Paleated woodpeckers can be heard wherever you walk in the town forest. Now we have wood thrush. We have wobblers of various types. It is by definition a precious piece of property that we have. The world is in the middle of an insect apocalypse. In many places around the world, insect population has decreased by over 50%. that has an impact on crop growth and feeding our populations. Also, as the insects go, so go the birds. Preserving this precious habitat is part of the solution. You have a once ina-lifetime opportunity to vote yes on this article to save this property and I urge you to do so. Thank you. Thank you, Rob. To allow discussion, entertain a motion that the town authorized the select board to take by eminent domain purchased or otherwise acquire a parcel of land including 11.81 11.4 4 acres more or less of land located at 41 Lincoln Road and shown on assessor's map 004 block 017 lot zero and to pay for same appropriate appropriate a sum of $845,000 by transfer from the community preservation general fund for the acquisition and addition transfer 40,000 from the same fund for demolition of existing structures on the property and payment of a conservation restriction said some to be transferred from the general fund account from the community preservation fund balance and with unexpended funds as of December December 31st, 2029 be returned to their funding source and further to place the land in the care custody and control of the select board for town bars purposes and to authorize the select board to enter into a conservation restriction on said property.
Second. >> All those in favor, please indicate by saying I. >> I. Carry on. Carry on. >> Thank you, sir. >> Yes, ma'am. Um, I just wanted to give a reminder to everybody that Brookfield Cares has a how to save a life training coming up here at the high school on May 20th. So that's a half day for our district. Um, it's open to, I believe, juniors and seniors uh, with parental consent. Um, so they're really excited to be putting on that training and offering it here. Mr. Banda uh, has been promoting and supporting that as well. So, is that a student only event or can adults and parents attend it as well? Students only. Okay, good to be clear. >> Y, >> thank you. >> That was it. Thank you. >> All right, no problem. Thank you for your patience, Emily. >> Floor is yours.
Um, so let's go ahead and move on. Is there a motion to adjurnn this meeting? >> So move. >> I have a motion in a second. Any discussion? >> All right, let's go ahead and vote. >> Good work. >> All those in favor say I. >> I. >> Thank you, Madam President. Ammo.
Do I have such a motion? >> Discussion. Mr. L. >> Uh Aaron Led, chair of the CPC committee. Uh our committee and the community preservation act is one of the original founders in the state of Massachusetts. In the early 2000s, Ashlin was one of the pioneers of starting community preservation funds. In the previous motion, we approved paying off bond funds. Several of those funds expired in the next couple years. This project is here tonight because there may not be a next time. Tonight is of the essence. We have been stewards of fiscal responsibility within the community funds, but realize that purchasing this property is now. It's a shame to think for a hundred years it comes down to one evening, but sometimes that is the case and community preservation was created for nights like tonight. So that is a separate budget mechanism outside of the general scope.
>> Oh, of course. Thank you. Um, so we held our elections for student government for the 2026 to 2027 school year, and we had a great pool of candidates and a great turnout. So, the president for for like the senior class is Julia Feliz. The vice president is Olivia Zza. The secretary is Izzy Martinez. The treasurer is Shria Kelkar. And volunteer coordinator is Marley Knap. And club council coordinator is Jayen Oando. And I'm just going to name also some of the um the the rising officers of their class. So rising senior officers is Natalie and Matsh. Rising junior officers is Callie, Ethan, Gabriella, and Zoya. Rising sophomore officers are Lily, Riley, Esther, and Serena. So big congratulations to everyone who got elected. I know that that's a very fun pro process and everything. There's been some stuff around the school for election. So it's been it's been fun.
I hope that you support a hundred-year plan on one night. Thank you. >> Thank you, Dr. Hoffman. Curtis Hoffman, 58 Hillale Road. Uh last fall uh there was an invitation put out to some of the boards in town to attend a meeting of the Metropolitan Area Planning Commission and I and one other resident from Ashland uh attended this meeting. Their goal was to recommend areas of open space and downtown development uh to be obtained by the local towns in this case Ashlin, Firmingham and NIT. And this parcel, which we're looking at and considering tonight, was specifically recommended for that purpose by MAPC. So I would urge approval of this motion. Thank you. >> Kelly, Tendale Road. My parents own 41 Lincoln Road. They have owned it since 1973. The town has come. My mom passed away in June. It has not been vacant for two years.
So congratulations to them. Um senior night is coming up for our spring sports and some have already happened. So please look out for any of these games coming up and support our senior athletes. And I' uh speaking of sports, I just like to give a little shout out. My friend Michaela Boyer just got um marked up as a captain of her tennis team. So big congratulations to her. She's going to be she's going to be annoyed that I um shout her out now, but >> shout her out more than >> So, we had senior prom last Friday. It went great. Everyone had a lot of fun, great food, the venue was beautiful and of course the dance floor is packed and I just like to mention that I was one of the last kids on that dance floor and we had to get kicked out.
It has been vacant for months. While we tried to figure out what's the best way to handle this special property that my parents called their heaven. We have found a buyer. We have found a buyer that is willing to not develop the land, but to use it for their sole purpose of making making it their heaven. They are willing to give it to us at its assessed value, not less than than what the town has offered us. Also, with the town's offer, it also came with texts threatening us that they were going to take it one way or the other through eminent domain. What are we doing? I I I'm at a complete loss for how this town is handling this without really fully communicating. You cannot tell me the house is in disarray. It is not. It's been lived in since till the end of June.
Music was great, too. Um, so NHS has partnered with Sweets Scroups to host the annual Mother's Day 5K and it's this Sunday at 9:00 a.m. to raise money for Brookfield Cares. Um, so please sign up to run or donate if possible. You can sign up to donate online on the NHS website. It is such a great event and we'd love to have as many runners as possible. And thank you everyone who has already donated and plan to run. We have so many businesses that we've already been to that have generously donated. So we're very we're very grateful for that. And as we all know, it is week one of AP exams at BHS, which is a little stressful, but it has been going well so far. And I just want to wish everyone good luck with their AP exams coming up. And that's all I got.
So I I just ask the town to do the right thing and not start taking things by eminent domain. Sir, >> Scott and Colleen Lton, 33 Bernill Road. Good evening. My family and I have proudly called Ashland home for over 20 years. During that time, we've built not just a life here, but deep roots. We have two children currently in the school system, and our extended family also lives here, raising their own children alongside us. This community is not just where we live. It's where our lives are centered. I'm here tonight to speak about this property at 41 Lincoln Road. This is not just a piece of land to us. It represents something deeply personal. We approached a close family friend about purchasing this property and came very close to signing a purchase and sale agreement. However, we ultimately chose to extend that agreement because we came concerned about the possibility of the town acquiring the property through eminent domain.
>> All right. >> I just wanted to add um I asked Emily to use her powers of persuasion when we were trying to get um high school volunteers for the CLA art show. And we had over a dozen high schoolers show up and they were awesome. They were so great with the kids. So, thank you for your help in coordinating that. And for all the high schoolers that um showed up to help. They were Yeah, they were so great. It was so fun to watch them like give out the stickers to little kids and help with art projects. So, >> great. I'm so glad. >> We will. It's an annual event, so [laughter] thanks, Emily. >> Yeah, anytime. >> Thank you, Emily. Anybody else have anything else for Emily? >> All right. >> What did you think of the French fry bar? >> Good stuff.
This has placed us in a very difficult position. We are planning to sell our current home in order to move into this property. This is not an investment for us nor a development opportunity. Quite the opposite. Our intention is simply we want to live there. We have always dreamed of owning a property like this. Something that allows our family to grow, stay in the town we love, and continue to build our lives here. Our plans are not to develop the land. We are not builders or developers. We are a family. We understand the town has interests and responsibilities when it comes to land use and we respect that. But we ask that you also consider the human side for this decision. For us, that is about stability, about staying rooted in the community we've been a part of for decades, and about creating a home for our children in a place they've always known.
Yeah. Oh my gosh. It was It was delicious. The pasta was my favorite, though. Awesome. That's great. >> Well done. >> Yeah. Are we moving on? >> Yep. You can move. >> So, uh, we had the wellness policy and the meal charging policy on for a first read, um, three meetings ago, and I forgot to ask Lisa to add them to the consent agenda for a final read. There have been no language changes since the first read. Um, everyone was in agreement. I didn't get any feedback. So, I'm going to make a motion to add them on for a final read tonight if there's any objections. Okay. So, I move to add sorry she was seconded you. She thought you >> No, I thought >> Oh, sorry. I'm going to actually make the motion now. >> I move to add policy 6142.101, wellness policy, and policy 3542.43, meal charging policy, for a final read and adoption to tonight's consent agenda.
We are asking for the opportunity to move forward with this purchase without the uncertainty of eminent domain over us. If we are able to purchase this property, Ashland is able to accomplish its goal to preserve the land without having to spend taxpayer dollars. Thank you for your time and consideration. Thank you. >> John confront one shore road. Um wondering where on the property the house is located and um second to that I'm wondering >> let's just do one at a time. Does someone have a a laser pointer that could show where the prop the house is on the property? Where? But where is the house in that property? >> That is the property. Is there a way to divide the property and leave that area out and keep the other property for the for the or is there a way to put I guess my real question is is there a way to work with person who wants to buy the purchase the property and put some kind of a covenant on the on the property that it would not be developed.
>> Second. >> All right. >> Any discussion? Any >> All right. All those in favor of adding to the consent agenda, please indicate by saying I. I I any nays? No nays. We're 660 6. >> Great. >> Take it away. >> Thank you. >> Um I move that the board approve the items listed on the consent agenda as recommended. New hires transfers resignation, February financials, March financials, policies for first read um student discipline 6162.51 PP and policies um for A final read and adoption wellness 6142.101 and 3542.43 meal charging. >> Second. >> All right.
But >> before I ask anyone to answer, I'm going to ask uh attorney me if it's an appropriate question to answer in this venue. Well, I think that would be a negotiation with the um current owners and potential buyers of the property. Um all of those kinds of things are possible um with mutual agreement. >> Okay. And can I ask how much um I don't know if it's part of this question, but how much money there is in CPC? >> It's not part of this. I and I'll be honest. I' I've been asking for years for that to be part of article one that they present that and you didn't see it again this year, so I don't know what to tell you. >> Right. I would I personally I would I would like the town to negotiate with these folks a little more. Thank you.
Any discussion? All those in favor of approving the consent agenda, please indicate by saying I. I. >> Any nays? No. Six nothing. Thank you. Okay. Moving on to unfinished business. um continue discussion on our special education ad hoc committee and uh possible action. Uh I know we came back to this topic to answer any other questions or concerns that anyone may have had uh regards to the ad hoc versus advisory versus >> Standing committee. Thank you. Um so I'd like to just open the floor to anyone who has uh anything like to say or open up. >> I just wanted to get clarity if that's okay. On Stephen, you had originally asked for an advisory. We had voted on an ad hoc. Do you have a prevailing uh preference? Cuz I want to support you and what you think is best for the district. I mean, I know it kind of you'll take whatever, but if there's uh if you know, >> you can say no.
>> Yeah. >> Can I provide a response question? >> You had you had your one shot at the mic for this article. Can I answer a question? She asked >> um the she only asked two questions. One was where's the house? The other was can we possibly do it? And council town council answered the question. >> Hi, I'm Cara Hume. Uh live at 31 Donnelly Lane. I am co-chair of the Ashlin Town Forest Committee and I would like to bring a couple things to light which you may not know unless you've been involved with preserving land in town. We have an open space plan that is outdated but it's existed for decades and this property has existed on that inventory for decades. Um we've never thought that the this property would be up for sale. Um but we have reached out. We we wanted this property because it is so integral to the health of our forest.
>> I appreciate the [laughter] question. Um, no, I do. Um, >> I think you know, Mr. Roland and myself are are looking at getting feedback from folks um who have experiences with our special education program and being able to use that feedback to make informed decisions >> on continuous improvement efforts. So that's our goal. >> Um so I want the committee or venue or what we call it to be able to produce that. um when I did launch it or put it out to the community, I put it out in a way that um it would be a group that would be able to give us ongoing um feedback around different topics, but also we would kind of identify the topics too that um were important to the group, right? Uh from their experiences. So um >> in that regard, I thought it would be more of an advisory group.
Um our intention is not to bring hardship to the current owners or future owners. Um we just feel that this is a worthy purchase for our town because of things that we have heard through the comp plan um and through the open space plan. Um, and I think that's like my short version, but yes, >> thank you, >> Mr. Moderate. Rob Sheriff, 41 Bay Colony Drive. Um, I just want to remind everybody um we have very important public interests involved here as uh Rob pointed out. And the one way to guarantee that those public interests, all of our interests are protected is by proceeding with this eminent domain. The if I read this correctly, this goes under the care and custody of the select board, which I don't trust them, but you know, but uh and they can negotiate a conservation easement that may fit or may not fit with some of the issues here.