•Group asks for county, city support of childcare option

By Melanie Stegner 

and Tim Douglass

tdouglass@pctribune.com

The Childcare shortage has been a hot topic in the area for quite some time and it came up again at last week’s Pope County Commissioner’s Committee- of-the-Whole work session meeting. A project proposal was brought forth by Larry Zavadil of American Solutions for Business and Kylie Baldwin, director of the Lakes Area Enrichment Center detailing plans for a new center. 

The center, formerly Kingdom Kids Child Care Center, has been searching for a new home to house the childcare center over the last year and this proposal included an option of a facility near Minnewaska Area Elementary School.  

“I got involved with the daycare, Kingdom Kids, several years ago in an effort to help subsidize costs for our employee’s recruiting and retention and as things have changed, they’re looking for a new home…and we have come back to what could be the best place,” Zavadil told the county board. “As we looked at the counties around us, most of the schools are in the childcare business. We’ve met with the city and county a few weeks ago and discussed with the county HRA/EDA using the lot near the elementary school as a location for a facility, stated Zavadil. “We’d like to find a way for the county and city to be part of the project.”

Zavadil, Baldwin and some parents met with the Glenwood City Commission last Tuesday as well.  Zavadil started the conversation by giving a brief history of the efforts to retain a childcare center in Glenwood and said those efforts have led to the idea of a facility located on property adjacent to Minnewaska Area Elementary School (MAES) in Glenwood.  He said most neighboring counties are working with the school districts to provide facilities and help fund childcare.  

“We are stronger together than apart,” he said and told city commissioners that what is needed is for the city, the county and the school district to come together and “help make this work.”

Zavadil asked that the city adopt a resolution stating that the city supports the concept and will be part of a “positive solution in our county and community to keep a childcare center here.”

After discussion at the city, Mayor Sherri Kazda said she could speak for the commission “when I say how important this is to our community.”  She referred to a federal grant that Sen. Amy Klobuchar was working on and wanted to make sure that Zavadil and Baldwin were in touch with her office on the status of that grant.  They said they were.

“That (grant) could be down the road and it’s for a new facility, but we’re on a kind of time clock here to get something going now.” Zavadil said.

The city commission directed Glenwood City staff to work with Pope County on a resolution of support and methods to make the proposal work.  The county board took no action on the request either because the subject was discussed at the work session, but will be revisiting the issue in coming meetings, it was stated.

More from the Pope County meeting

Zavadil went into more detail about the project and the needs for childcare county-wide. Chad Barsness, MAS School Board President and Owner of Clyde Machine was on hand to discuss how the childcare shortage has impacted both his business and the school. “At Clyde Machines we’ve lost half a dozen employees due to daycare concerns, the school has lost several kids. They’ve gone to Alexandria. When kids start in a program, they tend to stay there throughout their childhood. If we can keep them here, they’ll stay here. It keeps the revenue here. Parents will stop at the grocery store in town, get gas here, send their kids to school here, it’s a no-brainer,” Barsness said. 

Commissioner Wagner asked Baldwin about the shortage and mentioned the lack of in-home providers as well. “There are pros and cons of in-home childcare providers. Some of the cons are that they take vacations or have sick kids and have to close, then they have to find a backup provider. The center has more structure as well as keeps the children in an environment of similar aged children,” said Baldwin. “As of right now we are fully staffed and we have more people interested in working with us.”

“I’d just like to see the county, city and school work together on this as it affects all of us,” added Zavadil. 

There were also community members at the meeting to discuss their situations and needs including the difficulty of finding open spots and finding places that all of their kids can go. Commissioner Wagner reminded the childcare presenters of the ARPA funds that were dedicated to the center a year ago. Those funds, about $75,000 has not been spent and needs to be committed by 2024 and used by 2026, it was stated. 

Following the presentation, Tammy Anderson, Acorns to Oaks Consultant to Pope County Family Collaborative, gave an update to the board on the Childcare Task Force activities in the county, including setting up a Childcare Foundation or Fund to support such activities in the county. The purpose of the fund is to strengthen children, families and workforce in the community through supporting childcare now and into the future. It focuses on the growth and development of new and existing childcare providers through grant opportunities with areas of funding to include training and continued education, growth and capacity, program support supplies, equipment, facility improvements and staffing needs. A committee will oversee the fund. 

Because it  was a work session, no decisions were made, but the subject will continue to be addressed at future meetings, it was decided.