It looked in January like the Wellesley Council on Aging Board had found its new COA director. Hollie Lucht, an experienced senior services professional with municipal experience, shined during a public interview, and the Board voted to make her an offer.

But Lucht declined the offer. Then a second strong candidate who also went through the public interview process withdrew.

(We reached out to Lucht this week to ask why she declined the offer and will update this post if we hear back.)

An update from the board’s search subcommittee is slated for a meeting on Feb. 19 at 4pm.

The Wellesley Council on Aging’s previous director, hired at the start of 2023 after a challenging hiring process, was placed on leave last April and resigned over the summer.

Previous Wellesley COA Director Heather Munroe left in April of 2022 after a little more than two years on the job. Before that, Gayle Thieme led the COA for 16 years.

The hiring of a new director would have synced nicely with plans next month to celebrate the updated Tolles Parsons Center kitchen. A ribbon cutting ceremony is slated for March 6.

The COA will now be able to take advantage of commercial-grade equipment that has largely been unused since the Center’s 2017 opening due to earlier design and permitting issues. Supporters of the renovation say the kitchen can play a big role in supporting the COA’s mission to advance socialization of the town’s older residents.

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