Like roughly? Uh, no. I I think roughly because you've got to look at addresses and then they have to talk about the amount of people. You said the drop off line at uh I'm sure just a rough count. I mean, no, that's that wouldn't even help, would it? Because it's addresses. It's how you construct the the we'd have to get the students who the parents who would say I'll drive my child. I don't need the bus and their address. And then all that data would have to be collected accurately, given to the bus company so they could then rework those routes. That's not I'm gonna tell you I I the idea is worthy, but that's not going to happen in in any quick time frame. I mean, we've got to design the survey, make sure we can collect the data act, you know, properly, get it out to families, give them some time to do it, make sure that all complete it so we have that and then get it to the bus company and then they have to do their analysis.
Within a year, we'd outgrown the space. And we went looking for space. And we looked at tele inappropriate. We looked at the office behind uh Stones in not available. We looked at the the granite buildings, decrepit. That's the best word that I can use for the condition of the building. I know we all love the look of the building. It was unworkable. And happily, 91 Main Street came available about the time that we were looking. and we took a lease on 2,000 square feet. We went in and gutted it and added four conference rooms and an air lock and and an expensive rug. The rug was the most expensive thing that we put down. That surprised the heck out of me. Uh new heating, new air conditioning, land, local area networks, all the kind of stuff you have to have to have a a real office building.
So it just takes Yeah. No, I don't I don't necessarily I mean I I would love that. That would be great data, but like I said, I I do see your points on that, but it's sort of like saying, okay, you know, but legally we we can't say like, nope, sorry, you don't have a ride to school. It it was be mostly like, well, okay, there there is still going to be a bus stop in your neighborhood. Get to that bus stop. Now, we're taking a risk on if there's going to be like room on that bus. And I think that's a really safe gamble to to make that you know if if one kid like can't get driven that particular day or a few you know there there's going to be I think space on the bus because there is always still that reliable chunk of students that get driven.
We added two conference rooms, eight workstations, lots of stuff. 2,000 square feet is workable. Within about five or six weeks of us moving into the space, the selectman had found, and I wasn't on the board at that time. I I had uh I had left the board, uh a a committee of three people came by reviewing downtown. So, this has been going on quite a while. and they walked into our building and they, "Oh, you've done a pretty good job inside, but your front window is really ugly." And it was. It really was. Marggo and I were looking for ways of making it look attractive. And you know what was deemed attractive? Downtown Felmouth. And they wanted us, or they suggested, they didn't say they wanted that we put some cubby holes in the front window and we display various real estate pieces in it.
So I think it's it's just a way to sort of keep you know later start times for now. I mean, if we want to reduce it on on some other merit, fine. But if we're if we're looking at it from a fiscal standpoint, I think it's it's dangerous to to get rid of such a big initiative. Um, in this one year to reduce this one budget. Um, but yeah, I think to me that's at least a risk I'd rather explore rather than some of these other options. Casey, on the off chance that we do take this route, right, and there happens to be the situation that Rose has talked about, what would be the solution if there wasn't a room? Was there like a backup or like we'd be we'd be stuck, right? Yeah. No, I mean that would be probably communications that um you know that uh out to parents that buses are going to be running late because we have to make multiple trips, things like that.
uh and basically dress everything up. Well, we had looked at that, or rather I had looked at that. It's called cabinetry. It was a $25,000 addition to the thing just to have the cabinetry in the front window. An impossible suggestion, and that's my concern. I refer to a committee like this as a cuteness committee. She called it an adorable downtown. Okay. I would like a good-look downtown, too. But if you look at the buildings that have been improved upon, take a look at Ralph and Brian Chver's Ashlin Lumber, that looks great. And you know what? It meets it meets the requirement of the planning board and all the things that have to go into building the outside of a building. How does a planning board got to wrap it up respond? I'm winding up. Uh, Adam, how does a planning board respond to this committee when this committee says no, it's not sufficiently cute.
Um listen, Allstar and Deb Jones I have no doubt would you know figure it out and they, you know, she works her magic and she she she does that. Um I I would say um in where I live and when when I served on the board and that was during COVID, we actually did something similar. Um we did survey parents now much much smaller uh population and community of of families. Um we're at the time we're talking 300 students total right in our school. Um, but we did survey parents and we were able to to reduce um the fleet of buses by one. And I'm talking we went from like six buses to five, right? Like that's just the scale that I'm talking about. Um, you know, and so that worked in a very very small community like that. Um, I think I think what what would be important to consider is um if if we do go in that route and that we we can look at ways to to try to do that.
It's not what we want for five people who are not elected for five people who are are just picked up off the street or they're interested. I shouldn't put it, I shouldn't denigrate it. They are interested in downtown. Okay. How do they react to the planning board which actually controls this stuff? Thank you. Um, my name is Robera Sulman, 28 Woodrich Lane. I'm the chair of the Open Space and Recreation Committee and the Open Space and Recreation Committee's representative to the Comprehensive Plan Committee. Um, I wanted to urge people to vote in favor of this. Are you speaking on your own behalf of No, I'm speaking on behalf of the committee. I was about to get to that. Um, I represent the committee and we voted to endorse this bylaw um, change and this Warren article and I'm urging folks to vote for it as well tonight.
Um I think it's would probably be important to first determine whether or not there still is going to be um an impetus for the board to change start times regardless. Right. So so that's I think because I don't want to or I mean I will right if that's if that's the direct the directive that's given to the superintendent. Um, I certainly will put um put the effort into that and work with Allstar um who has been very um helpful in providing data and answering questions and and really explaining. I'm not a bus routing expert, but I feel like I'm getting there. Um so um but but again I to do all that work and then if the will of the board is is to change start times then then it doesn't matter. We have to go to three tiers anyway. So I just you know right sort of while it's it's while it is intertwined it is also two very distinct you know sort of real decisions um for the board to consider um so yeah can you remind us when Deb needed all that information again to go from the two to three I'm sure they're all listening to this meeting right now it's coming it's coming up from what I remember yeah they they are they are needing to to have this information Yeah.
I think that what we're looking at here is the preservation of what we value and the preservation of things that are really important to us downtown. It's a connection to our past. And in every single open space and recreation plan that we've done and in the comprehensive plan, residents have overwhelmingly said that the historic preservation of historic buildings are important to them. It affects their quality of life. It's part of the reason they moved to Ashlin. And I think it's time that we listened to um what the residents want. Otherwise, why do we keep going back and and asking them? I think that it protects property values. Other towns around it have used it as a great liftoff for development of their downtown area. And I think that what's people were talking about what's shameful and what's not going to work. And I think the really the thing that's shameful is ripping down and pulling away and destroying the history for future generations.
Yeah. This was the time we needed to make the decision. I think I said the latest was the early May meeting. So to to do Rosa, what you're saying your initiative, your proposal, you'd have to survey the parents, correct? No. Um because I just think about it's not just CL like people are just focusing on the CLS drop off, but I think about my own child or other children at the high school, right? like a lot of the times he was able to get driven by his sister, but there were times where he wasn't able to and he had to take the bus. So, I couldn't speak to well, yes, some days he can, some days he can't. You had to provide that, right? The same with a lot of kids get driven by their friends, but it's not always an option for them. Um, or something comes up last minute.
Um people once it's gone it is gone and people will just never ever have it in their lives again. Um the someone more eloquent than I said history cannot be preserved without preserving its physical manifestations for these are the things that are witness to the stories of our past and carry them forward into the future. I think it's incredibly important that we preserve these buildings. Going one building at a time is clearly not the way to do it. The only way to do it as advised by the Mass Historical Commission. The only thing that gives full and permanent protection is to establish a historic district. And I have two questions that I wanted to ask Jim for clarification here. This bylaw, my understanding is that it does not prevent changes to a building. They just have to go through the commission. So all this talk about we can't change a thing ever is really not accurate.
I mean, I I'm I'm not willing I don't think it's a safe gamble. I think that's it's a rough phrase to make um without real data to support that claim. Um I'm I'm not willing to put this board in in a liability situation. I sir, so I was just I can speak to my middle school. I know in 10 years there are students from day to day their circumstances change whether they get dropped off, whether they get picked up, whether they drop if they're taking bannes from day to day. I personally think if I got that survey, I wouldn't know how to answer it. I'm not actually I'm suggesting actually we don't survey. um suggesting that we reduce the fleet by three buses. They redesign the routes every, you know, the neighborhoods are still your, you know, your kids still going to have a a bus stop.
And the other thing is that um did you make any effort to reach out to property owners during this process? Thank you Robera. Yeah. Um we did reach out to property owners during the process. We've had um three years of continual meetings. Uh letters have been sent out, social media posts have been sent out. Um, and we've had two public forums, one public hearing of which many of the people that are speaking tonight were at and had their questions addressed and had their concerns aired. Um, so I'm not hearing anything new tonight. However, um, what was your other question? Can changes be made? Would changes I'm sorry, what can changes be made to buildings? Changes can be made to buildings. Yes. The way the system would work under the if it's a historic local historic district, there will be three things. It'll be a certificate of appropriateness.
It's just those buses are going to be more packed and the the the routes Yeah, the routes will be longer. Um I I do think we have that that 10-minute flexibility in there, but um but yes, so if and you know, of course there are going to be times where like students situations change like dayto day. But what we're risking is statistically all of those kids doing that on the same exact day consistently. And that's something that I don't think is likely to happen. the probability of every student like you know needing the bus when they sometimes get driven on the same day is is I think quite low and I think sorry no go ahead I think this goes back to for me we're talking about fundamentally changing the way our district operates which we can't go back from so like changing start times is drastic whereas if we keep the start times as is and explore other options we have to figure that out.
Um if it if it if it's a minor change will not be affected at all. The only change will happen if a permit has to be pulled. Um anything you have to do to fix up the property without a permit wouldn't even come across the radar of a historical commission. Anything other than that there would have to be and sometimes like we said we wanted to be flexible. Um, no one's on the commission yet, but the future commission hopefully will be flexible in that if it's a minor thing, if if it's not a big deal, if it's not the right kind of thing, but it looks like it should belong, then it can be it's fine. Um, minor changes can be made, paint colors are not part of this. U roofing colors are not part of this. Um the guidelines that are suggested are for builders and developers or property owners for give them some kind of thing of what a commission would be looking for in some kind of proposed change.
So if we keep start times as is and also they can go hand in hand and if it doesn't work and if we need to we have that you know the we can do things different in the future but once we go back to start times and once we fund fundamentally change the way our district operates that's forever and where Ros is talking about taking you know diversifying our risk I feel like there's other areas in which we can keep the start times the same and look at the budget that's but didn't we just change the start times not too long ago and it's clearly not forever. What do you mean? We've just changed the start times. So, correct. We just changed the start times two years ago. It's only been two years since we have fundamentally changed the way our district runs. So, to do that again in two years feels very drastic to me.
Um they're not written in stone and they're not the bylaw. They're suggestions. Okay. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Hi. Uh my name is Lauren Crowley. I live on Webster Road. I've been here since 2022. Uh, I also run the Sub-Zero ice cream store in the center of town that would be part of this district. Um, I'd like to echo the sentiments that I do think that historic preservation is an extremely important part of our town, our community, and communities everywhere. But ultimately to me, it feels like Ashland has less of a district, but a few sites that were highlighted tonight. Um, from what I understand from the from the committee directly is that it's more difficult and cumbersome to establish the sites as compared to a contiguous area, which we're talking about tonight. Um but most of the commercial space that ends up wrapped up in the district is not historic but would still end up being subjected to the additional bylaws um just so be by being in the district.
We have not given it enough time for the data to really take effect to really show the benefit. We only really have two classes that have moved up two years. The surveys have showed that it has not impacted. In fact, it's positively impacts the students. They are getting more sleep. So, there's multiple things in play here. I don't think any of these things are incorrect. I don't think any of these things are, you know, not a good way to look at how the district functions. I just feel like changing the start times to then directly save the money for this budget season puts us in a position where we can't go back from what we do to fundamentally change the way the district operates. And also we may still be in a budget situation where we're having to make more cuts, move things around. So it it's it just feels like a very um big change for something that could still be a risk.
Um, I have heard uh that it's been explained that while certain properties, the one that I occupy currently is not uh historic and would not be subject to the conditions, any changes to that property, would still need to be processed by the commission and by nature of being included into the district, which does add yet another town approval process for a business trying to operate in the center of town. um with all of the exceptions that would be likely uh that's being talked about here tonight, even it does raise the question as to why so many of the locations are included in this historic district in the first place. Uh as once they are subjected to the extra bylaws, there's no guarantee that the exceptions um would come to fruition for those properties. Uh and even if it would be a quick process, it's still an additional task to which an owner or occupant would need to comply.