Town Crier Articles

We are so excited to welcome the new NTRA website. Our goal with this newly designed website is to create a user-friendly and informative browsing experience.

The new site is using a completely different software platform from our original website, so NO prior registration information could be transferred. Take a few minutes to register your family on the new site.  The URL is:  www.ntrawilliamsburg.org

One advantage of the new site is the ability to list members of your family on your membership. Once Town Management has confirmed the primary user’s registration, you may add other users such as a spouse. (Both owners and renters can register at the same address. Tenants will be asked to renew their registration annually so that the NTRA knows you are still living in New Town.)

Another opportunity the site provides is that the NTRA can go electronic for the bulk of our communication. By July, we anticipate that information currently published as the Town Crier will be posted on the site and there will no longer be a page-oriented Town Crier prepared for electronic or printed distribution. Check out the site’s Crier Article section. Messages from our RAB Chair, Chuck Stetler, will be posted as a feature “From the Chair” each month, or more frequently as needed.

So what new things might you want to enjoy now?

• Calendar– you have a full month’s view of all the NTRA events in New Town, and the ability to export the calendar for your use.

• Report an Issue– you can submit a request (select a topic) to Town Management that will be tracked electronically so that you will know its status and can check the site until it’s resolved.  Organizing requests by topic also allows the association to more readily determine where concerns are and should give our committees more visibility to issues.

• Search – are you looking for information on a certain NTRA committee or policy? Just enter the topic in the search tab (under the “Residents” drop-down menu).

• What’s New – wondering what you might have missed?  The What’s Newtab (also under the “Residents” drop-down menu) lets you specify a time period and then identify any content that has been added to the site during that period.

• Other new content – if you’ve wondered how New Town was created or are new to the community, look for helpful information under the “About” drop-down menu.  We’ve expanded the Frequently Asked Questions to provide useful info as well.  And we can add more questions if you let us know what you think is missing.

Some features that can be activated as needed in the future include a Survey function and a news bulletin.  As we gain more experience with the site and learn what you, the members of our community, would like to see, modifications may be made since the software platform has many different options enjoyed by other associations. Contact ntrawebsitecommittee@gmail.comwith your suggestions.

So why not join us on this journey?  We are looking for a few volunteers to help us to maintain the site and keep both the web and our Facebook page current and meaningful.  Contact Communications Committee Chair Lucy Painter at hokiegirl70@gmail.com.

The Landscape Advisory Committee (LAC) will be conducting a landscape services survey. Plans are to circulate the survey to ALL homeowners of the NTRA later this spring. Information gathered will be used to establish policies, create a budget and update specifications for the landscape contract, which expires at the end of this year. Your participation and comments are an important factor in the ongoing efforts to provide quality landscape services from our contractors. 

The LAC has set itself on a tentative time-line as follows: 

• complete the final draft of the survey by April 30
• send the survey out to homeowners by May 15
• collect responses from homeowners by June 15
• communicate results to homeowners by July 15

To help homeowners answer the survey questions, we think it is important to first understand what landscape services are the responsibility of the contractor. To that end, we reprint here (with a couple corrections) from a document available on the NTRA website called “Living in New Town; A quick guideline for the homeowner living in New Town.” 

Homeowner Responsibilities*: 

• Providing clear access to yard for landscaping contractor?(contractor is not responsible to move items out of yard for maintenance) 
• Contacting the irrigation company if the homeowner’s system needs repairs (repairs are the homeowners expense) Hampton Roads Irrigation – 757-877-3748
• Ensuring homeowners irrigation system does not over/under water homeowners property 
• Replacing dead/dying shrubs and trees (with similar kind) located on homeowner’s property 
• Landscape enhancements and plants (with LAC approval) that are additional work above landscaping contractor’s responsibilities 

* New Homes Plants and irrigation systems are maintained by the builder for 1 year from closing on new homes (if stated in warranty) 

NTRA Responsibilities: 

• Community pool/pool facilities and surrounding grounds 
• Playground facilities and grounds?- Designated trails within New Town?- Park and common areas within New Town 
• New Town banner flags?
• Street trees (on NTRA controlled roads) 
• Light bulbs for street lighting?
• Pet stations 

Landscaping Contractor Responsibilities:?

• Mowing, trimming, and edging property (edging is done every other week) 
• Mulching (once a year in the Spring)?
• Pruning shrubs and trees (up to 10 feet), (as per schedule on website) 
• Weed pre-emergent application (once a year in the Spring) 
• Weeding around trees and shrubs will be done on an as-needed basis - Fertilizing (as per schedule on website)?
• Aerating and over-seeding (once a year in the Fall)?
• Lawn insect control application (as per schedule on website) 

Irrigation Support Contractor Responsibilities:

• Irrigation Systems (startup*, backflow testing, 1 mid-season inspection, and shut down) 

*Systems are started and checked to make sure heads are working and spraying the appropriate area