Town Crier Articles

 

A new NTRA Meeting Policy recently approved by the NTRA Board of Directors has been posted on the website. This policy and meeting room rules replaces prior meeting space requirements as well as the website automatic registration system. 

Here are some key points of the policy:

• The meeting room is available for use only by the NTRA Board of Directors, NTRA Committees, and NTRA Clubs, or for Board-approved charitable activities.
• Groups using the room must be comprised of NTRA members.
• The room is not available for private parties.
• The NTRA Board of Directors has the right to preempt other groups scheduled for the room as necessary
• Groups using the room must adhere to behavioral and other guidelines in the General Rules statement, use room equipment properly, clean up after themselves, and make sure door is properly locked upon exit. A Responsible Person named on the Approval Form will be charged with responsibility for ensuring the room is used appropriately, as well as opening and closing/locking the room.

All meetings approved for the meeting room will be posted on the website calendar to avoid confusion, and problems double-scheduling of meeting room space.

A final note: our President, Jack Espinal did much of the work in drafting the new policy so that it easily met the approval of John and Sue Tarley, NTRA’s legal counsel. We have both Jack and the Tarleys to thank for this effort to ensure that we have clear and complete guidelines for our Meeting Room.

Information gathered from the community will be used by your Board of Directors in developing a comprehensive  plan to address the exterior maintenance problems that Fortress has identified.  (Owners can access the reports from Fortress on the NTRA website - Association section, Committees & Policies page under "Village Walk Information.")

 

Please put Friday, 19 April 2024 on your calendar and plan to attend this critically important meeting that will affect everyone’s future in Village Walk.

NTRA committees are seeking new members. These committees advise the NTRA Board of Directors and provide information that helps the Board make decisions that impact everyone in each of our neighborhoods. They also take on projects to maintain and improve the New Town experience.

 

No experience is required for committee membership. All you really need is an interest in our community and fresh ideas that can help New Town be a better place in which to live. Tenants are welcome on several Committees as non-voting members.

 

Generally, Committees meet for about an hour once a month, either face-to-face at our Association meeting room or by Zoom.  Committee members may even join by Zoom if they are out of the area. Meetings generally last about an hour and ideas and recommendations for the Board of Directors are discussed and developed. In addition, plans for upcoming New Town initiatives are made.

 

The following is a list of the seven NTRA committees with membership needs:

• The Activities Committee has room for one more voting member, but welcomes all interested New Town residents to join them. Activities needs members to help plan and conduct social activities throughout our community.  They plan many of the events that you see advertised in New Town. If you like planning and conducting social events, this is the committee for you.

As indicated last month, the New Town Residential Association's (NTRA) commercial landscaping contractor, James River Grounds Management (JRGM), provides our Association with landscaping services throughout the year.  This is a standard service for each lot and is not customized landscaping for our residents. The NTRA contract with JRGM provides for the following turf care services: mowing and edging.

 

You can expect the grass throughout New Town to be mowed approximately once per week beginning in late March and continuing through mid-November, weather permitting. Periods of inclement weather can delay and/or postpone mowing if the service would be detrimental to the turf or be unsafe to perform. While riding mowers will be used in many locations throughout New Town, only smaller push mowers will be used for small turf areas and on slopes. This is safer and helps prevent damage to the grass and the surrounding property. The majority of the grass in New Town is fescue and it will be cut to a height of 3 to 4 inches. Summer grass such as the Zoysia in Lydias Park and also in a few other parts of New Town will be cut appropriately for the variety.

 

During a normal week, JRGM starts mowing in Shirley Park and part of Village walk on Monday. Tuesday, mowing in Village Walk is continued and extended through Savannah Square and Chelsea Green.  On Wednesday and Thursday, they are usually mowing Charlotte Park. Of course, weather and a few other factors can impact this schedule. If you have an irrigation system or if you just water your grass manually, please do not water a day or two before your scheduled service days. This will decrease turf damage from mowing equipment and allow JRGM to provide our community better service.

 

Each lawn service will include edging around all tree beds, poles, signage, fencing, foundations, and all vertical structures. Scalping is not only unsightly; it is detrimental to lawn growth and should never occur. JRGM staff have been trained to properly and safely use their edging equipment. When the mowing and edging is completed JRGM will remove all clippings from sidewalks, paved areas, and mulched beds.

 

Sometimes, weather will impact the receipt of landscaping services. Whenever a scheduled service is going to be missed, JRGM will advise Chesapeake Bay Management of the situation. The service will then be provided to the community as soon as the turf areas are dry enough to allow safe mowing without turf damage. If this delay is more than a couple of days, JRGM will advise the affected neighborhoods and provide an estimated date that the delayed service will be provided.

 

Next month’s topic is weed & pest control during the late spring, summer and fall.

Sadly, Chuck passed away on February 29th, about 60 days after the death of his wife Susan. The Stetlers arrived in 2011, theirs was the second home built, as Charlotte Park’s single family homes were being developed. Thus, Chuck had a wealth of institutional knowledge about the NTRA. We fondly called him “Mr. Mayor” since all manner of issues were within his grasp. 

 

Chuck first volunteered for the NTRA’s Finance Committee. With an eye for return on investments, he championed a proposal to show the Developer Board how the NTRA’s replacement reserve funds could generate more money if invested in a CD ladder (See February 2016 Town Crier, page 5). As a reward for his insights, Chuck was nominated from the floor of the NTRA Annual Meeting and elected to the 2016 Residential Advisory Board (RAB). He served as Vice Chair and then RAB Chair from 2017 through the assumption of Homeowner control in mid-2020. He kept his sanity by following professional sports, watching the stock market, and grilling on his beloved Green Egg. “I am a man of few words. At least that’s what my wife, Susan tells me. I’m quiet because I listen to what our residents have to say.”

In order to improve communications with Association Members, Ahmed Desouky, the NTRA Community Manager from Chesapeake Bay Management, holds office hours in the NTRA’s meeting room every Tuesday morning between 10 and 12 noon. The NTRA meeting room is located at 5118 Center Street, next door to the Armed Forces Career Center.  Although Ahmed will be working on his computer, feel free to interrupt him with your questions and comments.  This is a perfect time for you to get to know our manager, discuss problems in our community, and to make suggestions about ways our community could be improved.

 

Please stop by and take advantage of this weekly opportunity.

 

The NTRA uses a commercial landscaping contractor, James River Grounds Management (JRGM), to provide the Association with landscaping services throughout the year. This is a standard service for each lot and is not customized landscaping for our residents. A more customized landscaping package would cost considerably more than we are currently paying.  This article is the first of a series of Town Crier reminders that will address the landscaping services that homeowners receive from JRGM so that owners can better understand which services will be provided throughout the year.

 

Spring brings the pruning of trees and shrubs and the mulching of tree and flowerbeds to all of our neighborhoods.  So, as a homeowner what services can you expect to receive?

 

JRGM will be pruning ornamental shrubs that are less than 12 feet tall; they are scheduled to start in March, weather permitting. Services begin in the Shirley Park/Village Walk neighborhoods and move through our neighborhoods, ending in Charlotte Park. Ornamental shrubs will be pruned, thinned and/or shaped to enhance the quality of their appearance. Boxwoods and other specialty ornamental plants are generally not pruned although special exceptions can be made if requested in writing. Trees, up to 15 feet high will also be pruned as needed. If your trees are larger than 15 feet, you are responsible for their care. In addition to this spring pruning, additional pruning services will be provided two more times during the year, roughly in the summer and fall.  

 

JRGM also provides one annual mulching service for our common area landscape beds, including ornamental tree and shrub beds, and home foundation planting beds, using shredded dark brown hardwood mulch. All beds will be edged in such a way that the bed areas are not enlarged.  Prior to applying mulch, weeds will be removed from beds and pre-emergent herbicide will be applied to help control future weed growth. When this preparation is complete, mulch will be applied to achieve a total depth of 2-3 inches. (Note that old mulch is not removed during this service.) This process is nearing completion. 

 

Residents have the option to opt out of James River Grounds landscaping services if they so desire by contacting Chesapeake Bay Management, our management company.  

 

Next month we will outline what you can expect to see regarding mowing, edging, and turf maintenance.

Homeowner associations (HOAs) are responsible for providing a variety of services to their members, as spelled out in their governing documents. How do we pay for these services?

 

The New Town Residential Association has only one consistent source of funding -- the homeowner assessments (commonly referred to as HOA dues) which are authorized by our Master Declaration and State law, and paid by each homeowner.  While our income is sometimes supplemented by project grants, some investment income, and closing fees, this additional revenue contributes only a very small portion of our budget.

 

Each year the Board develops a budget and generates projected Annual Assessments to be collected for both the General operating expenses (e.g. property management, trash removal, maintenance of streetlights and landscape, shared expenses with the New Town Commercial Association, legal and administrative expenses) and the specific Neighborhood expenses of our community (home landscaping, and various exterior maintenance and inspections provided solely to the Village Walk neighborhood.) Assessments also include a contribution to reserves to fund the replacement of amenities, emergency repairs, and other unforeseen expenses.

 

When expenses exceed the total amount of income collected by the Association, the Board of Directors has a limited number of possible options. They are:

1. To increase the amount of the Annual Assessments in the following year.
2. To reduce services and thereby the associated expenses for the Association.
3. To borrow money to cover the shortfall in funding.
4. To assess each homeowner a special assessment.

Our governing documents give the Board of Directors the authority to increase the Annual assessments and to assess homeowners a special assessment. In the case of Village Walk, there is additional specific language that allows the Board to use a special assessment to raise funds “for significant repairs, replacement or maintenance projects” if the Board finds it is in the best interests of the Association and the Village Walk Neighborhood to do so. Given the continued exterior construction problems in Village Walk, the Board has discussed the likelihood of a Village Walk special assessment since 2022, and is now proceeding to define how this would occur to be both fair to Village Walk owners and fiduciarily responsible to the Association.

 

It is a serious step for any HOA Board to contemplate a special assessment. A variety of factors need to be weighed including how quickly the funding is needed, what the range of expected expenses could be, payment options, and potential financial hardship situations. Paying a special assessment is mandatory for affected owners and nonpayment can result in serious consequences for both the owner and the Association.