Town Crier Articles

• Sharing BOD meeting agendas well in advance of monthly meetings

• Website Calendar: posting Zoom links to all public NTRA meetings (If you find a broken link, please use the meeting number and password to log in.)

• Hosting a new dedicated Board of Directors page – all homeowner-controlled BOD bios, meeting agendas, minutes, etc. are in one location. No need to hunt for relevant decisions.

• Providing opportunities for residents to comment: through the website ticketing system or beneath Town Crier articles.

• Building and reorganizing our FAQs to cover common questions.

• Notices page of website – putting the latest NTRA news immediately on the first page after you log into the site

• Monthly Crier articles on Board actions –to provide some context/background and explanation for important topics (e.g. this month’s Budget Challenges piece, Opt-out landscaping, bench refurbishment)

• Eblasts

• Facebook posts, e.g. security situation in Charlotte Park

• Monitoring all “Report an Issue” website entries and reporting to the BOD (e.g. we added a new “streetlight problem” category to correct confusion on which Committee/group to select)

• Pursuing Committees’ obligations under the NTRA’s governing documents to share meeting records in a timely manner.

On Saturday, October 17, the NTRA Activities Committee sponsored a Town Talk on ZOOM given by David Lewes, project manager at the William & Mary Center for Archeological Research. Lora Caputo introduced the speaker to more than two dozen virtual attendees. The central topic was the history of habitation at Roper Homestead Park, but the presentation broadened to include interesting facts about James City County and the Tidewater region of Virginia and beyond. 

Roper Park was examined on two occasions, first in 1990, and again in 2004, when New Town Associates, LLC, commissioned studies in anticipation of a US Army Corps of Engineers permit application for construction as part of their development of New Town. Mr. Lewes’ maps showed the location of archeological ‘hotspots’ and explained how the digs were conducted. Slides showed the location of building and farmstead remains, including a well-preserved brick foundation with brick hearth outline and a ‘robber hole,’ described as an area dug out to retrieve previously used and buried material. Types of household items found in the different dirt strata included nails and other building materials and ceramic fragments, largely pearlware and whiteware, which were in popular use in the first half of the 19th century. The sites have been covered up to preserve what remains underground and markers have been placed around Roper Park to provide some of its history. The items removed from the site are in storage at the William & Mary archeological lab.

While most of the findings in New Town are from the mid-19th century Roper farm, Mr. Lewes said that sites of prehistoric occupation on local stream valleys, some as old as 8000 years ago, have been documented, including in an area near the commercial parking lot east of New Town Avenue. Another site of interest is behind Legacy Hall. 

The period following the American Revolution was a time of decline in the Tidewater as the capital was moved to Richmond, the soil was depleted by overproduction of tobacco, plantations were divided and many people went west in search of better opportunity. Much information has been lost because James City County sent many records to a central warehouse near Richmond for safekeeping. These were destroyed during the southern retreat from Petersburg to Appomattox when the warehouse storing land records caught fire by mistake as the Confederates set fire to stores of tobacco and other valuable goods to keep them out of Union hands. 

Military mapping from the Civil War era shows a wooded site where the Roper farmstead had been. Other items of interest on the maps are the names of local property owners. On one Confederate map is an area marked as ‘Negro’ with no name attribution.  Mr. Lewes said there were many free blacks in the region, especially in the Centerville area. Confederate maps did not include names for these landholders, but many are believed to have come from Greensprings Plantation when its owner manumitted all his slaves for religious reasons and gave them property in the Jolly Pond area, where many descendants still reside.

Other information that was preserved through tax, census and court records show the changing ownership, make up and value of the Roper homestead, beginning with Randolph Roper in the early 1800’s. Only the owner’s name is provided in these records, the names of other residents, both free and enslaved, is not recorded. Records continue through a man named Tolliver (Taliaferro) who developed a plan for a residential subdivision in 1912 that never came to fruition. He then sold to the Caseys, owners of property near where Blair Middle School stands today.  The Casey family held the tract until the late 20th century, and the rest is New Town history.

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If you missed it, here is David Lewes’ presentation:  https://www.ntrawilliamsburg.org/admin2/adminfiles/filemanager.php

Also in response to questions about the prehistoric sites found in the New Town area, Mr. Lewes provided the following link to a report about nearby prehistoric sites that Center archeologists investigated as part of the planning process for the Route 199 project.

Additional information on Roper Homestead property ownership, occupation and the excavations can be found in a previous Town Crier article “History in Our Midst—Roper Park” from July 2019.

Smart Reasons for Leashing Your Dog in New Town
Patti Vaticano

 

 

Trees connect us with our past and our future.  Their roots are often far deeper than our own; their growth will yield leaves and flowers that bring pleasure to future generations. 

 

The 600-acre property beneath New Town was once farmland, with heavily forested areas, apple orchards, pecan groves, and fields of grain. Most of it belonged to the Carl Casey family. Think of the personalities, organizations, interested parties, and visionaries that came together to create New Town.

 

The late Susan Ford’s excellent summation of the design and development of New Town is recounted in archived issues of The Crier (also summarized on this website’s History of New Town). Susan described the Design Competition that attracted 99 entrants from around the world. Entry packets called for an “innovative, mixed-use planned community” that integrated pleasing environmental assets. Designers were challenged to embrace the vision of a “new urbanism-style design, with shops and businesses, restaurants and homes, all within walking distance of each other. There would be tree-lined sidewalks and bike paths, civic spaces and open spaces, cultural buildings and churches – just as towns like Williamsburg used to have.” 

 

They wanted this new community to become “a landmark development and a national model of the highest quality of the visual, social and economic aspects of town planning.” 

 

From the start, trees were important, carefully selected and strategically placed with the future in mind.  Planners learned about Native trees, visited other communities to appreciate how streetscapes and building design worked together to define neighborhoods.

 

Those residents who moved here in the early years threw their efforts and talent into preserving that bold vision. Homebuyers were attracted to the concept of this livable community, where outdoor amenities were as important as interior style. As the community continues to grow and mature it is helpful to keep that concept in the forefront.

 

Trees are a shared responsibility in New Town-accountability for caring for those on your property differs from park or sidewalk trees. For trees in common areas, think of reporting tree issues as helping, rather than complaining. The Landscape Advisory Committee (LAC) carries out many time-consuming tasks. Having residents take the time to pay attention to needs and issues really can help. Between Covid delays and weather issues, the landscape company fell behind in tree prunings this year. If residents can serve as the “eyes and ears” of the LAC, problems can be identified and hopefully resolved more quickly. Using the Report an Issue ticket system allows for issues to be directed to the proper entity. 

 

Once a ticket is submitted, what happens next depends on a number of factors and requires a great deal of communication between the parties. There are multiple entities involved in some locations. For instance, New Town’s trails have not yet turned over from the developer, New Town Associates to NTRA. Some maintenance is worked out between the NTRA and the New Town Commercial Association. Roper Park, on the other hand, has been turned over but the developer failed to remove many dead trees that NTRA must now budget for.

 

This is called “bath by fire…”  I am the newest member of the Board of Directors for the New Town Residential Association, having been appointed to the seat vacated by Larry Burian’s resignation.  Chuck Stetler, Chairman of the Board, asked me to write this November article based on my experience working with two committees, Activities and Asset Maintenance, since we moved to New Town two and a half years ago.  

Community service and participation is very important—not just to me, personally, but to the long-term success of our neighborhood.  We very much enjoy the location and atmosphere we’ve found here, after having had a home in the Williamsburg area for more than 20 years.  The volunteer committees ensure that the quality of life we all enjoy will be maintained; even though the two committee charges (our “charters”) are vastly different.  That has appealed to me, since the Activities Committee is all about the “social” aspects of New Town; providing a way to enjoy the company and camaraderie of our neighbors and friends.  Together we’ve planned pool parties, Kentucky Derby celebrations, Oktoberfest, billiards, Halloween parades, the great Noon-time Talks, and several other events, all designed to bring us together as a community.  It’s a lot of work and the committee needs help to maintain (and expand) those social interactions.  COVID 19 has forced us to rethink the kinds of events we’ve done and I assume that in the future (when life returns to some semblance of social interaction in addition to social distancing) we will discover the “right” blend of those opportunities. 

The Asset Maintenance committee charter couldn’t be more different—our charge is to annually coordinate the “inspection” of all of the “built” assets of the New Town Residential Association, including residences of our homeowners and the shared community assets (like the pool buildings, our white fences, and our green spaces), to ensure that all those remain of a quality that is representative of a first-class community and reflect positively on our neighborhoods. 

As you are well-aware, many of our homes, beyond those newly constructed in Village Walk, Roper Park, and Shirley Park, are beginning to “come of age.”  Karen and I live in Abbey Commons and our home was built in 2006.  Unfortunately, in developments like ours, builders don’t always use top of the line, first-class materials and equipment, which means for all of us our own personal assets are beginning to need attention.  We’ve just replaced one of our air conditioning units, both inside and outside.  We’ve replaced the flooring in the first floor, had shingles replaced and gutter systems redone.  The paint on many of our homes are beginning to show their age.  I’ve noticed as I walk around New Town that even some of the brickwork is beginning to need attention.  My point is that the volunteer work on the Asset Maintenance committee will become increasingly important as our homes and community assets continue to age. As our committee members reach the end of their terms, it is gratifying to see others step forward to help, but we always need more.

There are six additional committees, all staffed by volunteers, that cover most of the aspects of our community, in addition to the Board of Directors (also, all volunteers), so there are so many ways you can contribute.  Those of us who are retired (and seem to have more time to give) also need the balance of younger residents, so that we benefit from all perspectives.  Please think about how you might help?

I, along with all Board members, welcome your questions and comments.  See you around the neighborhood!

 

 

Notice anything new in Elizabeth Davis park? Well, it’s not really new, but refinishing has brought new life to one of New Town’s 24 wooden benches. Thanks to the efforts of Charlotte Park residents Mike Reilly and Bob Dennis, refurbishing our aging teak benches has begun. 

 

       

• Susan Tarley of Tarley Robinson, PLC as the NTRA attorney provided instructions on the roles and responsibilities of board members.

• TM provides management services to the NTRA. TM is hired by the NTRA Board specifically to assist the Board to fulfill its responsibilities as defined in the Association documents, including assisting the Board to educate, encourage, and enforce owner compliance with NTRA rules. Helps the Board to manage the assets, funds, and common properties and interests of the NTRA. Supports the efforts of the Board to nurture a lively, healthy, and vital community. NTRA going from a Developer’s board to a Residential board needs a management company that can provide continuity, history, an abundance of experience and professionalism in addition to the services mentioned above. TM brings that to the table for us.

 

When it comes to transitioning everything is not wrapped in a tidy package with a pretty bow upon it. Such is the case when the Developer’s Board turned NTRA over to the residents.

 

 

• Plan: provide each non-voting homeowner with a paper ballot and a stamped envelope to return to NTRA . New Town residents would get a doorknob bag that included the ballot.  Addresses outside of New Town (approximately 158 of the 500 New Town properties) would have the ballots mailed to them.