COA chair steps down after championing senior center

It isn’t often that a leader gets to walk away from his post immediately after achieving his number-one organizational priority, but that was indeed the case for Canton’s John Friel, who recently got to celebrate the end of his two-year run as chairman of the Council on Aging with the promise of a new senior center.

John Friel

A COA board member for the past eight years, Friel had spent countless hours both behind the scenes and in the public eye working to find Canton seniors a larger and more suitable home, and now that dream of his — and the dream of so many others — is on the verge of coming true thanks to a $1.36 million vote of confidence on the floor of town meeting earlier this month.

“It took us a long time, but I’m very, very pleased,” said Friel of the successful free cash transfer, which will be put toward renovations at the former Knights of Columbus Hall on Pleasant Street. “When I looked around that [auditorium], about 99.5 percent of people supported it, including every single elected and appointed board.”

It was Friel who had actually suggested that the COA board consider purchasing the hall after learning last winter that the Knights were planning to sell, and it was Friel who later secured the backing of the Board of Selectmen — and particularly then chairman John Connolly, who spoke in support of purchasing the site at last April’s town meeting.

Recalling some of the failed attempts in the past to secure a new senior center — including the “crushing” defeat of an override in 2005 — Friel said the COA was grateful for the support of town leaders and residents at the past two town meetings, and now they are eager to move forward with the new property, which could be move-in ready as early as next spring.

“I haven’t heard a single negative remark about the new building, not one, from any of the seniors who currently use the [existing] senior center,” noted Friel, who touted the Pleasant Street site’s 86 parking spaces and future expansion potential.

He said he would ideally like to see the building expand to 9,000 or 10,000 square feet, although even in its current state he feels it is a major upgrade over the existing Hemenway building on Washington Street.

As for his own future, Friel said he still intends to be “heavily involved” in the renovation and development of the new center and will do “whatever [he] can to help,” albeit in an unofficial capacity.

A 21-year veteran of the Air Force who has a great respect for rules and procedures, Friel said he was simply honoring the policy of the state Office of Elder Affairs when he stepped down from his post as COA chairman earlier this month.

According to the policy, individuals should not serve a local council on aging for more than two consecutive terms and should have a break of three years before rejoining the council in the future.

“I didn’t really resign,” said Friel. “I wanted to follow the state policy, and in my letter to selectmen I urged them to follow the policy as well.”

Friel said he will continue to stay involved in COA activities, and he plans to attend future meetings of the Building Renovations Committee as they plan and implement the improvements to the new senior center.

Recently, Friel even agreed to help out as a bingo caller on Wednesday afternoons over the next few months, and he fully intends to participate in other COA activities as well, noting that there are a lot of “old people in this town who want to have fun.”

“There’s really a lot of people that don’t have a lot,” he added, “and those who do have the time and the wherewithal should be helping these people. That’s our responsibility.”

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Posted by Jay Turner on May 23 2013. Filed under News, Town Government. Both comments and pings are currently closed.