Hoisington proposing daycare homes for up to 84 children

Hoisington is seeking funding to renovate apartment buildings on Vine Street into daycare homes.

HOISINGTON — In Hoisington, there are five buildings in the northern part of town on Vine Street that used to house 30 apartment units. The City of Hoisington acquired the vacant buildings this past January for $200,000 and considered demolishing the structures to create housing lots. The city then determined to leave one building for a child daycare facility.

A private funding partner convinced the city to invest in renovating two of the buildings to become daycare units.

Hoisington City Manager Jonathan Mitchell said the city is looking for funding partners to raise approximately $629,000 for renovations.

"The city has submitted numerous grant applications," said Mitchell. "Clara Barton Hospital has pledged $10,000 towards this project. We visited with Essex. Our largest partner will potentially by Barton County. The county feels very strongly that childcare is a key component to economic development."

Barton County provided $435,000 to the Great Bend Economic Development in March to assist with a $1.6 million childcare center in Great Bend to house 59 children.

Hoisington requested $10,000 from the Hoisington school district. The USD 431 Board of Education decided to wait until after examining their budget in June to determine on a donation.

To avoid rigorous Kansas Department of Health and Environment (KDHE) regulations, Hoisington is avoiding a daycare center and instead providing daycare homes.

The city is teaming up with GPS Kids Club, a nonprofit daycare in Hoisington, to manage the new daycares. With seven separate units in the buildings, the new daycare could accommodate 70 to 84 children.

While there were concerns from other home daycare providers, Mitchell felt there was enough demand for childcare to keep everyone in business.

"Some of the current providers felt this would threaten their livelihood," said Mitchell. "Talking to other experts, they really believe there is a need. KDHE feels if these providers have vacancies, they need to make changes to their practices. As long as you're providing quality care at an affordable price, people are not going to leave."

GPS Kids Club has a staff of 17 and will provide care to roughly 60 school-aged children this summer. GPS also manages two daycare homes where there are 10 infants to toddlers in each home.

Mitchell said the city is looking to secure funding by July 1 to begin ordering supplies and starting renovations. The hope is to have the daycare homes operational by next spring or summer.