Town Crier Articles

Our New Town Residential Association (NTRA) website was launched in March 2019. As our community grows, it’s always good to review how the site is being used. Some restructuring appeared beneficial, so a few tweaks have been made to the website layout. 

• NTRA business-related content for the site has been moved to a new tab “ASSOCIATION.”  This is an owner-access area of the website where you can find the current Committee files, Governing Documents, annual meeting packages, and financial information (now in a standalone page).

• General information for residents, including the “Report an Issue”/ticketing feature, remains under the "RESIDENTS" tab. There is a new page "Tools for Residents" to make some of the homeowner resources, like the list of neighbor suggested vendors and the Village Walk maintenance chart, more visible.  Do you have ideas for what you’d like to see linked to this page? Just let us know.

We still need volunteers to maintain the currency of our website info and to keep it relevant to the community.  Please consider sharing your skills with the Communications Committee. Writers for our monthly newsletter articles, photographers to provide new banner photos and capture events, and any techies who want to spruce up our Facebook communications are most welcome.  

Can’t find something on the new layout? Send an email to ntrawebsitecommittee@gmail.com.

 

 

 

Manor on the Green, scheduled to be completed fall of 2024, is moving along presently with sitework, including the concrete pours to support vertical construction of the buildings. Our intent was to get as much of the site utilities, including water and sewer connections in the streets along with stone for the parking lot, completed prior to the installation of the building foundations. Due to the limited space available onsite, completion of these site items early allows for construction parking and storage of materials in the future parking lot as the work continues with the buildings. 

 

Framing is now underway. The contractor, Henderson Inc. has been asked to walk the property edge and parking areas to look for trash. They are doing this daily to keep the site and surrounding areas clean. We installed the parking lot in the center of the site also earlier than typical to prevent tracking of mud on the roadways and keep dust down. We are doing the best we can to stay good neighbors during this process.

 

Challenges of being able to procure materials due to the impact of the pandemic is a constant constraint on being able to perform at the level of efficiency that we are accustomed to. We have already started to compile a list of interested individuals, a majority who already live locally, who are wishing to lease a residence at Manor on the Green. That level of interest is a testament of how wonderful the New Town Community is. In addition, we have heard from many businesses in New Town inquiring about our completion as they are encouraged by the opportunity to be supported by these future residents.  

The free concerts in Sullivan Square are restarting in mid-September on Wednesday evenings – starting at 5:30 PM.  Let’s hope for some cool evening weather. Bring your lawn chair or blanket and enjoy being outdoors. Dogs welcome! Gates open at 5pm. Shows start at 5:30pm.

 

Here’s the lineup!

 

Mike Youngblood Sr., of Twiddy Realty, is the new President of the New Town Commercial Association (NTCA), an inherent part of the community almost since its inception. Mr. Youngblood has been involved with New Town for 25 years and on the Commercial Association Board for “a while.” He expresses great confidence in its existing systems and solid reserves, and hopes to continue that success.

 

Other members of the incoming NTCA Board of Directors include Scott Grafton (Vice President), Leigh Houghland, Sean Hughes, and Drew Haynie. After 20 years of service, previous President Larry Salzman has stepped down, but will be on board as an advisor. As Mr. Youngblood says, “Mr. Salzman’s continued involvement will provide continuity while we embrace change.” 

 

The Commercial Association exists to represent and serve the business owners. Its members include the owners of New Town's multifamily buildings with hundreds of residential units, so therefore thinks in terms of benefitting the whole community often through the work of its Marketing and Charging Stations committees. Chaired by Scott Grafton of Ironbound Gym, the Marketing Committee and its volunteers coordinate enhancements such as programming and decorations for the holiday season. The Committee has a separate budget and professional assistance. Mason and Markwith helps to create the marketing plan, including an in-house media department. Culture Fix is their events coordinator. Some of these events are in conjunction with James City County and draw in visitors. Along with our residents, an increasing number of visitors drive electric vehicles, so the NTCA’s Charging Stations Committee is working on a long-term plan to add more facilities. 

 

There is also a single cooperative committee with the New Town Residential Association (NTRA), the Shared Amenities Managing Committee. The NTCA and the NTRA both contribute to expenses for certain joint amenities (e.g. decorations, dog station maintenance, BMP’s, some trails), so Mr. Youngblood would like to see “more direct interface and involvement between the two organizations.” Although the NTRA and NTCA use different management companies, Mr. Youngblood feels comfortable working with NTRA’s Chesapeake Bay Management while also touting mutual cooperation strategies. An amendment to the Shared Amenities Agreement which would reflect the reality of separate management companies was approved by the NTRA during its annual meeting in December 2022. The amendment will be on the Commercial Association’s agenda for consideration at its annual meeting in the last quarter of 2023. 

 

Residents have expressed concerns about the empty store fronts on Main Street, which are owned by a Connecticut company. NTCA Board member, Drew Haynie, is their local leasing agent. He has commitments for some of the storefronts, with Planet Fitness in the final stages of construction, Virtual Reality Gaming Arcade recently opened, and Zoom Room dog training’s staff is already working during construction. As we all know, most retail has suffered since the pandemic, but services are on the upswing, so perhaps we can again look forward to a vibrant Main Street.  Meanwhile, roughly a million square feet of commercial space in other areas of New Town is occupied by various businesses and government entities. There are thirty-four different owners of commercial properties, with Settlers Market being entirely separate from New Town. 

 

Of course, all of the members of the Commercial Association want a vibrant, full community that will keep their businesses active. To that end, NTCA Marketing and a group of volunteers coordinated with James City County Recreation to sponsor the summer concert series, bringing lots of toe-tapping, seat 

 

Ahmed Desouky, the NTRA's new Community Manager, brings a rich and varied background to his new position.  A native of Egypt, he arrived early in the 1980’s and lived in Northern Virginia--Arlington, and then, Alexandria--until mid-decade. He then moved to the Tidewater area and lived there until 1991, at which time he married and moved back to Northern Virginia. He commutes early Monday mornings to Williamsburg and leaves after work on Friday afternoons to journey back to his home in Northern Virginia.

 

Ahmed was originally a mechanical engineer, working in the shipbuilding industry for both the Navy and the Coast Guard; and later, as a civilian in the nineties, renovating large cruise ship for a time. When the recession hit, he used his scientific and technical education to transfer to entity maintenance and management. For 28 years, he managed and maintained high-end condominiums in the Georgetown area in Washington DC until he was recruited by Chesapeake Bay Management and accepted the position of Assistant Executive Director (Colonial Heritage) in 2020.  He is now 3-months into managing New Town and believes our Board of Directors and committee members are a great team who make his work a good deal easier. His main challenges, at present, are the transition of common area ownership and maintaining the exterior of properties without changing the assessment fee.

“It is an honor to be part of the CBM team, a management team that sees customer service as its major priority. You will probably most often see me or contact my assistant, Imani, but the skills and experience provided from unseen members of our main office are the cornerstone of our stability. CBM offers the most up-to-date programs to all employees. Our monthly meetings are very effective ways to share solutions and gain new management skills. All this helps us to make sure all resident calls and emails are answered daily and that we do our best to deliver solutions to all problems and issues the same day. We work with many vendors and contractors that must be contacted for services, regularly.  These vendors, in turn, must be reviewed and approved by the Board, first--and expectations of vendor services are very high. Consequently, solutions take time. By way of example, we are working hard daily with James River Grounds Management to make sure all common and private area landscaping needs are met. Services are improving.  A slow process, but it is proving fruitful.”

 

Ahmed has travelled since an early age and enjoys exploring other places and cultures. He looks to travel as a means of adding to his store of cultural knowledge.  He enjoys cooking and creating new recipes, swimming, sailing, and modern classical music. He used to play tennis but now just enjoys sitting back watching main championships.

 

 

Imani Harris is a native-born Williamsburg resident, having been born and raised here until her middle-school years.  The family moved elsewhere when she was a young teen; but after Imani married, in October of 2022, she moved back to the Tidewater area.

 

“I graduated from Bridgewater College with a degree in Communication, Media, and Culture, and used my degree to pursue a career as a program director at various summer camps and daycares throughout the East Coast.  I have been with Chesapeake Bay Management since the beginning of April 2023. At CBM, we each have our own community for which we are responsible, but there are ultimately close to 20 communities in the Williamsburg area that CBM manages.  All CBM employees work together as a team so that we can best service our residents, whether it is for the residents of the community for which we are immediately responsible or not.”

 

Imani shared that Association management, in addition to overseeing routine maintenance needs and schedules, has many proposed projects from amazing vendors to help sustain our community’s reputation as a beautiful place to live. “I’d like to remind our residents that this information can be found on the NTRA Williamsburg website and during our monthly community Board of Directors meetings.”

 

But Imani has a very fun and exciting interest outside of her work.  She co-owns a dog treat business with her in-laws, online. It is called 4Grandpups Homemade Dog Treat Co, and its amazing offerings can be viewed at https://www.4grandpups.com/.

 

She is also pursuing various licenses within the beauty industry and is about to obtain her second license as a wax technician.

 

 

Well, we’re in the final stretch of summer, now.  For those “Summer People” out there, sadness has already set in.  Picnic baskets, pool noodles, flip-flops, and Hibachis will soon be mothballed for another year and many a constitution steeled against the cooler days ahead.  For those who are less charmed by summer months in the Tidewater, mosquito welts, sticky clothing, weeding woes, and the dreaded failure to hear the AC “click,” will be, blessedly, things of the past.  You can hear them all cheering, now.

 

But whatever your sentiments about the season, be safe and enjoy the days ahead.  Take those opportunities to see friends and family that will soon be engulfed in work and school, once more. Visit those places—seaside park and mountain trail—that will quickly offer less accommodating vistas and opportunities.  Most importantly, glory in the ever-changing Joys of the Seasons. Your favorite is never far away, and those seasons you can do without, make those favored seasons even more precious.

Riddle for the Month:  Where do you go to find a hot date?   

 

	The Months by Sara Coleridge
January brings the snow, makes our feet and fingers glow.   February brings the rain, Thaws the frozen lake again.   March brings breezes loud and shrill, stirs the dancing daffodil.   April brings the primrose sweet, Scatters daises at our feet.	May brings flocks of pretty lambs, Skipping by their fleecy damns.   June brings tulips, lilies, roses, Fills the children's hand with posies.   Hot July brings cooling showers, Apricots and gillyflowers.   August brings the sheaves of corn, Then the harvest home is borne.	Warm September brings the fruit, Sportsmen then begin to shoot.   Fresh October brings the pheasants, Then to gather nuts is pleasant.   Dull November brings the blast, Then the leaves are whirling fast.   Chill December brings the sleet, Blazing fire, and Christmas treat

In the spring, New Town neighbors came together on May 5th to celebrate Cinco de Mayo in Chelsea Green's green space common area. Neighbors enjoyed tacos with all the fixings desserts and salads. We played badminton and corn hole and had wonderful conversations in a circle that formed. It was good to connect with each other.  The children took turns and actively swung a cane at the pinata until the pinata broke open and the kids dived on the candy 

 

A raffle (gift card, courtesy of New Town Commercial Association) was won by Sue and Jim Turbish from Charlotte Park.

 

   

 

Our events at the pool have also made a splash! So far this summer, neighbors have enjoyed two lunch-time pizza parties. Pizzas with various toppings, watermelon, brownies, and beverages were available for all. The watermelon is always a big hit on hot summer afternoons. There were some groups of families that included several generations, which is always fun to see. We also had some recent newcomers in attendance; they received a warm welcome to the New Town community.  

 

Two evening socials were also held at the pool. At the June 28 poolside social, residents appreciated an inviting array of appetizers.  The large dessert tray was also a hit as was the raffle.  July 28th was another fun evening, even though it was sweltering. 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

The Activities Committee will host a final lunchtime pizza party on August 26th. We look forward to seeing you there.
 
Stay tuned for details about events planned for the fall months brought to you by your New Town Residential Association Activities Committee.

 

The proposed Westwood Park development on Eastern State Hospital surplus land is in the first stage of a long development process?  

 

New Town residents (all of us) are stakeholders—we all have a voice in what happens to this land. 

 

The development is not a done deal, but is in the stage of application for rezoning. This stage requires a comprehensive study by James City County of the environmental and traffic impact, among other things. (See JCC website on rezoning.)

 

• to protect the intersection at Rollison and Olive Drive from road access to the new development
• to add an additional buffer in the woods behind Charlotte Park
• to reduce the number of units being built at Westwood Park
• to keep New Town as a separate entity

The Association has done a great job of staying on top of this, protecting New Town (see March 2023 NTRA letter with all the details), and keeping us informed. 

 

 

• traffic will increase on Ironbound Road (busy with VDOT trucks, traffic from 199)
• traffic will increase on Discovery Park Boulevard, and expect likely cut-throughs on Casey Blvd and New Town Avenue
• more units built means more trees and natural habitat lost
• Powhatan Creek watershed is already in the “red zone” for overbuilding—what will happen with Westwood Park?

And so far the developer ABVA has not kept past promises to New Town.

 

 

Keep reading the Town Crier and announcements from the NTRA. Check your email for updates. Show up at the James City County Planning Commission public hearing, once it is announced--maybe in the fall? Stay tuned!

 

 

1. The Liberty Bell is struck 13 times, every July Fourth (It no longer is rung due to its crack, of course.);
2. Massachusetts was the first state to celebrate the Fourth of July;
3. There have been 27 versions of the American flag;
4. Apple pie has been the “go to” dessert for Americans since the 1700’s;
5. Bristol, Rhode Island, has the longest standing tradition of a Fourth of July parade;
6. Three US presidents have died on the Fourth of July--James Monroe, John Adams, and Thomas Jefferson—and President Zachary Taylor fell fatally ill on the day after attending Fourth of July orations.  He died on July 9th;
7. Hawaii’s fiftieth star was added to the Flag on July 4, 1960;
8. Americans consume 150 million hot dogs on the Fourth of July;
9. Only John Hancock and Charles Thompson signed the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776;
10. 16,000 fireworks displays take place every Fourth;
11. The Fourth of July was first celebrated 100 years AFTER the signing of the Declaration of Independence;
12. The Star-Spangled Banner was not adopted as our national anthem until 1931; and
13. It was once considered disrespectful to keep your business open on the Fourth of July.