City Council Meeting Date: January 9, 2018
To: Mayor and City Council
From: Ben Martig, City Administrator
Title
Presentation of "Northfield for All: Liveable Communities Survey of Northfield Residents Age 50-Plus" related to the AARP Age Friendly Community Designation for Northfield.
Body
Action Requested:
None.
Summary Report:
Members of the Northfield Age Friendly Advisory Committee will be presenting the survey results of the "Northfield for All: Liveable Communities Survey of Northfield Residents Age 50-Plus" related to the American Association of Retired Persons (AARP) Age Friendly Community Designation for Northfield. Presenters attending will be Dr. Katie St. Clair, Carleton Professor of Mathematics and Statistics, along with her students: Emily Kaegi (senior Mathematics/Statistics major from Massachusetts), Grant Patronik (senior Economics major from South Dakota), and Gege Zhang (junior Statistics major from China). Additionally, Shelley Holden, Northfield Retirement Community Vice President of Housing and Community Outreach and Chris Ellison, FiftyNorth (formerly Northfield Senior Center) Program Coordinator will be in attendance as presenters.
The Northfield Age Friendly Advisory Committee representatives have indicated additional presentation information will be forthcoming next week and included in a supplemental memo. There are several related attachments for reference including the full survey results summary.
Additional Background
On August 2, 2016, the City of Northfield passed a resolution to apply to become part of the World Health Organization/AARP Network of Age-Friendly Communities. The application was accepted by AARP and the process of examining the current framework and acting on the results of that analysis is in process. The survey is one of the first steps in the process of this analysis.
An age-friendly community examines its physical, social, and economic frame-works and makes needed changes that promote independence and a high quality of life for its citizens as they age. In this type of community citizens are able to remain in their own home or community even though there may be significant changes in their health and economic condition. The World Health Organization has created a list of 8 Domains of Livability to assess essential age-friendly characteristics of a city.
• Transportation
• Outdoor Spaces & Buildings
• Communication & Information
• Housing
• Community Support & Services
• Social Participation
• Respect & Social Inclusion
• Civic participation & employment
Northfield has been recognized by Money Magazine as the best place to retire. People are drawn to its beautiful parks and winding river, its thriving businesses, its excellent education system and colleges. It is a community with many opportunities for its citizens of all ages. Northfield has a history of collaborative efforts that have resulted in the creation of the Healthy Community Initiative, Beyond the Yellow Ribbon, Save the Depot, ACT on Alzheimer’s, and so many more. Northfield knows how to meet a challenge, how to be proactive and how to bring the community together to improve the lives of its citizens.
See the attached weblink to the AARP Network of Age Friendly Communities for more information and background.
Alternative Options:
None.
Financial Impacts:
None.
Tentative Timelines:
• Saturday, February 3 - A community event is being held from 9 a.m. to noon at the Northfield Public Library related to the Northfield Age Friendly initiative and survey results. More information will be forthcoming.