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Hearts and Hands asks Calistoga for five‑year gratis lease at Oak Street House to keep preschool open
Summary
At a June 3 council meeting, Hearts and Hands representatives said the nonprofit can keep serving 24 local children if the city grants a five‑year, no‑rent initial lease on the Oak Street House at the fairgrounds so they can secure donor funding and make needed repairs before Sept. 30.
Hearts and Hands, a local preschool nonprofit, asked the Calistoga City Council on June 3 for a five‑year lease at no cost for the Oak Street House at the fairgrounds so the group can invest in repairs and keep the program running. The organization said its current facility will not be available after Sept. 30 and that location—not funding—is the immediate barrier to continuing operations.
The presenter said Hearts and Hands now serves 24 children daily—11 preschool students and 13 transitional kindergarten students—and that community donors and volunteers helped the program become financially viable after an earlier closure announcement. “Today, Hearts and Hands serves 24 children every day,” the presenter said, adding the board believes the Oak Street House “represents the most viable solution currently available.”
Board members asked the council to allow the nonprofit to assume responsibility for rehabilitating the city‑owned house and requested an initial five‑year rent abatement so they can secure donor commitments and complete licensing and improvements. Treasurer Mr. Kaiser provided a pro forma estimating $2,000 in monthly rent would create a roughly $24,000 annual shortfall, and he asked for an abatement period so the group can apply funds to property improvements rather than paying rent.
Council members and staff pressed the presenters for details about the site search and licensing. Staff said they had looked at nearby church buildings but found one (the Baptist church across from the elementary school) in poor condition with mold, and the other would not be available on the needed schedule. The Hearts and Hands representative said donors were reluctant to commit until an agreement existed: “We cannot ask them to do that until we actually have an agreement from the city,” the presenter said.
Mayor Williams and several council members expressed sympathy and asked staff to return with options. City Manager staff said they would work to assemble the necessary information and hoped to schedule a council discussion as soon as practical; staff estimated it might be possible to bring a fuller report to the first July meeting but emphasized the amount of material to compile.
Next steps: Council members asked the city manager to prepare a report outlining feasible options, costs to the city, potential lease language and timelines so the council can consider a path that would allow Hearts and Hands to remain open past Sept. 30.
Reporting note: The request was presented as an information and request item; no lease or formal commitment was made at the June 3 meeting.
