Firefighters from the Sterling, Ashburn and Cascades fire companies get pulled to the Dulles area for emergencies, accidents and other public safety calls there.
"The call volume in the area is the highest in the county," said Robert Griffin, chief of the Department of Fire and Rescue Services, about one of the county's most populous areas, including a large number of businesses along the Route 28 corridor. "Because of traffic, it's hard to get the resources to the [Routes] 7 and 28 corridor from the existing stations. ... It's going to give us the ability to get more pieces on the road and cut down on travel time."
The three stations may get relief if voters approve one of two county bond referenda. The referendum will allow the county to issue $8.8 million in bonds to design, construct and equip a combined fire and sheriff station for the Dulles and Route 28 area, the second for the county. The first combined station is planned for South Riding, funded through a referendum passed in 1999.
"That need is long overdue for an additional facility in that region of the county. ... The growth in that area just demands another site," said Supervisor James Burton (I-Mercer). "The calls and demands for service in that area is taxing the service we have now."
THE COUNTY currently does not have a site for the station, but may have one within the next few months if Moorefield Station proffers land to the county in exchange for a rezoning of the 600-acre property to fit the development. The mixed-use planned community is proposed for the Dulles area south of the Dulles Greenway.
If the bond is approved, the combined fire and sheriff station would be in operation within two years to serve the Dulles area and the Route 28 corridor and to assist with the Cascades and University Heights areas.
"Most people shop the area for services down there. This is one of those stations that touch most of the population in Loudoun County," Griffin said, adding that the combined station will save money by using the same land and infrastructure for two county facilities.
THE SECOND REFERENDUM, if approved, will allow the county to issue $118.8 million in bonds to design, construct and equip two high schools and renovate and add on to Broad Run High School in Ashburn. The two schools are proposed for South Riding at a cost of $52 million and Brambleton at a cost of $52.9 million, with the existing school renovations estimated at $13.8 million. The additions at Broad Run include a new gymnasium and classrooms, along with renovations to the current gymnasium and other classrooms to be completed by 2004. The school opened in 1969.
"We always try to keep up with our older facilities as we build our newer facilities," said Joseph Vogric, School Board chairman.
THE REFERENDUM if passed will provide funding to build two high schools to open during the 2005-06 year, but does not require the School Board to build both schools at the same time.
"We need the permission to go out and take the debt. Eventually, we'll need them," Vogric said. "If we don't get funding for the schools, we need to find room in other schools and send students [to them]."
Vogric said Broad Run and Stone Bridge high schools are operating "at high capacity" and "our middle-school class size is increasing."
"The people living in Broad Run and South Riding have been very vocal in wanting neighborhood schools they can have," said Gil Heiman of the Loudoun County Democratic Committee. "They have as much right to those schools as children in Leesburg, Sterling and Purcellville."
Other county and school leaders disagree.
"Both high schools are not needed at this time, and both schools will not be filled," said Jim Vogt, president of the Loudoun Taxpayers for Accountable Government. "We could understand if the bond was split into two."
Likewise, School Board member John Andrews (Broad Run) does not support building both high schools in the same year. "I hope we will discuss the issue further in light of the economy and school census numbers," he said. "Our census numbers show that the growth predicted in the Dulles South area are correct."
Advocates of building the South Riding school said the expected growth is more than school staff predictions. "I don't believe the numbers justify it," said Andrews, who instead supports building the Brambleton school first.
Patrick Chorpenning (Mercer) disagreed. "Obviously, they are both needed," he said. "Really, at this point, it's up to the voter. We had the public debate, but in the end, we will let the voters decide."
ISSUING THE BONDS for the county and school capital projects will carry a debt to the county. The county's debt service is the annual amount of payment on the principal and interest on the bonds issued, paid over a 20-year time period.
The debt service, which is at $74 million this year, is expected to increase by $28 million next year. In 1993, the debt service was $10 million. Since that year, the county built 32 schools and issued bonds for each of them.
The debt service is expected to peak out in 2006 at $124 million, Burton said. "That's a tremendous burden," he said. "We're seeing the true cost of growth. These bills are coming due."