News
Day Care Center breaks ground
Scott Wagar
10/22/2013
In a symbolic ground breaking ceremony this past Tuesday, the local EDC broke ground for a new day care center in Bottineau which will be a top notch facility once it is completed and in operation.
“We have seen the need for a daycare,” said Diane Olson, director of Bottineau’s EDC. “The need has been on the horizon for the last five years and as a board we discussed the need for day cares. So, we are glad to see this day care break ground.”
Ground was broken for the new day care center prior to the ground breaking ceremony to assist the contractor with getting the work completed before winter sets in. The new center will be located on the campus of Dakota College at Bottineau on the north end of its campus just east of the baseball field.
The structure will have 6,597 square feet and room for 50 children, which will include eight infants, 10 toddlers and 32 children who are of the ages three, four and five.
The inside of the building will house an infant room, toddler room, two rooms for the three, four and five year olds, a common space, directors office, an additional office, kitchen area, laundry room, storage room and bathrooms.
The commons room will also be utilized as an indoor play space and for kids to come to after they are through with school, while the additional office will be for the Head Start director if Head Start decides to come back to Bottineau, but for now will be utilized for other uses.
The day care center will have a heated floor, have security technology for the protection of the children and have drive-up to drop-off and pick-up the kids from the center in a safe manner.
The center will also have a 12,000 foot green area (playground) for the children of the day care to enjoy and make use of, which will be completely fenced in.
The size of the new day center is to be in compliance with state laws.
“When you are licensing a center the kitchen, the walls, the bathrooms don’t count as space for children. The rule of thumb right now for licensing agencies is that you must provide 35 square feet per child of space,” Olson said. “There is a directive that is coming down, and I don’t know when it is coming or whether we will be grandfathered in, but the state directive is looking at 50 square feet per child in the future because children need space. So, that is how we put together our facility.”
Over the past years, there has been a decline in day care centers in Bottineau, and a large outcry in the community for providers. In recent months, the day care crisis has seen individuals quit their jobs or close a business due to the fact they had no day care for their kids. At the end of the summer, Head Start closed its doors in Bottineau due to the lack of federal funding and Bottineau’s pre-school was shut down because the community could not find a director/educator to keep the school open, leaving parents without a school or a day care to take their children to.
By the start of fall there was close to 100 children who did not have a day care or pre-school to go to. At that point, members of the Bottineau Chamber and EDC called for a special public meeting to see if they could find a quick answer to find a location or two to open day care centers or find an individual to open a pre-school.
However, the two entities were unable to find an answer to the day care issue due to state regulations which has strict rules in what can count for a day care or pre-school.
The EDC has been working on the community day care center for a year or so, but has had difficulties in finding a location and raising the money for the project due to the large cost of construction in the area, state and nation.
Olson stated that her first break came when the State Board of Higher Education granted Dakota College at Bottineau to lease university land for 60 years with no cost to the city.
The EDC director has also been working in meeting with local, state and federal financial entities for funding, along with writing numerous grants for the project.
To date, Olson has acquired funding from the city of Bottineau, Bottineau County, the Department of Commerce, North Central Electric Revolving Loan Fund ($150,000) and directives through the Bank of North Dakota ($280,000).
“There will be payments for the projects,” Olson said. “And, we will have a lease agreement with the director of the day care.”
The lease agreement with the director of the center is important because the EDC will not be managing the day care, only assisting in providing the facility.
With ground broken, it is estimated the construction of the outside of the building should be completed before Christmas, with the interior of the structure being completed sometime in the spring of 2014.
Once construction is finished, the EDC will be looking toward the townspeople for assistance in granting the necessity of furnishing the inside of the day care center.
“We are going to need the community’s help in the inside,” Olson said. “We are hoping to get community members to donate the toys, beds, cribs, tables, cubbies, kitchen utilities, washers and dryers, etc…”
The opening for the day care center is expected to be late spring or early summer of 2014 and will have 10 to 15 part-time and full time employees.
David Parrill Construction is the general contractor for the project, along with other local contractors who will be assisting in the project.
“We are proud to say that the day care center is primarily being constructed by local people in the community,” Olson said.
The total cost for the project is $950,000.