A key post at Town Hall has been filled with the appointment of Sheila Page as Ashland’s Town Planner. Since she was hired in mid-December, Page has worked closely with the Town Manager, Planning Board and Board of Selectmen to flesh out top priorities for the new year. One of her goals is to create more public spaces where the community can gather.
“People need to be together to create community, so my interest is in creating gathering places where our residents can get to know their neighbors,” Page said. “I want to help build something that we can all be a part of.”
Page has great passion for the out-of-doors and this connection to nature influences her philosophy and interest in creating a healthier Ashland community. She knows that residents enjoy the “outdoorsy” feel of Ashland with the town forest, state park and other green areas. She wants to capitalize on that characteristic, perhaps tying in the downtown district through a green meeting space.
“Sheila clearly recognizes the dynamics and relationship between the built and natural environments here in town,” Town Manager Michael Herbert explained. “She understands the concept of ‘placemaking,’ and will strive to ensure that new projects are in harmony with a larger vision for the town.”
Her initial projects include assessing additional ways to stimulate and enhance Ashland’s downtown district, looking at ways that zoning can create greater economic development and determining if there are areas where the permitting process can be streamlined to help businesses get up and running more quickly.
“So far, I have been impressed with Sheila’s ability to quickly assess deficiencies in our planning processes and the need for some level of standardization to ensure fairness to all parties that are impacted by planning and building in town,” Herbert added.
With an eye toward conservation and open spaces, Page recognizes that Ashland has valuable assets in its existing natural areas and trails. She will oversee work to develop the Upper Charles River Trail with the goal of creating a continuous corridor for wildlife and for people, and to connect these protected parcels to neighborhoods, the downtown, the train station and other commercial areas.
Her previous work as a design and natural resource planner for the Berkshire Regional Planning Commission will prove relevant here as Page helped community groups usher trail projects through the federal highway funding process and connect with other available funding opportunities. She will work with the Ashland Trail Committee and the Massachusetts Department of Transportation (MassDOT) to advance work on the Upper Charles River Trail project.
Page will also search for grant opportunities to support the overall work of making Ashland an even greater place to live.
“There’s a lot of opportunity and potential here in Ashland,” Page added. “That can be challenging, but it’s a big part of what drew me to this position.”
Page holds a Master’s degree in Sustainable Landscape Planning and Design from the Conway School of Landscape Design in Conway, Mass. and an undergraduate degree in Environmental Studies, as a graduate of the School of Natural Resources at the University of Vermont in Burlington.
Besides drawing on her previous experience for the Berkshire Regional Planning Commission, Page has served as the internal communications program manager with the King County Department of Natural Resources and Parks in Washington state, and most recently as administrative specialist with Needham’s Board of Appeals where she focused on managing several comprehensive permit projects.
“My skills of consensus building and providing exceptional customer service, coupled with my ability to manage the myriad details inherent in planning projects, will serve me well here,” Page added.
Page and her husband, Matt, reside in Natick, Mass., with their two teenage sons.
Issue Date:
February, 2017
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