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Fairhope childcare provider urges city action on infant care shortage
Summary
A local daycare director told the council the city faces an infant-care shortage and urged officials to treat infant care as critical infrastructure, suggesting adaptive reuse, employer tax credits and grant use to expand capacity.
At the council meeting’s public participation period a Fairhope early‑learning provider described what she called an infant‑care shortage in the city and urged local leaders to consider policy steps to increase licensed infant capacity.
"There are only 13 licensed infant spots for the more than 1,400 babies born at Thomas Hospital in Fairhope each year," said Autumn Zellner, owner of STARS Early Learning Academy Fairhope, summarizing the problem as she asked the city to treat infant care "like essential infrastructure."
Zellner told councilors that infant classrooms are costly to operate because state ratios require one caregiver for only four infants; she said higher staffing needs and longer daily hours make infant care the most expensive classroom type to run. She urged three possible actions: repurpose vacant buildings for child care, promote awareness and use of Alabama employer tax credits that can fund construction or renovation of child‑care facilities, and leverage grants and loans to offset start‑up costs.
"City leaders should prioritize this when approving permits," she said, describing employer tax credits that "can receive up to $600,000 per year for eligible childcare expenses," and asked the council to help make businesses and child‑care operators aware of those resources.
Tiffany Rizzuto, director at STARS Early Learning Academy, read a letter from a parent that described long waits for childcare and the burden of driving to centers in neighboring towns while waiting months on local wait lists. The parent’s letter said it took about 20 months for one child to move from a wait list into a center slot, and described the financial strain that followed.
Zellner and Rizzuto provided program-level details during questions from councilors: STARS is licensed for 87 total children, currently enrolls about 70, and holds eight licensed infant spots, the speakers said.
Councilors asked staff to collect any written materials Zellner offered and to follow up on the state tax credit program; the mayor asked staff to accept any literature for the council record. No ordinance or formal council action occurred on the subject during the meeting.
Ending: Zellner asked to meet with council members and staff to explore solutions. Councilors directed staff to accept her materials for the record and to follow up on state funding and permit pathways that could help expand infant‑care capacity locally.
