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members from Vietnam, Liberia and Singapore, a growing Latino membership and a monthly
<br /> service in Japanese— Smith said seniors are at the heart of Rose Hill's identity.
<br /> "This group is not old and cranky," Smith said. "They are old and wonderful. They model
<br /> Christianity for us: This is how to grow old."
<br /> A few years ago, when the number of funerals began to exceed the church's volunteer capacity,
<br /> congregants devised a solution. New members get a letter welcoming them to a "hospitality
<br /> group" that takes turns helping with funerals. If members can't supply a salad or cookies, they can
<br /> help with setup, cleanup, serving or make a donation. "If you can't bring a salad," Smith said,
<br /> you can send $5."
<br /> For almost 20 years, the church's Forever Young group has run programs for seniors. Nestor
<br /> Korpi, 82, is the only living member of the founding committee.
<br /> "We're all getting older," he said. "I don't know if we'll go on next year."
<br /> `Grandparent scams'
<br /> Churches aren't the only institutions that must adapt as a community grows older. Just ask the
<br /> people who drive Roseville's squad cars and firetrucks.
<br /> The Roseville Fire Department will install smoke detectors for seniors and change batteries, too.
<br /> "We don't want them climbing on a ladder or chair and falling," said Fire Chief Tim O'Neill. "They
<br /> spent their entire life paying property tax in Roseville ... and now they're getting the payback."
<br /> Last year, the department responded to 282 calls for"lift assists" to get fallen elderly or disabled
<br /> residents back on their feet or into bed. While there, fire personnel evaluate homes for safety and
<br /> try to draw information from a generation that often protects its privacy.
<br /> In the future, O'Neill said, "society is going to need to be a little more patient. [Seniors] don't
<br /> want to be rushed, they don't want to be told what to do, and they want their opinions
<br /> respected."
<br /> Roseville police, for their part, have dealt with several "grandparent scams" —strangers calling
<br /> on the phone, identifying themselves as grandchildren and asking for wired money—and fly-by-
<br /> night tree trimmers and repair people who cheat vulnerable seniors. The department conducts
<br /> seminars on issues such as ID theft and scams.
<br /> Roseville's large senior population has created little tension at city hall, Klausing said. The city's
<br /> residents, who tend to be highly educated, have never turned down a school referendum. Active
<br /> seniors are a volunteer powerhouse . Eight of 12 volunteers who patrol Roseville parks are
<br /> seniors. So are many of the city's block captains. Some have been on the job for 30 years.
<br /> "They are our eyes and ears," said Sarah Mahmud, the police department's community relations
<br /> coordinator.
<br /> Though some senior housing developments drew opposition, skeptics focused on issues such
<br /> as traffic and loss of open land, not the age of the occupants. And amenities sought by seniors,
<br /> like more walking trails and good parks, also appeal to young families, the mayor said.
<br /> Housing assumptions
<br /> Nonetheless, an aging population can place strains on a city's housing stock.
<br /> Many of Roseville's 7,635 residents who are 65 and older are longtime residents who want to
<br /> stay close to friends and churches. They are people like Roger and Marlys Toogood, who since
<br /> 1959 have lived in three homes in a six-block area of Roseville. Roger Toogood, 76, is retired
<br /> executive director of the Children's Home Society of Minnesota.
<br /> In the 1990s, Toogood served on a city task force that looked into the future—and guessed
<br /> wrong. The group thought that as homeowners aged, they would vacate the city's 8,500 single-
<br /> family homes for senior citizen housing and be replaced by young families with kids.
<br /> "What we didn't figure out is that a lot of the homes are single level and that if seniors wanted to
<br /> stay, they could," Toogood said. Said Klausing: "All they had to do was get the washer and dryer
<br /> to the first floor."
<br /> Between 1990 and 2000, seniors were the fastest-growing segment of Roseville's population,
<br /> some of them coming from outside the city's borders. With just 34,000 residents, Roseville has
<br /> four nursing homes, three assisted-living facilities, and eight co-op, condo or apartment buildings
<br /> for seniors.
<br /> "It wasn't a conscious strategy," Klausing said, adding: "How do we strike a balance between
<br /> meeting demand for[senior housing] and not becoming just a retirement community?"
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