Town Crier Articles

 

There has been a lot of activity around our community this month completing, upgrading and repairing much needed work.  Attached are photographs and a brief description of what has or is in the process of being completed. Please walk around New Town and check it out!

The playground has a new layer of much needed mulch and directly affecting how the mulch will be kept dryer is the French drain that was dug this week on the other side of the sidewalk from the playground and at the bottom of the hill in back of the pool. No more dirty puddles on the sidewalk!

A lot is going on in the pool area. A new strip of concrete was put down recently to make more room for chairs. The pool pergola has been repaired and is awaiting a final paint coat. The pool was resurfaced. It was a huge messy job, but maybe some of you saw the work in progress. Spreading the concrete the men wear a contraption on their feet that look like Hans Brinker’s metal skates. We all look forward to a smoother surface next summer.

 

Our parks have also received extra attention this year. Please notice the benches in the common areas that have been carefully sanded and stained by two residents Bob Dennis and Mike Reilly! The sandbox in the Lydias Drive playground was repaired by Kelly Mihalcoe and Eden Glenn. Thank you for all your hard work and volunteer time. Dead trees were also cleaned out of Roper Park earlier this spring.

 

The path at Chelsea Green has recently been scraped, leveled out and is awaiting the delivery of new stone. While this repair is a work in progress it is long awaited, having been deferred due to the 2020 pandemic. This repair continues across Discovery Park Avenue through the Veterans Park.

Earlier in September you may recall the large paving machines that entered Charlotte Park and the odor of the resurfacing of Bettys Lane and Julies Way. The new surfaces are complete. 

 

Next time you're out for a walk in our lovely neighborhood, take a moment to notice all the improvements!

 

Out for our morning walk a few weeks ago my husband and I met a dog, Auggie, as he came running out from the trail at the end of Discovery Park Avenue by the maintenance building. Coming after him was Mike carrying a large bag full of trash and a grabber tool. Chatting briefly, we introduced ourselves and met Mike who we assumed lived in New Town since he was cleaning up our trails between the two bridges. Actually, he works at SDV Solutons Inc. and does not live in New Town. Every Friday Mike brings his dog to work with him, and often his wife accompanies them as well. He collects trash on his walks and helps keep our community clean. 

 

So the next time you venture out for a trail walk, maybe we could all follow Mike’s enthusiasm and bring a trash bag with you to keep the trails clean. Thank you, Mike! 

 

 

 

 

 

Follow the New Town Residential Association Facebook page! If you're interested in more regular updates about the happenings in your neighborhood, *like* and *follow* our page. We love seeing your likes, comments, and engagement. 

 

 

On the NTRA Facebook page you can find information about upcoming neighborhood events as well as updates shared by the New Town Commercial Association. It's also helpful for reminders and easily adding events to your calendar. As always, if there is anything specific you would like to see posted, please reach out and let us know.

 

And then there were two…

 

This month Mark Burgess and I are focused on finalizing the Association’s 2022 budget for presentation to the community with the able assistance of our Finance Committee. It is clear that there needs to be a much-needed change of mindset from what we’ve employed in the past on the part of all of us homeowners. 

 

We can no longer seek the best deal/lowest possible HOA dues or expect to artificially link the NTRA budget to inflation or CPI. Underfunding our Association does long term damage both to our physical plant and our reserves. This year with professional advice, we have critically evaluated what it costs to operate and maintain our community and save for the future. For many homeowners there will be a big assessment increase in 2022. Because we are following our documents, assessments will look somewhat different as well (except for the Village Walk neighborhood). To further understand why an increased assessment is needed, be sure to read Treasurer Everett Lunsford’s article this month on our “2022 Budget Challenges.”

 

Exciting news! We will soon welcome a new management company to serve our Association. Effective December 1, Chesapeake Bay Management Inc. will take over as the NTRA management company. Chesapeake Bay manages nearly 100 communities in Southeastern Virginia, has strong technological capabilities, and is committed to making positive change in our community. During the selection process, Chesapeake impressed the Board with its commitment to customer service, “can do” attitude, frankness, and overall expertise. Chesapeake also provides value for the money because their management fee is all inclusive, saving us the myriad fees and pass-through costs of our current contract. Best of all, the NTRA will have a full-time dedicated manager.

 

In the meantime, there is a massive amount of Association data and history to share. This records transition work will consume much of Town Management’s attention this month, so please be patient with your requests. We want as smooth a turnover as possible, especially given the imminent beginning of a new fiscal year. There will be a learning curve for everyone involved.

 

In mid-November homeowners will be officially notified by Chesapeake with information about how to set up your dues accounts. A different bank will be involved in handling NTRA’s accounts, so expect to change your automatic assessment payments for January 1, 2022. Keep an eye out for this important communication. 

 

November is America’s traditional month of sharing and Thanksgiving. In that spirit, I would like to thank my colleagues who beginning in June 2020 served on the homeowner Board of Directors. Despite the roller coaster ride to get here, your ideas and involvement helped us accomplish several important projects to improve New Town’s common areas and operations. 

Thanks also to Town Management, which at the end of the month will conclude 15 years as the management company for the NTRA. From dirt piles to developed neighborhoods, Town Management has watched and lived the transformation of our community and all of its growing pains. 

 

The volunteers who staff our NTRA Committees also deserve a big thank you. The Board especially appreciates the recent work of our Management Company Search Committee - Bill Voliva, Mike Reilly and Everett Lunsford - who expeditiously screened applicants to fill the critical role of our management company. A big shout out to our expanded Communications team who stepped up to assist me - our new Crier editor, writers, and all those who contributed clear and compelling messages on the need to change our documents. That said, we are always in the market for additional help.

 

A final note of personal thanks to my support system – my unflappable husband Ric and dear Charlotte Park neighbors/friends who have shared a kind word or a laugh (often with a glass of wine) and constantly remind me that the Board is only volunteers, doing the best we can with the cards we were dealt by the Developer Board. New Town is a great community to live in, and these moments rally me. 

 

It is so important for all of us to keep working towards having the Association on sound footing-both legally and financially. We look forward to seeing all of you via Zoom at the November 19th 2022 Budget presentation. We are at the start of the holiday season and embarking on a new chapter in our community’s history. Let’s make it an exciting, memorable beginning.

 

 

 

In late August, the Board of Directors (BOD) appointed a three-member Search Committee to find a new management company for our Association. As of November 31, 2021 Town Management, the NTRA’s longtime management company, will no longer be providing property management services to the NTRA. The timeframe looked daunting, but we committed to do our best to meet this challenge.

 

The committee identified and notified ten property management companies within the eastern Virginia area to determine who may be interested in becoming the property management company for the NTRA.

 

A Request for Proposal (RFP) for Professional Management Services, developed and approved by the BOD, was provided to each company. The RFP solicited proposals to establish a management agreement through competitive negotiations for professional management services for the NTRA. 

Five management companies requested and participated in individual on-site interviews and tours of New Town; each company subsequently submitted proposals by the September 15, 2021 due date.

 

The Search Committee then conducted a lengthy review of the submitted proposals, pursued additional committee questions/clarifications, and had discussions with provided references.

 

From the five applicants, the Committee recommended three companies that stood out and were worthy of a final BOD interview. We felt that any one of these three finalists could serve the NTRA well as a potential management company. 

 

I also participated as an observer with the NTRA BOD and officers in the final interviews. The dialogue was frank and the responses enlightening. Overall, the entire selection process was open and thorough. Best of all – we met the dates to provide a month’s transition period between the companies. Challenging timing to say the least!

 

My thanks to Everett Lunsford and Mike Reilly for joining me on this mission. The NTRA is indeed fortunate that we will have a new partner like Chesapeake Bay Management Company on our journey as a community. 

 

 

There has been a lot of activity around our community this month completing, upgrading and repairing much needed work.  Attached are photographs and a brief description of what has or is in the process of being completed. Please walk around New Town and check it out!

 

The playground has a new layer of much needed mulch and directly affecting how the mulch will be kept dryer is the French drain that was dug this week on the other side of the sidewalk from the playground and at the bottom of the hill in back of the pool. No more dirty puddles on the sidewalk!

 

A lot is going on in the pool area. A new strip of concrete was put down recently to make more room for chairs. The pool pergola has been repaired and is awaiting a final paint coat. The pool was resurfaced. It was a huge messy job, but maybe some of you saw the work in progress. Spreading the concrete the men wear a contraption on their feet that look like Hans Brinker’s metal skates. We all look forward to a smoother surface next summer.

 

Our parks have also received extra attention this year. Please notice the benches in the common areas that have been carefully sanded and stained by two residents Bob Dennis and Mike Reilly! The sandbox in the Lydias Drive playground was repaired by Kelly Mihalcoe and Eden Glenn. Thank you for all your hard work and volunteer time. Dead trees were also cleaned out of Roper Park earlier this spring.

 

The path at Chelsea Green has recently been scraped, leveled out and is awaiting the delivery of new stone. While this repair is a work in progress it is long awaited, having been deferred due to the 2020 pandemic. This repair continues across Discovery Park Avenue through the Veterans Park.

 

Earlier in September you may recall the large paving machines that entered Charlotte Park and the odor of the resurfacing of Bettys Lane and Julies Way. The new surfaces are complete. 

 

Next time you're out for a walk in our lovely neighborhood, take a moment to notice all the improvements!

 

Everett Lunsford, Treasurer 

 

2021 has been a year where the NTRA Board and the Finance Committee experienced great learning about our New Town community. It is also a year none of us want to experience again.

 

Early in the year we realized significant unbudgeted expenses would occur. So in April Town Management was directed to improve our liquidity by shifting home closing replacement reserve contributions to the operations reserve fund (the situation eased by September, so this practice was discontinued in October 2021). As a result, the Association has not been able to substantially contribute to our replacement reserves this year. 

 

The largest unbudgeted operating expense is legal fees. The owner challenges to the NTRA budgeting process that started in 2020 continued into 2021. Reviewing the assessment allocation process defined in the existing Governing Documents (which has not been followed in any of the past budgets and allocations) led the Board to decide to revise the documents.  Even though 2/3 homeowner approval is required for the document changes, the Board hoped for community approval in time for the 2022 budget. That proved extremely optimistic.

 

Another large expense was the audit of the 2020 NTRA financials. This first-time audit was performed by Adams, Jenkins and Cheatham, a Richmond based CPA firm specializing in community association audits and financial consulting. An audit of transition year financials is considered best practice by the Community Association Institute, and the Board, with Finance Committee recommendation, decided this was an important task even though unbudgeted. NTRA and Town Management received a clean audit report.

 

COVID continued to affect New Town, with additional staffing required for pool operations during the summer. Inspections of the pool led to unplanned repairs to equipment and to the pool pergola. The inspections also determined the pool requires resurfacing, which is being done now. The resurfacing will be paid from replacement reserve funds, but the work is occurring 2 years earlier than the 2019 reserve study anticipated. The replacement reserve fund also covered the pool pergola repair, but the work was required 15 years before expected. In light of the early pool failures, the Board decided to add a winterization service to the pool operating expense to hopefully extend its life.

 

Other significant unplanned expenses were related to trees (dead tree and limb removal in Roper Park and street tree replacements), playground (refresh of the playground mulch and installation of an underground drain to divert water away from the walkway to Roper Park) and hiring additional expertise (an HOA consultant on the budget process and a company to conduct a new replacement reserve study.)

 

The biggest financial challenge will be replacing our management company. A new managing agent will bring significant operational changes, along with a higher management fee. 

 

 

The Finance Committee started working with the HOA consultant on developing the 2022 NTRA Budget in July. With 2021’s expense overages, the Finance Committee, and the Board, have realized our basic problem is ensuring a complete operating expense budget. The 2022 budget development is focused on identifying and incorporating deferred maintenance needs and better meeting resident expectations for a well maintained and effectively managed community.

 

New Town’s financial history is not the best guide for predicting operating expenses. There is good data in some categories, but poor or no data for maintenance related categories. The Developer Board constrained annual increases in the budget, and maintenance needs were often not addressed. As the community aged and maintenance started becoming necessary, significant maintenance expenses were paid out of the replacement reserve fund beginning in 2018 (Reserves should be used for replacement items only). So in the 2022 Budget, the Board is trying to create a Maintenance Plan as part of operating expenses.

 

While no final budget decisions have been made yet, here are some expected highlights of what 2022 will bring. The Board has committed to follow the Association’s existing Governing Documents, as much as possible, in presenting the budget and calculating assessments. The 2022 assessments will likely consist of:

 

 

The Finance Committee and the Board think we have identified the additional expenses required for a realistic 2022 Operating Budget. Assessments to cover these expenses will require a noticeably larger increase than past budgets. The Board must then determine how much additional money to contribute to the replacement reserve funds.

 

The largest drivers of the operating expense increase are the management company fees and the legal fees. The new management contract with Chesapeake Bay Management includes a full-time manager and other services. Our new manager is expected to bring focused professional staff to monitor the community and its contractors, and help resolve many complaints across New Town. Chesapeake has an integrated system better able to collect and track issues and homeowner accounts. While all of us look forward to this opportunity, understand it will take time to implement improvements and see the effects.

 

Anticipated legal costs are largely related to the continuing document changes. For 2022, the NTRA needs to relook at its Rules and Regulations, and the Shared Amenities Agreement with the New Town Commercial Association. Continued questions raised by the community about the proposed Governing Document revisions are a large and unpredictable component of the legal fee budget. Can we come together for a vote? As questions and challenges continue, so do the legal fees.

 

Added maintenance categories also bring the potential for cost increases, especially given the higher prices since the pandemic for commodities and services. 

 

Village Walk: The inspection for the new replacement reserve study revealed issues with the older Village Walk townhome exteriors. The 2021 budget assumed that Village Walk exterior painting would start in 2023. That painting needs to start in 2022, and will include some repairs not in the painting budget. There has also been an increase in roof and trim repairs this year which could require Association claims against the builder. As a result, the Village Walk assessment for these exterior maintenance services will also have a noticeable increase.

 

Replacement Reserve: The replacement reserve fund will have decreased at year end. Until the new replacement reserve study is available sometime in November, it will be hard to assess the status of the reserve fund. With the effort required for the transition to a new management company, expect the replacement reserve situation to be more fully addressed by a new Board when we develop another budget for 2023.

 

Capital Contributions and Administrative Fees: These fees, paid at closing for new home sales and resales, were increased for the 2021 budget. The fees will continue unchanged for the 2022 budget.

 

 

As you can see, developing the 2022 budget and related assessment process is, and will continue to be, a challenging endeavor. The transition to a homeowner-controlled board, the issues related to Governing Documents raised at the 2020 annual meeting, and the search for a new managing agent fueled a most difficult year for your Board and the Finance Committee. Join us for the 2022 budget briefing on November 19th at 6PM via Zoom. (More information will be posted on the NTRA website.) 

 

 

November is Native American Indian Heritage Month, and it aims to provide a platform for Native People to share their culture, traditions, music, crafts, dance, and ways and concepts of life.   It recognizes the contributions the first Americans made to the establishment and growth of the United States.  If you wish to celebrate or find out more about the impact of Native American Indians in Williamsburg and Virginia, there is a lot going on in the local area.

 

On our doorstep at Colonial Williamsburg, if you visit the American Indian Encampment site, you can explore the lives of American Indians who came to Williamsburg with regularity in the 18th century to discuss matters of trade, warfare and diplomacy.  There is no single story of Native American Indians in Williamsburg.  Each tribe and nation had their own interactions here in the city.  You can meet and learn from their American Indian interpreters at Colonial Williamsburg, who celebrate the American Indian culture, tell the histories of their communities and help to explore the culture of Native peoples who are striving to preserve their traditional way of life.  During your visit and conversations with the interpreters, you will also be able to learn about the roles they played in creating a new country.  

 

In addition, if you take a walk around the College of William and Mary, look out for the Brafferton Building, which was the home of the Indian School at William and Mary.  Using funds from the estate of British scientist Robert Boyle, the college of William and Mary established a school to educate young Indian men in 1697, just four years after the college’s founding.  The American Revolution caused British financial support to cease in 1776 and the school soon closed.   

 

To learn more about Native American Heritage month, take a look at this website.

 

 

Quick Getaways, November—The Mariners’ Museum and Park, Newport News 

 

The Mariners’ Museum makes the bold claim that it is “a steward of one of the world’s most extensive maritime collections, committed to the preservation and conservation of more than 32,000 objects and several million library and archive materials.”

 

Make of that what you will, but the Museum is accredited by the American Alliance of Museums and follows its standards of care to ensure the survival of the collection for generations yet-to-come.

 

It has been that way for more than 90 years, spurred by the shared vision of Archer Milton Huntington and Homer L. Ferguson, two giants of Newport News history. Huntington’s personal library of maritime books formed the core of the museum’s library, now numbering nearly 110,000 books, 800,000 photos, films, and negatives and more than 1 million pieces of archival material. That makes it the largest maritime library in the Western Hemisphere.

 

Library browsing isn’t everyone’s cup of grog. Among the myriad of things to see and experience too numerous to mention is the USS Monitor Center, an Award-winning exhibition that is a melding of artifacts, original documents, paintings, personal accounts, interactives and environments devoted to the epic Civil War battle between ironclads Monitor and Merrimac. It tells that story in a way the public has never seen before.

 

Visitors may walk down a mock deck and enter the CSS Virginia as she is being built for battle, step inside the battle theater and experience the action of the Battle of Hampton Roads, visit the living quarters of sailors as part of a full-scale reproduction, view the Monitor’s propeller and engine register and many other artifacts, 210 tons in fact.

 

In short, this is a 550-acre park which houses a museum offering theater, lectures, discussions, programs, dining and shopping. It’s at least a full day, maybe more depending on your variety of interests.

 

According to its website, admission is priced at $1. Add another $6 for admission to see the 3D movie. The museum is open daily 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., closing only on Thanksgiving and Christmas.

 

For more information, visit the website https://marinersmuseum.org/ or phone 757-596-2222.

 

Sarah Carey 

 

Out for our morning walk a few weeks ago my husband and I met a dog, Auggie, as he came running out from the trail at the end of Discovery Park Avenue by the maintenance building. Coming after him was Mike carrying a large bag full of trash and a grabber tool. Chatting briefly, we introduced ourselves and met Mike who we assumed lived in New Town since he was cleaning up our trails between the two bridges. Actually, he works at SDV Solutons Inc. and does not live in New Town. Every Friday Mike brings his dog to work with him, and often his wife accompanies them as well. He collects trash on his walks and helps keep our community clean. 

 

So the next time you venture out for a trail walk, maybe we could all follow Mike’s enthusiasm and bring a trash bag with you to keep the trails clean. Thank you, Mike! 

 

 

Follow the New Town Residential Association Facebook page! If you're interested in more regular updates about the happenings in your neighborhood, *like* and *follow* our page. We love seeing your likes, comments, and engagement. 

 

On the NTRA Facebook page you can find information about upcoming neighborhood events as well as updates shared by the New Town Commercial Association. It's also helpful for reminders and easily adding events to your calendar. As always, if there is anything specific you would like to see posted, please reach out and let us know.

 

 

A few points from the experts at Community Associations Incorporated:

 

• Good character

• Strong integrity

• Calm judgment

• Willingness to serve

• Committed to the best interests of the community as a whole

• Relevant experience or background

• Previous volunteer service

• Strong people skills

(Source: The Board Member Tool Kit, CAI.)

 

If you know someone in New Town who fits this bill, reach out and ask him/her to run for the NTRA Board of Directors!

 

 

 

WEEE'RE BAAACK! It's that time of year to start thinking about what you're going to wear for HALLOWEEN! Join us this year on Halloween Day, Sunday, October 31st from 2:00PM to 4:00PM at Sullivan Square for the Hocus Pocus Festival and Halloween Parades. That's right! Plural - Parades! We have planned three parades for different costume categories: Pets Costume Parade, starting at 2:30PM, Individual Costume Parade, starting at 3:00PM, and Family/Group Costume Parade, starting at 3:30PM. There will be prizes for best costumes, CANDY, and a scavenger hunt! Can't wait to see you there! 

 

Registration information to come... be on the lookout! 

 

 

The NTRA Activities Committee hosted our community’s first-ever Pup Plunge at the pool on Monday, September 6th! It was a great turnout, and we were excited to see some of our neighborhood dogs and their families! Thank you to everyone who participated, especially those who came just to watch! Looking forward to making this an annual event. 

 

 

 

Hi! My name is Mark Burgess and I’m what one of our New Town residents called the “new guy” on the New Town Residential Association (NTRA) Board of Directors, having only joined the Board this past July. I’m also a relatively recent resident of New Town. My wife and I purchased a Village Walk townhouse in November 2018. 

 

Being so new to New Town and the Board has meant, of course, that I’ve had a lot of catching up to do. So while other Board members have been reviewing and revising our Association’s governing documents with the able assistance of several homeowner association (HOA) professionals, I’ve been concentrating on simply reading and trying to better understand both our current and our proposed documents while at the same time paying close attention to what the others are saying about how these documents came to be in the first place and where they need to be in order to better serve our community in the years to come. Here is some of what I’ve learned. 

 

First, our current documents really are old and showing their age. They describe a community that essentially no longer exists. I recently saw a photograph of New Town, for instance, that showed Charlotte Park before it was built out; all you could see were empty lots being readied for development and, off in the distance, a few commercial buildings scattered along Discovery Park Boulevard. Obviously, a lot has happened since. New Town has grown up and with that growth has come the need for our governing documents to take into account the changes that have occurred. So there is no doubt in my mind that our association needs a new set of documents carefully crafted under the aegis of HOA professionals like those we have had the privilege to work with. 

 

But rewriting governing documents is one thing; forming a new community is something else. Documents, responsibly drafted, can describe a community, they can help define a community, they can even assist in laying the groundwork for how a community may function within the bounds of federal, state, and local statutes, but they cannot in and of themselves establish community. People make communities, and the best communities, in my experience, are those where neighbors care for and about one another, where they respect each another, and where they share a vision of what they would like their communities to be. 

 

Creating new communities therefore takes patience, a LOT of patience. I can’t emphasize that enough. Living so near to Jamestown and Williamsburg has given me an entirely new insight into just how MUCH patience might be required. Think of the long years of hardship those early colonists endured before their lives became settled! So, yes, it may be just a wee bit longer before New Town is complete and all the pieces of a new community are finally put in place. 

 

In the meantime, as a Board member, I shall continue my study of our governing documents and work with you as well as other members of the Board to make sure we make as smooth a transition as possible to a new management company and continue to progress as a homeowner-controlled association.

 

 

 

WEEE'RE BAAACK! It's that time of year to start thinking about what you're going to wear for HALLOWEEN! Join us this year on Halloween Day, Sunday, October 31st from 2:00PM to 4:00PM at Sullivan Square for the Hocus Pocus Festival and Halloween Parades. That's right! Plural - Parades! We have planned three parades for different costume categories: Pets Costume Parade, starting at 2:30PM, Individual Costume Parade, starting at 3:00PM, and Family/Group Costume Parade, starting at 3:30PM. There will be prizes for best costumes, CANDY, and a scavenger hunt! Can't wait to see you there! 

 

Registration information to come… be on the lookout! 

 

 

The proposed Supplemental Declaration that has been named the “Neighborhood Declaration” seeks to replace 20 current Supplementals that had evolved over time with a number of idiosyncrasies and important omissions. For example, the Supplemental Declarations for 68 properties in Charlotte Park are missing several key paragraphs. (See June 2021 Crier Article, “Supplemental Swampland.”) 

 

A Supplemental Declaration is added to a Master Declaration as communities expand. These “supplements” show the location of new property – including roadways, common area and utility and drainage easements, and define what owners are charged for. In New Town’s case, each parcel developer’s attorney prepared these documents starting with a boiler plate. Over time, as more detail was added to these documents to cover items the Developer anticipated but never came to fruition, they became nonstandardized and more complicated than they needed to be. The Developer’s goals were not consistent with the goals of New Town today, both as to their content and the level of specificity required. 

 

The NTRA Board of Directors is trying to change that. In combining most of New Town’s Neighborhoods into one Supplemental, the Board of Directors was seeking both to streamline our basic set of documents and ensure consistency. We wanted to clearly outline what will be included in assessments to Owners-not bury it in legalese. Now that it is clearer, not everyone is happy. We recognize that.

 

The Neighborhood Supplemental Declaration applies to the five neighborhoods of Abbey Commons, Chelsea Green, Savannah Square, Charlotte Park and Shirley Park. These neighborhoods share similar Association services and layout/design, and they were formed by the same primary parcel developer/builder. (The Village Walk Supplemental follows the same structure, but includes additional paragraphs for the special services that Village Walk homes receive.)

 

What has changed in this document? 

• There is no longer a “Neighborhood Assessment” described in the text. This type of assessment was never applied nor is it administratively practical without overhauling the Association’s contracting, billing and accounting practices. 
• The ability to “opt out” of landscape services has been added. Owners have requested this in the past, and it has been allowed, but it is not addressed in our current documents. Opt out will apply to all landscape services to ease the administrative burden. Even with the current limited opt-out, such as for pruning only, eventually some shrubs get pruned and these owners are unhappy. It has never been a guarantee. So the easiest approach for both our management company and the landscaper is to permit opt out for all services or none.

What has not changed? The prohibition on landscape services to fenced yards has been retained. It is the same limitation as our current documents. This was a difficult decision. The Association did not honor this prohibition in the past and has been providing mowing and pruning. In 2022, the Board will likely discontinue this landscaping and follow our documents. The Board has both a fiduciary and fiscal responsibility to the community. The Board and new Managing Agent will formally notify Owners affected by this change-recognizing that not all fenced yards have lawns, some are purely patios.

 

What the revised Supplemental provides is a way for Owners to continue these services for an additional fee or to provide their own. This was a compromise to be fair to Owners without fences and still make the services readily available. 

 

The draft Neighborhood Supplemental has raised a number of questions from the community mostly related to these landscaping provisions. But there have also been claims that detached homes are being discriminated against because they are outnumbered by townhouse owners. Actually, there are even fewer cottages than detached homes! When will the parsing end? We live in a mixed use community – this is the vision and design of New Town, no neighborhood is an island nor is any group of homeowners. We share common areas and amenities and by combining neighborhoods into one Supplemental Declaration those community values and expectations are reinforced.  

 

Comprehensive and clear governing documents are critical to the successful operation of a community association. We welcome your constructive ideas for future document changes. We welcome proposals for specific adjustments. Please don’t just complain or throw stones based on the NIMBY principal. We strive to be a community. There are two sides to every story; as such, you owe it to your neighbor to consider both.

 

 

 

Feivel Wininger, his family and a few friends stayed alive because Wininger played the violin – and only because he possessed that skill.

 

As part of the Holocaust, Wininger, a violinist from Romania, was sent on a death march by the Nazis during the winter to the territory of Transnistria. His uncle and his mother died. His infant daughter, Helen, who was nine months old, was growing weaker and weaker.

 

But because he played the violin, he was able to leave the ghetto and perform at parties for the Nazis. He would bring home any leftovers of food back to the ghetto. It was the only way he could sustain himself and the others through the Holocaust.

 

Feivel named his violin “Friend.”

 

Wininger’s Friend, and more than 60 other violins played by Holocaust victims, are on display through October 24 at the Virginia Holocaust Museum, the Virginia Museum of History and Culture and the Black History Museum & Cultural Center of Virginia. (Nineteen are on display; the rest have been played in concerts and are being used in educational programs).

 

The violins were recovered and restored by Amnon Weinstein, an Israeli violin shop owner and master craftsman who lost 400 family members in the Holocaust.

 

He was born in 1939, the year after his family immigrated to Palestine. His father, Moshe, was also a violinist and luthierand taught the craft to his son. In the 1980s, after Weinstein repaired a violin for a Holocaust survivor who walked into his Tel Aviv shop, he started tracking down violins played by Jews in ghettos or in concentration camp orchestras, or who buried them to hide and save them. The exhibit has never been to the Mid-Atlantic before.

 

According to a news release, the mission of Violins of Hope is to create more meaningful conversations about social justice and tolerance.

 

For more information, visit this website violinsofhoperva.com.

 

 

 

With Fall just around the corner, and the temperatures starting to get cooler, it is the perfect time to start thinking about Fall Family Fun. Here are a few ideas to get you started…

 

Apple picking

Virginia apple picking season is underway, starting in August and lasting until early November. Mid-September to mid-October is prime time for the best apples. Most orchards grow several apple varieties, including Gala, Red and Yellow Delicious, and Fuji. If you're up for a drive, our favorite is Carter Mountain Orchard, only minutes from Charlottesville. In addition to apple picking, visitors can overlook the lush groves and valley below, enjoy an apple cider donut from the bakery, and try the locally brewed cider. 

 

Pumpkin picking

Ready to dress your house for Halloween? Now is the perfect time to visit one of our local pumpkin patches. If you’re not sure where to go, try Holly Fork Farm where you can visit farm animals while finding your perfect pumpkin. Pumpkinville, a seasonal treasure in Toano, is a great place to get your Halloween goodies. At Pumpkinville, you can pick your own pumpkin while enjoying the hayride, corn maze, arts and crafts, bean bag toss and other games. 

 

Oktoberfest

Dust off your lederhosen and look out for ways to indulge in some Oktoberfest fun. Oktoberfest celebrations, complete with authentic German food, beer and fun can be found all over the region. Locally, Billsburg Brewery will be holding their celebration on Saturday, October 2 from 12 to 4pm.  

 

Fall colors 

Leaf peeping season is nearly here and fall in Virginia is one of the most beautiful times of the year.  If you are looking forward to seeing the riot of colors revealed across Virginia’s expansive woodland, keep an eye on the fall foliage report, which is updated weekly. While it is difficult to predict exactly when peak color will occur, the map provides a good estimation of timing. 

 

 

Know Your Code - The Virginia Property Owners Association Act and the Virginia Nonstock Corporation Act, By Jim Carey 

 

Virginia, like many states has established a statutory framework for Homeowners Associations like the New Town Residential Association (NTRA) to operate.  Two primary laws govern the operation of our organization.

 

The Virginia Property Owners’ Association Act (VA Code Ann. § 55.1-1800 to 1836) provides the legal framework for operation of homeowner associations in the Commonwealth. The Act provides and clarifies the authority granted to an HOA and its Board of Directors. It establishes many of the association’s rights and responsibilities including its obligation to conduct open meetings; keep detailed books and records, and make them available to members. The Act provides the authority to enforce the Declaration of Covenants, Conditions, and Restrictions and levy financial penalties; the power to levy special assessments; and secure liens and other enforcement remedies to secure compliance with our Declaration of Covenants, Conditions, and Restrictions.

 

One of the reasons for updating the NTRA Governing Documents is to bring them into compliance with changes in the Virginia Property Owners’ Association Act since 2005 when our current documents were approved. Some of the many changes that had to be factored into our revisions include:

• Allowing electronic means for meetings and voting for association meetings
• Permitting solar power installations. HOAs can impose “reasonable restrictions” regarding the size, place, and manner of placement of such collection devices.
• Changes to HOA obligations in preparing the Disclosure Packet 
• Requirement for the completion of a reserve study at least once every five years and a review of the reserve study annually with adjustments made as needed to maintain reserves.

So whenever you see references in the drafts to Va. Code Ann. § 55.1 18XX, think VPOAA. If you are interested in reading the Act, visit this site: 

 https://law.lis.virginia.gov/vacodepopularnames/property-owners-association-act/.

 

Similarly, the NTRA Bylaws are sprinkled with references to the Virginia Nonstock Corporation Act (VA Code Ann. § 13.1-801 to 945) which governs how the NTRA must operate as a nonprofit organization. This law contains the requirements for us to have Articles of Incorporation (proposed Articles of Restatement) and Bylaws. It also explains what would happen if the NTRA was ever dissolved. This Act applies to all nonprofits in Virginia, so some provisions may not apply to our association (e.g. mergers, foreign operations, etc.). This Act also gives the Association “powers as an individual to do all things necessary or convenient to carry out its business and affairs”including borrow, mortgage, pledge or deed property (§ 13.1-1826, para.6). So the Amended Bylaws reflect that authority. 

 

By updating our Governing Documents to reflect these important State requirements, we ensure that the NTRA remains in good standing in the Commonwealth of Virginia.

 

 

  The NTRA Activities Committee hosted our community’s first-ever Pup Plunge at the pool on Monday, September 6th! It was a great turnout, and we were excited to see some of our neighborhood dogs and their families! Thank you to everyone who participated, especially those who came just to watch! Looking forward to making this an annual event. 

An HOA management company is the lifeblood of a community. When things are going well, you may take their presence for granted, blood is flowing along, so to speak. When the level of service is not meeting expectations, perhaps “clots” develop, then both the HOA and the management company need to assess what is in the best interests of our overall body.

 

Over the next 90 days, the New Town Residential Association will be searching for a new management company that the Board of Directors feels can best meet the needs of our community. The growth of New Town and the issues that remain from the period of Developer control pose significant challenges to this task.

 

Why is HOA management such a difficult job? In order to administer the services and operations of the Association on a day-to-day basis, a management company must possess a wide variety of knowledge and expertise. Just think about some of the specialties involved: accounting and finance, property maintenance, contract administration, regulatory compliance, insurance, human resources, communication and good customer service. Then perhaps consider thanking Town Management for their years of work on our behalf in these areas.

 

The success of our Association will depend on the Board selecting a well-qualified professional management company that encompasses these diverse specialties. A Management Company Search Committee has been formed and an RFP has been distributed. Working together we hope to thoroughly investigate our options over the next 60 days to provide for a smooth transition period. The criticality of this decision has caused the Board to defer some initiatives and reprioritize the timing of our vote on new Governing Documents. In other words, we are stepping back to breathe a bit deeper and improve our own circulation if you will.

 

We anticipate that a new management company will cost significantly more than what NTRA Owners have been paying. We need to budget for quality service and the level of professional support it requires.

 

We will provide updates and more information to you as the process evolves. Meanwhile, continue to pay your dues and request assistance through Town Management. Nothing has changed yet!

 

The NTRA has burned through five Directors (three for serious medical issues) in our first 14 months as a homeowner-controlled association.  The hemorrhaging of our volunteers must stop. We need a management company equipped to relieve more of the burden of running our Association.  We hope that Association Members will support and welcome any new organization that partners with us to keep New Town healthy and flourishing.

As a British family staying here in Williamsburg for a short time, we have been trying to make the most of our time in America and enjoy the differences between here and our home in the U.K.  Last Summer was our first in the USA and was dominated by Covid.  Although the virus still looms large and it hasn’t gone away, we wanted to pack this summer full of travel and American experiences.  We were lucky enough to make it to Florida (for the kids) and New England (for the adults).  Closer to home, the music in the New Town has been plenty, with the Brass Tap having some of the liveliest crowds. We managed to celebrate Independence Day at the beach in Yorktown watching the parade and seeing the dolphins swimming up the York River.  When its rained, the newly reopened New Town cinema has provided lots of entertainment (especially with its $1 Tuesdays and Wednesdays offer).  We can’t forget a summer of sport with the postponed Olympics finally taking place in Tokyo and, for us, we got to see England finally play in a soccer final when they played Italy at Wembley in London in the (again, postponed) Euro 2020. 

 

As the close of Summer is looming, our thoughts are turning to ‘Back to School’ activities.  So, back to reality…  With the mix of in-person and virtual learning, last year was a totally different experience for us all.  As of right now, for those who have opted for in-person learning, schools are planning on going back to in-person learning for five days a week. 

 

Due to bus driver shortages, the schedule for your children’s school may have changed, so check out the 2021-22 schedule here for start and finish times. Once again, the Virginia Departments of Health and Education is asking all students and staff (regardless of vaccination status) to wear face coverings during school time as well as on school buses.

 

Don’t forget that start and finish times may also have changed, so please remember to check WJCC and school emails and websites to get the accurate start time. 

Finally, please don’t forget that the school term starts a little earlier this year …  Happy back to schooling!

Ready or not -- disasters happen and they happen to people like you and me. 

 

Are you confident you can take care of yourself, family members, and pets during and after a fire, hurricane, tornado, or other emergency?  If the answer is “No,” but you want learn how training is available through James City County (JCC).    

 

Question:  People often ask “What is the New Town CERT?”   

 

• The objective of CERT is to safely assist New Town residents survive and recover from disasters as directed by the JCC Emergency Management. 
• To participate one must be an adult 18 and over who residents in JCC.  All are welcome regardless of ability and/or disability.  
• The training CERT members receive teaches basic skills and prepares individuals to provide assistance safely and effectively -- without placing themselves in danger.