Alamosa Council Waives About $34,500 in Fees for New Little Learners Childcare Center

The City of Alamosa council voted unanimously to waive roughly $34,501.25 in development and permitting fees for the Little Learners Early Childhood Center, a childcare facility the Boys and Girls Club is building adjacent to its existing center.

The request came from development services staff, who said the project has been identified in the city’s comprehensive plan as a high economic-development priority and as addressing a critical local childcare shortage. Staff told the council the city and its staff have already supported the project through planning assistance and helping secure nearly $1.5 million in Community Development Block Grant funding for design and construction.

The fee waiver request listed the $34,501.25 as an estimate of building-department and plan-review fees. Staff also requested that council waive related public-works fees, including tap and plan-investment fees, and potential excavation permit fees whose final amounts are unknown until construction occurs. Council members said the waiver was consistent with earlier city support for the project.

Councilors moved and seconded the waiver and the motion carried; the meeting record notes the vote carried unanimously. The motion did not specify a fiscal offset or a source of replacement funds; staff indicated the waived fees are a small part of the overall project budget and that the city has already contributed in other ways.

City officials said the Little Learners center was expected to reduce a key barrier to economic development—childcare availability—by adding capacity next to the Boys and Girls Club. No implementation date or construction timeline was specified during the council discussion.

Clarifying details: the staff presentation named the amount requested to be waived as $34,501.25 and said the city had helped secure nearly $1,500,000 in CDBG funds for the project; excavation permit fees, if required, were listed as unknown and would be determined once work is performed.

An immediate next step is for the project to proceed under existing permitting with the city’s fee waiver applied; staff will process permits with the waived fees reflected in invoicing and accounting.