Office of Aging

Challenge for Carver County: Developing Communities for Boomer Residents

The Office of Aging sponsored a daylong conference, "Challenge for Carver County: Developing Communities for Boomer Residents," Dec. 11, 2008 at the University of Minnesota Landscape Arboretum. The conference began an exploration of the issues facing the county and its cities as residents prepare for a new and much larger generation of older residents, Baby Boomers. Discussion centered around the need to develop communities with the amenities, services and housing options tailored to the needs of the Boomers, individuals who will have different expectations and demands than their parent's generation. The conference Agenda included the following presentations, some of which also provided handouts:
    Setting the Stage: Aging Boomers and Carver County presentation by State Demographer Tom Gillaspy 
    Rural Design: A Way to Build Community presentation by Dewey Thorbeck, Center for Rural Design, University of Minnesota
    Transform 2010 presentation by LaRhae Knatterud, Minnesota Department of Human Services  
    Opportunity for Carver County: Developing Communities for Boomer Residents presentation by Dawn Simonson, Metropolitan Area Agency on Aging
    Living Longer and Stronger in Dakota County presentation by Deborah Tompkins, Dakota County Aging Initiative 
    Creating a Neighborhood for a Lifetime presentation by Marcia Townley, Mill City Commons
    River Bluffs Village presentation by Jessica Hagemann
    Cooperative Communities for Seniors – and the Rest of Us Too presentation by Joelyn Malone, Cohousing Advocates, What is a Cooperative Cohousing Community? 
    Housing Fit for All - Vistability and Universal Design presentation by Diane Sprague, Lifetime Home Project, Increasing Home Access

    Senior Housing Discussion presentation by Mary Monteith, Carver County Community Development Agency
    Carver County Library presentation by Melissa Brechon
    Ed Campus – Learning Forward presentation by Tim Engen, The Campus of the Future 
    SouthWest Transit presentation by Dave Jacobson
    City of Victoria presentation by Don Uram
    City of Chanhassen – A Community for Life presentation by Kate Aanenson
    City of Norwood Young America presentation by Tom Simmons, Establishing a Senior Advisory Committee 

Watertown Baby Boomers Surveyed About Their Future

What do Watertown residents ages 44-62 want? How many of them plan to stay in Watertown and "age in place?" The City of Watertown is asking its residents born between 1946 and 1964 to fill out a survey form and identify how they would like the city to develop and grow to meet their needs.  

The City of Watertown, along with the Carver County Office of Aging, and the Center for Urban and Regional Affairs at the University of Minnesota, is conducting a survey of Boomer residents regarding their future plans and expectations for housing, transportation, employment and retirement, exercise and recreation and community services.  The city wants to maintain these residents as community members and hopes to identify their most important issues.

You can download a Watertown Community Survey form or pick one up at the Watertown City Hall.  Completed surveys should be returned in person or by mail to Jim Bart, City of Watertown, 309 Lewis Avenue South, P.O. Box 279, Watertown, MN 55388

Office of Aging Purpose

The purpose of the Office of Aging is to prepare Carver County for a massive number of older adults from the Boomer generation. In so doing, the Office of Aging will change the face, fabric and culture of aging in the county.  Planning for the Boomers will be used as a vehicle to create a positive aging environment for all future generations. Our purpose will be to make "positive aging" the norm to ensure that  every county resident – now and in the future – finds that Carver County is a great place to grow up and to grow old.

Office of Aging Goals

• Promote and facilitate efforts to make Carver County a "Community for a Lifetime."
• Prepare for the impact aging Boomers will have on all aspects of life in Carver County.

Current Efforts

• Identify ways in which Carver County will change and determine what these changes will mean to all Carver County residents and stakeholders.
• Educate Carver County residents, local governments, businesses, civic groups and school districts on these changes. 
• Collaborate with public, private and nonprofit partners to identify issues and meet the needs of aging Boomers.
• Support the work of Senior Commissions in Chanhassen, Mayer, Norwood Young America, Victoria, Watertown and Waconia and encourage the development of Senior Commissions in other Carver County cities.
• Convene an Advisory Group of Carver County residents to guide the efforts of the Carver County Office of Aging.

Priority Issues

All established city-level Senior Commissions in Carver County have identified housing and transit as key priorities for creating "Communities for a Lifetime" in their area.