Town Crier Articles

Posted on November 1, 2024 6:45 AM by Ruth Burgess, Board of Directors
 
Are you a Halloween enthusiast? Or, eagerly awaiting the outcome of this year’s local, state, and federal elections? Do you observe Veteran’s Day and, later in November, keep a traditional Thanksgiving family gathering time? Do you love the Advent-Christmas season or look forward to celebrating Hanukkah, or Kwanza, or some other holiday that usually falls in December? In November, December, and early January, will there be family birthdays, or an expected new birth, or anniversaries, or even a mid-year graduation? Will someone who has been away for a long time be coming home? Might you soon watch college or national league playoffs in some sport, especially if your favorite team is involved?
 
All of these special times may inspire New Town residents to decorate inside or outside New Town homes in ways that can help all of us catch the spirit of a season, and add visual interest to many a morning or afternoon walk! Our family always would take a pre-Christmas evening drive around my hometown to look at Christmas decorations. Perhaps you might do something like this in New Town, starting with Halloween.
 
After a holiday or other special time passes, however, there shortly comes a day when most decorations that have gone up probably should come down.
 
  • October has been Halloween season; most homeowners decorating for Halloween will probably be glad to take down the witches, ghosts, and giant spiders within a couple of days after October 31. Carved pumpkins, rotten pumpkins, or uncarved ones that animals have feasted on, of course need to be trashed as soon as possible.
  • General autumn decor, including intact natural pumpkins, is common at least through Thanksgiving  which is November 28 this year.
  • According to New Town Rules, political signs allowed in people’s yards as early as 60 days before an election should be removed two days after Election Day.
  • Our national flag (appropriate for Veterans Day) or another flag may be displayed any time provided it is bracket-mounted on the front of the house.
  • Many New Towners may be starting to decorate for Christmas or Hanukkah by mid-November (or, at least think about it). New Town rules state that such holiday decor should be removed by January 7, or the day after Epiphany which is on a Monday this year. And, if you want to delay putting away decorations inside your house beyond that, it’s nobody’s business but yours.
Note: As usual, there will be a large dumpster by the NTRA pool for discarded December holiday trees, wreathes, garlands, and other decorations. Dates to be announced.
 
  • What about the host of family or friend events people may decorate for? The best approach may simply be to use common sense. When the balloons deflate, take them down. After the birthday party, don’t leave the Happy Birthday signs up for weeks. Don’t wait for the newborn to sleep through the night before the joyous announcement signs go away.
Finally, remember that decorating for any special occasion should be lots of fun, and “undecorating” might be as well. When the time comes to clear the detritus of a recent celebration, why not put out some snacks and make a party of it. After all, in New Town, isn’t purchasing for a party as easy as going for a walk!
Posted on November 1, 2024 6:40 AM by David Carter
 
Window bird strikes have been on the rise over the past few weeks with fall migration, but we hope it's also due to people's awareness that window-strike birds need medical attention!
 
Did you know? When birds collide with windows, if they don't die from the initial impact, they're often left concussed with internal bleeding, eye trauma, ruptured air sacs, broken bones, and more. While sometimes these birds can temporarily recover enough to fly away from a scary predator (you), they often succumb after hours or even days when their injuries go without treatment.
 
If a bird appears stunned (eyes closed, on the ground, allows handling), please contain that bird IMMEDIATELY in a box with a lid and give your nearest wildlife rehabilitator a call right away. Be sure to leave a message if they do not answer right away. While waiting to hear back from your local licensed professionals, keep these birds somewhere warm, dark, and quiet away from pets, children, and other loud noises. Do NOT attempt to release these birds, even if it sounds like they're moving around in the box or like they may have recovered on their own.
 
Better yet, make your windows bird-safe! Birds hit windows because they reflect the sky and trees on the OUTSIDE of the windows, not the inside. You must break up the reflection by placing stickers, decals, tape, or other mediums (glass paint, screening, etc.) on the outside of the windows, with no more than 2" between decals/designs so birds don't attempt to fly "between" them. Stopping birds from hitting windows is the best way to give these birds the best chance to survive, and prevent them from needing care.
 
According to the Heritage Humane Society if you have found wildlife in urgent need or rescue, please contact Wildlife Response at 757-543-7000 or Tidewater Wildlife Rescue at 757-255-8710.
Posted on November 1, 2024 6:40 AM by Liz Fones-Wolf, Activities Committee
 
This year’s Fall Festival was different.  First, it was the biggest crowd yet with an attendance of over 150 residents, ranging from seniors enjoying the mild weather, music and happy vibe to awed and grinning toddlers crawling through the colorful tunnels and gingerly stepping from box to box of the obstacle course.       
 
Second, there were mummies in Village Walk!  About a half hour after the event started, I was walking on the green with the crowd and suddenly saw two mummies swathed in white strips, making weird noises and walking towards me.  It was scary!  I heard people yelling:  “They’ve been turned into mummies!”  I was turning to run away in fear when suddenly I realized that I was in the midst of the Fall Festival’s new Mummy Wrap race.  This timed race involved two teams with the contestants creating a mummy by wrapping a volunteer in toilet paper.  The teams with the most convincing mummy won prizes.  It was great fun.
 
     
 
Less scary but equally fun were the three rounds of the Cake Walk, during which, as in musical chairs, participants marched to music around a circle of numbered fall decorated signs.  When the music stopped, cake walkers rushed to stand by a numbered sign.  Our emcee and musical director extraordinaire, Rick Byrnes, then picked a number from his hat, and the cake walker next to the number was out, but as a consolation prize won a cupcake.  The last surviving participant won a giant decorated cookie cake.  
     
New Town residents also played corn hole and croquet and painted pumpkins while enjoying popcorn and home-made frosted Halloween cookies and drinks.  Kids searched for pumpkins during the pumpkin egg hunt, played toss games, and participated in races.  NTRA Board member Ruth Burgess patiently taught little ones the best method for tossing balls into buckets and through holes, and they all came away with candy and prizes.   Other children built brick castles (ok, cardboard bricks), and competed to see which castle lasted the longest under a barrage of their competitors small bricks.  Also popular again this year was the game, Pie Face Showdown.  One little girl wearing a blue-decorated shirt, played at least six times, recruiting her dad for her last contest.  She howled with laughter each time she lost the game and was hit by the whipped cream. It was a fun afternoon for adults and children alike. There were so many great photos, that there is a new Photo Album on this website filled with memories of the event. 
     
The Activities Committee next is event is a Holiday Party on Friday, December 6, 6:30-9:00 at Legacy Hall. Look for more details in this month’s Town Crier as well as eblast reminders.
     
Please join me in thanking members of the Activities Committee, including Susan Schlimme, Mary Jo Mulligan-Kehoe,  Jon Thomas, Terri  Finn and Virginia Barch, for organizing and staffing the Fall Festival. They and 14 other volunteers, Judy and Rick Byrnes, Angela Lesnett, Kurt Schlimme, Brooke Schlimme, Reagan Schlimme, Merry Thomas, Nikki Thomas, Justin, Jennifer Morgan, Mark Reckham, Pei Han Shih and Ken Fones-Wolf, made the Fall Festival possible.   
     
We also thank the NTRA Board  for its support and our Board liaison, Ruth Burgess, who volunteers for many of our events and always cheers us on.  
      
Posted on October 1, 2024 7:00 AM by Jack Espinal, Board President
Categories: NTRA Business
 
As October 2024 begins, it’s time to prepare for a new year in the life of our New Town Residential Association. In the mid-November to mid-December time-frame NTRA Members also will be given the opportunity to vote on a potential change in the Village Walk Supplemental Declarations. In addition, the annual Board Elections are coming up - with voting on candidates after Thanksgiving and results to be announced at our annual meeting.
 
This year, two current Board members are completing their term of service. NTRA homeowners thus are encouraged to step up and consider becoming candidates for our two open positions. We hope many owners will seriously consider running since an election process is always better if there are more candidates than openings.
 
Who may run for our NTRA Board of Directors?
 
Candidates may come from any of our neighborhoods, but we cannot have more than two Board members from any one neighborhood. The three Board members who are halfway through their two-year terms are from Village Walk, Abbey Commons, and Savannah Square. Wouldn’t it be wonderful to have a diverse board comprised of members from nearly all our neighborhoods?
 
What is needed in a Board of Directors member? 
  • Time: A willingness to serve, and a sufficiently flexible schedule to allow for
    • Participation in monthly NTRA Board of Directors meetings. These may last several hours and typically are scheduled for weekday afternoons
    • Involvement with committees for which one is the assigned Board Liaison
    • Attendance at extra work sessions or called “emergency meetings”, and
    • Homework - preparing for monthly Board meetings or special projects in areas related to your gifts and skills.
  • Commitment to taking seriously legal and fiduciary responsibilities associated with attending to the essential business of the community. Do you have sufficient commitment and ability to function as part of a team where members must value, respect, support, and collaborate with one another if the vital work is to get done? How about the self-management needed to keep confidential information confidential? Will you prioritize the Board’s legal responsibilities, and the best interests and welfare of the whole NTRA community, over personal agendas or loyalties to a limited group within the community?
  • No Outstanding Violations: Candidates for the Board of Directors or any of our official committees cannot have uncleared or unaddressed violations or unpaid dues. If you think you would be willing to serve NTRA as a Board member — please, please, please! - clear your violations before you put your name forward.
Becoming a Candidate
 
Thoughtfully consider what may be involved in serving as a Board member. If you think you can handle the time commitments, the investments of self, and the responsibilities of an NTRA Board member, and are not in violation, you will be doing your New Town community a huge favor by becoming a candidate for our 2025-2026 Board!
 
Do this by sending an email by November 6, 2024 with your full contact information to NTRA.secretary@gmail.com, along with a picture of yourself and a brief biographical statement. The latter might include relevant vocational information, your special skills, or earned credentials, and your reasons for being willing to apply your particular gifts, skills, available time, and energies positively to serving your community in this way.
Posted on October 1, 2024 6:57 AM by NTRA Activities Committee
 
 
NEW TOWN 2024 FALL FESTIVAL
 
Saturday, Oct. 5
 
Village Walk, 2:00-4:00
 
 
Join your neighbors for an old-fashioned fun-filled, FREE event in the Village Walk neighborhood on the corner of Casey and Settlers Market Boulevard.  
 
Everyone is invited, adults and children, family and friends. Guests will enjoy popcorn, Halloween cookies and other goodies. As an added treat, there will be drawings for a large pumpkins and gift certificates donated by the New Town Commercial Association
 
Activities include cake walks, pumpkin painting, and games including corn hole, and shark toss, races, pie face showdown, a kid’s obstacle course, croquet, and cornhole and more. Get there early for a Halloween “egg” hunt at 2:15 across the street from the main venue. Watch out there may also be mummies!
 
Come to participate or just share the good time and the music.  Also, we really need volunteers. Please contact Liz Fones-Wolf at efwolf@wvu.edu if you can lend a hand.  
 
Rain date:  Sunday, Oct. 6     
 
Sponsored by the New Town Residential Association Activities Committee
Posted on October 1, 2024 6:55 AM by Town Crier Staff
Categories: Life in New Town
 
Posted on October 1, 2024 6:45 AM by Liz Fones-Wolf, Activities Committee
 
Over the last several years, New Town's summer lifeguards have been undergraduate students who come from all over the world, recruited and trained by Continental Pools, our pool management company.  We have had quite a few lifeguards from Jamaica, Turkey and China.  Our main lifeguard this year was Deanjilee Robinson, who lives just outside the city of Kingston, Jamica, and is starting her senior year at the University of Technology, majoring in finance. This was Deanjilee ‘s second year at our pool and I met her last year.  I learned that to earn as much as possible, she works extra shifts and had not seen anything of the U.S. aside from the airports in Miami and Richmond. I offered to take her and one or more friends to Washington D.C. for a day of sightseeing.  
       
One early Tuesday morning in mid-July, the day each week our pool is closed, Deanjilee, her best friend Beyance Turner, a Finance major, who she recruited to also work as a lifeguard with Continental, and I headed to Washington.  As we drove, Deanjilee and I chatted about the differences between living in Jamaica and the United States. Jamaica is the third largest island in the Caribbean about the size of Connecticut with a population of just 2.1 million. It is known to Americans for its reggae music and as a tropical tourist destination.  She was fascinated as I tried to describe the sheer size and geographic diversity of the U.S.  While impressed with the speed of banking  (opening a bank account in Williamsburg took half-an-hour instead of an all-day ordeal in Kingston), she was appalled by how much processed food Americans eat and surprised that trees in New Town did not bear fruit.  
     
We dropped the car off at my son’s house in Alexandria and took the Metro to the Capitol South Station.  The Metro was a new experience for Deanjilee and Beyance since there are no trains or subways in Jamaica. Our first stop was the Capitol steps, where looking towards the Washington Monument, we took in the majestic view of the National Mall ringed by world-class museums of history, art, technology and the natural sciences. We then headed to the National Gallery of Art, starting with the East Building and its modern art collection. Both young women had visited the small National Gallery of Jamaica, which features two floors of Caribbean art, but were stunned by the magnitude of Smithsonian’s art collections.  Having read about and seen pictures of Picasso’s painting, they particularly enjoyed the impressionist galleries but also took delight in the works of Jackson Pollock and other modernists. We went through both tower galleries and at the rooftop terrace with its huge blue rooster, the young women took in an expansive view of Washington D.C. In the underground moving walkway  between the East and West Buildings, we experienced the “Multiverse,”  an amazing visual light display.  
       
We dashed through the National Gallery’s West Building, which holds master works from the 13th to 19th centuries and Deanjilee and Beyance were amazed by all the religious imagery.  Catching all of our eyes was a grisly 15th century painting on leather of David and Goliath by Andrea del Castagno of Florence. The painting was once attached to a battle shield. We then headed to the Smithsonian’s Natural History Museum, where they wanted to see the Hope Diamond and dinosaurs and also enjoyed an exhibit on human evolution. The White House was next on their agenda, and we marched a mile through the high heat and humidity to get a view.  
 
On the way back to the Metro to cool off, we stopped at the first floor America on the Move transportation exhibit at the Smithsonian’s Museum of American History.  The interactive and immersive experiences were their favorite experience of the trip. Most moving for Deanjilee and Beyance was sitting in a recreation of a 1927 segregated North Carolina train station and the experience of riding in a 1950s Chicago Transit Authority "I" train car, complete with sound and moving images. We arrived back in Williamsburg around 9:00 after an enjoyable if exhausting day, with Deanjilee and Beyance having learned more about the United States and me having learned more about Jamaica.
 
 
 
 
Posted on October 1, 2024 6:45 AM by John Stratton
 
In case you missed it, on Saturday, September 21st, New Town residents held a community-wide garage sale. The goal of the community garage sale was to encourage participation from any and all residents, inspire community engagement amongst our residents (as well as with our broader Williamsburg community) and finally, if you were lucky, to lighten your load or pick up that treasure you just couldn’t pass up. While residential (seller) participation was on the lighter side, the traffic and interest along our New Town streets appeared steady and varied from both within and beyond New Town.
 
This inaugural community garage sale was a great start in what will hopefully become a more regular occurrence. The NTRA Board of Directors enthusiastically supported our ideas and graciously let us move out planning and advertising on a very compressed timeline in order to deconflict from other community events as well as take advantage of the warmer weather before fall arrives.
 
We hope the community enjoyed this event.  We learned several lessons to improve future events:
  • Ensure residents have 2-3 months of notification, or even better, set a date for the event to occur annually
  • Allow one of the NTRA committees to sponsor the event
  • Designate a point of contact to answer questions 
  • Post better signage or descriptive markers to highlight selling areas
  • Increase advertising outreach
As a reminder, individual garage sales are not allowed under the NTRA rules. NTRA rules, Section II, Para 43, states: “Yard/garage sales are not permitted within the Properties, except that the Association may sponsor a community yard/garage sale at the discretion of the Board of Directors.” 
 
So this was your chance for 2024.  We hope you were able to participate in the community garage sale in a way that met your needs this time, and we look forward to future opportunities.
 

 
Posted on September 1, 2024 7:00 AM by Jack Espinal, Board President
Categories: NTRA Business
 
Owners in the New Town Residential Association will be asked to approve an amendment to the Village Walk Supplemental Declarations removing the Association’s obligation to provide exterior home maintenance to this neighborhood. (See related September Board Buzz).  The following is the Board of Director’s plan for amending the Village Walk governing documents:
  • Early September 2024 - the proposed amendment will be posted to the NTRA website requesting written comments and questions
  • Monday, September 16 - 7 PM meeting of Village Walk owners at Legacy Hall
  • Monday, September 30 - 7 PM meeting of all NTRA owners at Legacy Hall
October - Disposition of written comments and questions received
  • November 11 through December 11 - electronic voting on the amendment
  • December 11 – Special Members Meeting via Zoom to announce the results of the vote 
Passage of this amendment will require approval by two-thirds of our Association members and will make Village Walk homeowners responsible for maintaining the property that they own as is the case for owners in the rest of the Association. This change
 
  1. Places homeowners in the NTRA on nearly equal footing regarding maintenance and subject to the same requirements for Maintenance of Property as outlined in Article 7.2 of the NTRA Master Declaration.  Exceptions for Village Walk will be the post tension slab system, irrigation system, fire suppression system, and yearly termite management. These will remain with NTRA and be funded through the Village Walk neighborhood assessment.
  2. Reduces confusion regarding the responsibility for various types of exterior maintenance.
  3. Allows homeowners to select the contractor that performs maintenance work on their home and also to choose the scope of work, quality of materials, timing and pricing.
  4. Allows the homeowner to supervise and approve the completed work.
  5. Speeds and simplifies the repair process by removing the management company and Board of Directors from the repair process and eliminating the NTRA contracting requirements.
  6. Will significantly lower quarterly assessments and bring them in line with others in NTRA with similar homes.
  7. Removes the sharing of exterior maintenance expenses, i.e, Village Walk owners will no longer have to fund the maintenance needed on each other’s homes.
  8. Eliminates the possibility of all NTRA members becoming financially responsible for the exterior maintenance of the homes in the Village Walk neighborhood.
  9. Retains the marketability of Village Walk homes which could significantly degrade if the neighborhood has very high association dues and continual large additional assessments.
  10. Eliminates major yearly increases in Village Walk assessments that will be required if the Association continues to provide exterior maintenance.
Q&A
 
Q: I live in Abbey Commons, Charlotte Park, Chelsea Green, Savannah Square or Shirley Park. Why should I vote YES on this amendment?
 
A: If the owners of Village Walk fail to pay their assessments and the Association cannot fund the exterior maintenance from Village Walk funds, it is possible that general NTRA funds would be required to be used. That means your HOA dues could be used to fund the upkeep of Village Walk homes. It also means you could incur an additional assessment in order to fund this upkeep. Your YES vote eliminates this risk.
 
Q: I live in Village Walk. Why should I vote YES on this amendment?
 
A: A YES vote will eventually reduce your HOA dues and puts control of your property in your hands.
  • The exterior maintenance component of your neighborhood assessment will be eliminated. Your HOA dues will be similar to those of other neighborhoods with a few exceptions, as outlined below.
  • You will be subject to the same requirement for your property maintenance as all other NTRA owners, as outlined in Article 7.2 of the NTRA Master Declaration.
  • When your home needs exterior maintenance, you will choose the contractor, scope of work, timing, and pricing, the same way the rest of NTRA homeowners do. The process is simplified and streamlined by eliminating involvement of the management company and the Board of Directors, and by removing NTRA contracting requirements.
Q: What about Village Walk’s irrigation system, fire suppression system, termite management and post tension slab system?
 
A: These items are not affected by the exterior maintenance amendment. They remain a shared expense, managed by NTRA and funded by the Village Walk neighborhood assessment. You currently pay an assessment for these items and will continue to do so. The assessment for these items is small relative to the large assessment you have been paying for roofing and siding maintenance, repair and replacement. A small Village Walk reserve fund will still be necessary for maintenance of the systems that NTRA retains responsibility for.
 
Q: What is the outlook for Village Walk owners if the amendment does not pass?
 
A: Village Walk owners will continue to have large and increasing neighborhood assessments to fund exterior maintenance. On top of this, additional assessments will likely be needed for major projects. This could affect property values and home sales, as buyers factor HOA dues and additional assessments into their purchase decisions.  
Posted on September 1, 2024 6:57 AM by Sommer Wrona
 
Two major events will take to our residential streets in October!
 
On Saturday, October 5, our streets and trails will be awash in pink as we welcome the Run for the Hills, hosted by Here for the Girls (H4TG.)  H4TG is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization dedicated to improving the lives of young women affected by breast cancer. You can learn more about them at hereforthegirls.org .
 
This event consists of both a race and a health and wellness expo in Sullivan Square. The race offers a 1 mile fun run, a 5K run (a Colonial Road Runners Grand Prix Event), a 5K competitive walk and a virtual run.  New Town residents and businesses can use special promo code NT2024RUN for a discounted registration fee! Register at hereforthegirls.org/run .
 
The health and wellness expo in Sullivan Square is free and open to the public—all are welcome, and this is a stroller-friendly, dog-friendly venue! There will be nutrition and health demonstrations, fitness classes and activities, educational information, health screenings and wellness checks, kids’ activities and much more.
 
New Town residents are invited to show their support for this event! You can request a Cheer Package, which will consist of a ribbon or other decoration to place in front of your home, a route map, a list of designated cheer spots where residents can gather to cheer on the runners, health info and more. If you would like a Cheer Package, please email your name and street address to sommer3553@gmail.com by September 15.
 
We will be doing additional decorating along the race route! If you would like to volunteer to help “pink up” our streets and trails, please email sommer3553@gmail.com by September 15, and I will add you to the volunteer list.
 
On Saturday, October 26, we embrace purple, as we welcome the Walk to End Alzheimer’s, hosted by the Alzheimer’s Association. This is the world’s largest fundraiser for Alzheimer’s care, support and research.
 
This annual event begins and ends at the Gazebo on Main Street. The walk offers a 1 mile route and a 3 mile route. You can view details of the route here. If you would like to form a Walk team, you can register at the Walk's local website. Many of the neighborhoods in the area have Walk teams, and it would be great to see New Town represented!
 
The Walk could also use your help as a volunteer on the day of the event! Please sign up at https://signup.com/go/FKdadZT , where you will find a list of volunteer opportunities, times needed, and number of volunteers needed for each opportunity. 
 
NTRA residents are invited to show their support for this event! If you would like a yard sign or a purple ribbon to place in front of your home, please email your name and street address to sommer3553@gmail.com by September 30. The quantities of signs and ribbons are TBD, so you may get one or the other, or both!
 
We will be doing additional decorating along the Walk route! If you would like to volunteer to help “purple up” our streets, please email sommer3553@gmail.com by September 30, and I will add you to the volunteer list.