By Carol Britton Meyer

The Council on Aging was given the go-ahead by the select board this week to apply for designation by the American Association of Retired Persons as an “Age-Friendly” community for residents, businesses, and visitors.

A letter signed by select board Chair Brian McCarthy will be submitted on behalf of the board to AARP Massachusetts State Director Jennifer Benson at the recommendation of the COA seeking designation under AARP’s Network of Age-Friendly Communities – an affiliate of the World Health Organization’s Global Network for Age-Friendly Cities and Communities.

“AARP designation allows towns to determine their own priorities and goals and to work toward achieving them at no direct cost to the town, except any money that might be allocated toward programming,” COA member Rhoda Kanet said.

Another benefit, she said, is that gaining Age-Friendly status allows a community to seek AARP, and possibly other, grants.

COA Director Lisa Thornton noted that the senior center is already engaged in efforts that are compatible with the designation guidelines, which would become part of the COA’s “Age-Friendly” action plan. “We’re already ahead of the game, including [the recent] needs assessment,” she said.

Recognizing the changing demographics, the town and the Council on Aging commissioned a few years ago the University of Massachusetts’ Center on Demographic Research on Aging to conduct a Community Needs Assessment to investigate the needs, interests, preferences, and opinions of Hull residents ages 55 or older.

According to their research, 55% of Hull’s population by 2030 will be over 50, with at least 4,200 residents over the age of 60.

Town Manager Jennifer Constable said that the planning process under an Age-Friendly designation would involve integration of demographics of all ages.

The town is committed to taking meaningful actions that align with AARP’s Eight Domains of Livability “to make our community more inclusive, accessible, and resilient for people of all ages,” the letter states.

In seeking Age-Friendly designation, the letter outlines actions the town would take as part of this initiative, including:

• Ensuring town departments, boards, and committees understand the needs assessment and develop a means to track how each has considered its contents in their own work;

• Planning for the growing demand for senior center programs and services by developing three- and 10-year strategic plans that address staffing, space, transportation, program mix, social connection, and technology access;

• Ensuring the town’s affordable housing plans incorporate the needs of people of all ages;

• Identifying vulnerable residents, strengthening wellness check systems, and integrating age-friendly readiness to resiliency planning;

• Coordinating across departments to improve walkability, curb cuts and crossings, bench placement, lighting, and wayfinding and expanding age-friendly transportation options that connect residents to services, shopping, and recreation.

• Establishing an age-friendly communications plan, including an accessible town web page and regular newsletters.

• Including representative community members in the process, with an emphasis on older residents.

In other business, the select board appointed citizens to several boards and committees. Member Irwin Nesoff was not present at Wednesday’s meeting. These applicants were appointed:

100% Clean Energy Climate Action Committee: Jason McCann and Maria Writesel; Beautification Committee: Hillary Taverna; Permanent Sewer Commission: Liz Kay; War Memorial Commission: Kevin Richard Beck; and the Weir River Estuary Park Committee: Neal David Connors, contingent on confirmation of an opening.

These citizens were reappointed:

Affordable Housing Committee: Lisa Ann Boretti and Beverley Love Rock; Beautification Committee: Camellia B. Bloch, Maureen Koelsch, and Amy Russell; Conservation Commission: Samuel Campbell and Paul Paquin; Council on Aging: James Pitrolo; Economic Development Committee: Jennifer Mullin; Hull Cultural Council: Steven Greenberg, Nicole Hocking, Karen Shirey Pitrolo, and Meghan Riley; No Place For Hate Committee: Sandra Baler Sagel, Eva Borsody Das, and Meghan Riley; Opioid Abatement Task Force: Scott J. Miller and Richard Schutte; and the Zoning Board of Appeals: Anthony May.

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