McLean Community Center board --- three adult seats and two student seats.

The board oversees a $6 million budget for the Community Center, the Alden Theater (located in the community center) and the Old Firehouse Teen Center. The board has also accumulated a $12 million surplus by collecting more of our tax dollars than they need to run the center. The surplus is growing.

The board members whose terms expire this year are Lee DiCenso, Sean Dunn, treasurer, and Risa Sanders, secretary. None has said publicly whether they will seek reelection.

Nominating petition forms are available at the community center located at 1234 Ingleside Ave.,  McLean. Phone: 703-790-0123.

• Candidates must live in the tax district created to finance the center. The tax district is generally the area from the Arlington County line to Difficult Run and from the Potomac River to the Dulles Toll Road and Route 7. You can easily determine if you live in the tax district by looking at your property tax bill. There is a line item showing how much of your tax dollars go to the center.

• Adult candidates serve three-year terms and  must be at least 18 years of age. Youth candidates must be 15-17 years of age as of McLean Day (May 21).  Youth members serve one-year terms. One youth member will be elected from the McLean High School boundary area and one will be elected from the Langley High School boundary area.

• Youth candidates are not required to attend either school; however, they must reside in the boundary areas served by these schools as defined by Fairfax County Public Schools.

• Candidates both adult and youth,  must obtain the signatures of 10 district residents. Yes,  your family members can sign, if they live in the tax district.  Deadline for filing completed petitions: 5pm. Friday, March 25.

The major issues facing the board:

• The board has paid $100,000 for a feasibility study on what if anything the board might build on the site of the Old Firehouse in downtown McLean, where the board runs a teen center. MCC has long talked of replacing the teen center with either a gymnasium or a community building that would include a black box theater.

           A few challenges face the board: They don't own the land. There is no space for parking at a new building. The land needs rezoning. The board is unsure what it wants to build.

           This is where they would spend our $12 million surplus.

• The board has paid $90,000 to replace the outdoor signs directing folks to the community center.

We McLean resident vote during McLean Day (May 21)  from 10:30am-5 p.m. on Saturday, May 21. Or you can vote an  absentee ballot from Monday, April 11, to Wednesday, May 18. 
 
More information: Call the Center at 703-790-0123, TTY: 711, or visit the Website.

The McLean Community Center (MCC) is seeking candidates to run for open seats on its 2011-2012 Governing Board. MCC’s board provides oversight and guidance for MCC programs and facilities, including the Robert Ames Alden Theatre and the Old Firehouse Teen Center. MCC is a special tax district agency of Fairfax County Government, with its primary location at 1234 Ingleside Avenue.

Candidates must be residents of the Center’s tax district (Dranesville Small Tax District #1) in order to be eligible to run for a seat on the 11-member board. In order to have their names placed on the ballot, candidates are required to obtain the signatures of 10 McLean tax district residents in their respective categories, either adult or youth. Nominating petition forms will be available at the Center beginning at 9 a.m. on Tuesday, Feb. 22. The deadline for filing completed petitions is 5 p.m. on Friday, March 25. Voting will be held during McLean Day from 10:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday, May 21, at Lewinsville Park, 1659 Chain Bridge Road. Absentee Voting also is permitted from Monday, April 11, to Wednesday, May 18.  

Three adult positions and two youth positions are open this year. The three adult candidates who receive the three highest vote counts will serve three-year terms. Youth members will serve one-year terms. Adult candidates must be at least 18 years of age as of McLean Day. Youth candidates must be 15-17 years of age as of McLean Day. One youth member will be elected from the area represented by the McLean High School boundary area and one will be elected from the area represented by the Langley High School boundary area. Youth candidates are not required to attend either school; however, they must reside in the boundary areas served by these schools as defined by Fairfax County Public Schools.