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Council forms childcare task force and discusses small modular facility near elementary school
Summary
The council voted to form a childcare task force and discussed a plan to site a small childcare facility on school‑owned land to add 10–20 spots initially, with a consultant‑driven selection process and an aim to restore capacity toward 100 spots in town.
The council approved formation of a childcare task force and scheduled three separate meetings with the same agenda to gather community input and advance a plan to expand local childcare capacity.
The presiding councilor said the city has new housing and incoming businesses, and that childcare capacity is needed to support local workforce growth. The proposed concept would interview operators through a consultant over a 12–18 month timeline, build a small modular childcare structure on school land directly north of the elementary school and have the facility operated by a private business in partnership with Right Beginnings to provide initial training and continuity for staff.
"It would provide for somewhere between 10 and 20 childcare spots," the councilor said, and added that combining the small site with existing in‑home providers and hosted sites could push total local capacity back over 100 spots, a level councilors said the community needs. The councilor said the project could use a governor's home‑project program to reduce construction costs (a brief figure cited was under $100,000), but staff noted specifics will require further design, funding and coordination with the school district and potential business operators.
Council members asked about site specifics, timing and who would run the business; staff and the sponsoring councilor said the task force and consultant process would produce operator recommendations and an implementation timeline. The item was kept on the agenda for next steps.
