City council tables $50,000 pledge to childcare facility

With 95% of necessary funds acquired to apply for an Energy Impact Grant, the Holyoke Community Childcare Initiative may need to wait longer as it works to rustle up the final $100,000 leading into the application’s April 1 deadline.

Holyoke’s City Council, at its Jan. 17 meeting, let a motion to vote on a $50,000 pledge to the Initiative – put forward by Councilwoman Ashley Sullivan – die for lack of a second, though the amount already had been set aside for this purpose in the city budget. Councilmen Brian Akey and Trae McCallum were not present at the time of the motion, so remaining council members Sullivan, Cathy Edge, Gene Bittner and John Schneider decided to table the issue.

The Initiative intends to use the $50,000 to move itself within another $50,000 of its $1.9 million goal. With that amount, it can apply for the grant through the Department of Local Affairs, worth $1 million, then use the combined monies to fund a $2.9 million, 11,500-square-foot childcare facility. Originally, the Initiative believed the facility would cost $3.35 million, but – according to organization representative Tom Bennett – it realized the building could exist at a lower price with no basement or commercial kitchen, and a smaller parking lot.

In December 2020, the city pledged $15,000 to the Initiative at a rate of $5,000 annually over three years. Upon construction, the city is set to own the building for the first 10 years, before its expenses are reimbursed by the facility.

Regarding money for the Initiative allocated by the council, Schneider said, “Normally, we don’t use it for something else.”

“It either gets used for the childcare,” he continued, “or that won’t be a budget item... used for this year.”

When questioned during the meeting as to whether the city supported the grant, Schneider cited this $15,000 pledge as a sign of the city’s commitment, along with the 10-year deal.

“At least, in my own personal opinion,” he said, “we’re going to put a lot of extra pay for some employees to monitor this.”

At the council’s previous meeting – held Jan. 3 – Initiative project representatives Bennett and Trisha Herman spoke on the importance of city involvement; they cited it as a needed ingredient if the Initiative were to stand a chance of acquiring the grant through the Department of Local Affairs. By the  Jan. 17 meeting, Herman and Bennett were joined by Greg Etl, regional manager of Local Affairs, who arrived from Sterling, Colorado.

Speaking with the council, Etl said building facility would be “the easy part,” and he had been in talks with Initiative members to discuss business plans, maintenance and operating costs. Herman said Etl and she had communicated “over the last several years,” working to incorporate checks and balances, a board, and planned city involvement in the project.

“I can tell you from our grant side,” Etl said, “when we get the application, if the city’s not supporting the project, it’s not going to help the grant.”

At the Jan. 3 meeting – when asked whether the facility could bring in the 65 children needed to keep it open – Herman told the council she had spoken with current daycare providers and found they were close to retirement age, but did not want to leave families without childcare services. She quoted providers during the Jan. 17 meeting, one of whom said: “I have no openings, haven’t for years. I have 19 families on a waitlist, plus I’m looking to retire in 2-3 years.”

“We don’t know what the success of this childcare facility is going to be unless we take that chance, but the need is there,” Herman said. “Our community needs this. It’s a workforce issue.

“There are opportunities for young moms to go back to the workforce, to send their kids to childcare, and us to open up more job opportunities.”

Following the discussion, Mayor Kevin Scott called for a vote. A little more than five seconds of silence elapsed. 

“And it’s for the $50,000 that’s in our budget, already,” he added, “and to help them with the [building’s] cul-de-sac and other infrastructure.”

Discussion on the motion’s wording ensued, followed by another pause.

“So,” Scott said to the council. “If any of you would like to make a motion, we can go on from here.”

Ten more seconds passed, going toward 15, before Sullivan made the motion.

“Okay,” Scott said, “is there a second?”

A pause.

“I’ll ask one more time, is there a second?”

Toward the meeting’s end – after the pledge had been tabled – the council discussed repairs to Sherman Avenue; Etl soon alerted them to $200,000 in Department of Local Affairs funding available for the project. The grant, at a different tier from the one sought by the Initiative, would require a drainage study for the town, and in Interim City Superintendent Jeremy Thompson’s estimation, pay for nearly all the avenue’s pipes and gutters.

With up to $200,000 in grant funding at “Tier 1,” Etl said, and up to $1 million for the Initiative grant at “Tier 2,” the city could apply for both come April. Neither grant would compete against the other.

Some chuckling reverberated through the room. Thompson double-checked the figures.

“Thanks, Greg,” Scott said.

“You just saved us $200,000,” whispered Herman, before she burst out laughing.

“Maybe,” Etl said.

“Yeah. I know.”

The next city council meeting is set for Tuesday, Feb. 7.