One of the things that uh that is also coming is on the other side of that bridge next to the historical society. Uh there was that observation platform and so that just became a little bit too old to be safe and so we're replacing that, but we've actually exposed the old sluiceway that fed the mill across the street and uh so we're going to make that the walkway, the old sluiceway and and so that'll be pretty pretty cool. Um hope everybody enjoys that, but Joe, like you mean she I don't You've been around for so long. I've been trying to say that as respectfully as thou canst. Yeah, you can say it. Um no, not as old as dirt, but you know, you know, you you've been around since uh for for a bit and you've seen a lot of changes here, but um not just from a project perspective, but just a community perspective.
What do you think's been the biggest changes you've seen since you've been on the select board? Well, thank you. I would say that the population has changed dramatically. I mean the diverse the diversity of the folks that are coming in. Um with with the uh Indian population uh Russians uh population, you know, very large in on the uh west part of the town, the south actually southwest part of the town in the condos area and um you know, that's it's it's it's nice to have that diversity. It's nice to see uh more people of color coming into this community uh and being accepted where earlier when I was younger uh there weren't many families that, you know, of color in town. I mean you you I mean you could count on one hand how many how many there were. But back in that day, I mean the folks and the kids that were going to school, they didn't see anybody of color.
They just saw a friend. They just saw a person. They didn't get into that. Now, we weren't into this is the and again, you know, the radical movement in the late '60s, early '70s was was was very prevalent. So uh you know, Martin Luther King and Bobby Kennedy and you know, the uh the reform of racial uh reform was happening back then. Right. And um you know, Ashland didn't have a lot of that, but they were able to live with each other in harmony and there wasn't there wasn't an issue. We never saw it as an issue growing up as as kids in the school system, whatever. Um but um you know, that's probably one of the main things. And there was a lot of open space back then. Yeah. And and and unfortunately, there was a baby boom and there were you know, there was a population boom in this area and it's still happening.
Uh that uh you know, more families are moving into town so the open fields and the lands that we used to hang around in play or whatever was has been taken away. So it it became a focus for several boards that I sat on to purchase some of that open space and and keep it and keep it that way. You're starting with like Warren Woods. Warren Woods, right. Yeah, and that's some of the properties that abutted uh the town forest. Along Oregon Road, Echo Brook property and off of Lincoln. Right. So I mean those areas in and of itself, I mean that's that's and I'm happy that we were able to do that because it brings back some you know, great memories of what Ashland used to be uh before it was all developed and uh and we're almost out to that capacity right now.
I mean we're we're getting very close to it. Yeah, the whole build out build out analysis, that's coming as part of the comprehensive plan, which is something that we'll talk about in the in the future episode, but you know, Joe, I I like to say that you know, sometimes our best work happens when things don't happen. And uh you know, you talk about purchasing of open open space and to keep that land from being developed. And Ashland actually over the last 10 10 years has spent um over $10 million on on open space protection and and acquisition and we've got, you know, creative ways to um you know, protect open space without just buy it. Like so we found some very generous uh land owners uh who would be willing to put deed restrictions on their property if we bought abutting uh parcels as open space and it's uh it's made uh I I think a huge difference in town, but then people people don't necessarily see that.
They just know that it's not being developed. And um sometimes they don't even realize that the town has acquired that property and protected it for uh for posterity. But uh but yeah, open space has definitely been a big uh a big priority I think for the town and that's something that we've seen in surveys and and everything. And and with population growth, you have children that are coming into the community. So, you know, your school system is going to be affected by that. Uh they're going to need more space and more room. And then uh you know, the social aspect of of of children and a lot of that social aspect comes with sports and then activities. And so now you need fields, you know, to to provide that those areas of uh programs for kids to have fun and so now there there was a field issue.
And a lot a lot of the discussion came about, you know, do we want regular natural turf or do we want, you know, artificial turf? And in the long run with all the discussions and the committees that were that were developed, uh it came down to common sense. It was going to be a lot of money to keep the natural turf, which needed resting period and you don't have enough uh grass to uh grass fields to be maintained to let one field rest before season and utilize something else. So the turf uh uh option was was was used and that it's been working pretty well. Um the unfortunate thing is there was a time when we didn't have someone maintaining the fields to the point where renting the fields uh we lost a lot of we lost many opportunities to, you know, generate revenue unfortunately to maintain those fields.
And now the other towns around us have developed their their their options to purchase, you know, turf fields. So, you know, the rental is not there any as it was, you know, 10 15 years ago. So, you always got to recalibrate, right? All right. Yeah, always got to you have to relook at everything. There's the plan and then, you know, okay, something goes awry and then you have to kind of look at a contingency plan. Right. And and unfortunately, we didn't we didn't do that. We were just initially hoping to get you know, fields available for the kids to to be able to play and and so far it it's worked out other than, you know, the the rental aspect of it, but Yeah, and so now I mean I think it's safe to say that our athletic programs, especially the youth sports programs have outgrown our current field capacity and I know there's there's plenty of demand for for new fields.
Um you know, moving beyond infrastructure though, you know, we've changed a lot as an organization. And Jen, you've uh you've been a key part of that and you lead a number of departments. Um you know, I think uh I think you know, we've added a few departments like HR. We've added an economic development department, but one of the things that uh we really worked hard on when we started working together was this uh human services and and prevention program and you know, maybe you can talk a little bit about that and and what uh what that's meant to you both personally and professionally and and uh and how it's helped people here in Ashland. Sure. So, when I came on, we we had a youth and family services division as part of our community center and so we always had a case worker and we had a long-standing food pantry that certainly um meets uh with the help of the emergency fund the needs of people struggling with food insecurity and that has been we've maintained that as a vital part of the new department and so the department has really evolved.
Um initially we brought on a licensed social worker and created a human services department that really was focused on sort of doing graph round services for our most vulnerable um residents that might struggle with housing, they might struggle with mental health, they might struggle with substance abuse um or misuse. Um and we've grown that um just in terms of now um including prevention. So, uh Decisions at Every Turn has been working incredibly hard in the community um with school-aged um prevention programs and also um really run by parents in town um that really are focusing on education around substance abuse and as sort of we are streamed through COVID, really focusing on mental health crisis and what that actually hap- you know, what that does to the adult population and also how it leads to substance misuse and abuse. Excuse me. And so, over they were grant-funded for 10 years.
And they had a coordinator and we've systematically sort of stepped off of that grant and incorporated Kristen French, who is now our director of prevention and human services into the town. So, I think that's a huge feather in the cap of Decisions at Every Turn in terms of really institutionalizing prevention into our organization. It's something that you and I have really believed in from from go. I mean, really worked to make sure that we could incorporate her and keep her and keep their mission alive. And so, now she's leading the department and incorporating prevention as much as we can in all aspects of our program. So, working to have prevention messages in recreation programs, in the library programs, partnering throughout the community and then also continuing our partnership with the schools. We have a really strong partnership with both the middle school and the high school in terms of some of their campaigns.
Human services continues to grow and is incredibly busy. Oh gosh, yeah. You know, really trying to deal with giant problems of housing, which obviously, you know, there's a staff of two and a half. We have two full-time caseworkers. One is a licensed social worker and the other a caseworker and then a part-time food pantry coordinator there. And really sort of working on housing, food insecurity, mental health. Working with the police in terms of crisis intervention and their jail diversion program. And so, it's been really a successful program. It's incre- it's meeting a real critical and essential need in the community and sort of as we can address those and help them connect them with social services throughout the region and we can help people to sort of um live a more fulfilling and stable life, the the better the community is. And sort of we've definitely had a huge program.
A part of it is the much Most people probably have heard of is probably the holiday program. Yeah. And so, that's really connecting donors within this incredibly generous community to families who may not be able to provide gifts for their children during the holiday season. And it's a really beautiful community building program in which we have you know, over 100 people being donors, meeting the needs of over 100 and I believe it was 120 families this year. So, that is sort of probably the most well-known, but there is all this work that's happening year-round that's never really gets talked about because it is confidential and um but they're incredibly busy day-to-day. Yeah. Yeah, and Joe, you know, just uh from your perspective, I mean, you've been part of the organization that's the town of the town of Ashland for uh many years. I mean, first as an officer, you know, for um for a couple of decades at least, right?
And then as a member of the select board, there was a period of overlap there, but from your perspective, what do you think has changed the most amongst our among our organization? It is if you What's interesting that act that and some of the programs that Janet just talked about and mentioned it they actually started as grassroots programs when I was affiliated with the police department. You know, we we had we had drug prevention programs that, you know, they were grant-funded by state and federal programs. Those money has since gone and dried up. So, I'm happy to see that, you know, Decisions at Every Turn has taken, you know, has taken over what we used to do. And it was this one person. It was me, myself, and I that would go into the schools and do other things. Um Isabelle Harrison, if you don't mind me mentioning her name.
not. very involved with the the families and Isabelle's a legend here. And she, you know, some of the programs that she talked about that that the holiday program I mean, town hall, you couldn't you couldn't go downstairs because that was the main focus of all the gift drop-offs and everything down down the cellar before the the changeover was made. And so, you know, everybody was part of that. Police, fire, you know, even town employees would go down. They would wrap gifts or whatever people were dropping off. And that also was the own base for the food pantry as well. Um especially now where I think it yeah, Brittany's office and the office next to her. Brittany, our finance director. Sure. Right. And you know, for the well reference uh conference room A, which is now the uh They call it the COVID Yeah, the COVID COVID headquarters.
COVID headquarters, right? So, I mean, that was the area of concern where everybody would pile all the the food and everything and get the baskets all sent out. And it was a whole town project. Fire office firefighters, police officers would deliver the foods and and and at Lions members would be involved. So, I mean it it makes me happy to see that these projects just didn't go by the wayside like like like the dodo bird, right? You know, they progress and have and have flourished into these great programs that have been, you know, funded through town, you know, town resources and and and the tax base. So, when people say, "Our taxes are too high." Well, you know, they may be high, but when you think of all the social programs that have come out of this it's it's very it's hot warming. Ashland is very special that way.
Mhm. Um but we we do what we have to do for those that that are in need and you know, charity starts at home. And and what else would be a place to to have it continue but within the town itself? So, I don't know if I answered that properly, but I I just yeah, and I also think we I think we cognitively sort of looked at and really we're trying to be respectful of all the work that had been done. And so, building off of the holiday program and um you know, everybody in that department still talks about Isabelle Harris and um and all the work that was done in the past and then sort of sort of building off of that to just try to make it, you know, 1% 10% better. I think even just changing the name from Youth and Family, which many other towns still maintain that.
Um we sort of looked at so, if you're not a youth and you're not a family, we still want to make sure that they know that there is a place for them to go. And if they need assistance, we can still help them. Um there is a sort of direct correlation also to our senior outreach worker to make sure that the seniors are receiving the services that they need. Um you know, we we love the fact that it's at the community center even if it's sort of sometimes we're a little squished for space, particularly in the food pantry. Um but the connections that you have there, you have the recreation department there. So, you already have young people. You have the seniors who you know, may not go someplace else if they need services. Um so, it it sort of does work and it does feel much more community.
And the holiday program still has um you know, the fire department, the police department still participate and assist with that. We do have members of the Lions that are definitely volunteering their time. And so, it's sort of building on all of that um that happened in previous But it you know, it comes it comes in time. Maybe just like when you take a walk into the woods, you know, you sometimes you go in an area where no one's gone before. So, you have the you have the you have the path. You have the first one to go to go through. So, it's it's nice to see that progress. And now, where it was a path, it's now a crosswalk, or it's a walkway. You know, so people can utilize it more. There's more There's more benefit to it. So, to hear all of this, I mean, I I sit back and I I smile.
I say, "Thank you." Yeah. Thank you to everybody that's taken that torch and and and continued doing the things that we started because those folks haven't been forgotten. And that's the needy. That's and that's quite important for me. I mean, it's, you know, we were a small town back then. We didn't have a lot. There wasn't a lot. There weren't any rich people. I mean, we were all, you know, blue-collar workers. They they wasn't, you know, we weren't we weren't the Sherwins. We weren't, you know, the Wellesleys or whatever. You know, so we we all had to work. And whatever we were able to contribute to help the community, that's what we've done. And and I take and I take full acknowledgement that the both of you when when you came on board, even as an assistant town manager, a lot of the work that was done was done behind the scenes by the both of you.