By MIKE COURSON
Great Bend Post
More than two years of work went into the first turns of the shovel for the new childcare center located at Farmers Plaza at the intersection of 10th Street and K-96 Highway Thursday morning. Kansas Governor Laura Kelly, Great Bend Economic Development Director Sara Arnberger, and a handful of other local officials were on hand for the groundbreaking event.
Last month, Advancing Barton County Childcare (ABCC) announced it had received a $2.23 million grant for childcare development. ABCC Board Member Mary Foley announced the location of the second facility.
"Due to the generous grant from the Children's Cabinet and Trust Fund," she said, "we are able to announce that shortly after we have this facility's build in motion, we will be partnering with the Hoisington school district to establish our next Barton County center in Hoisington. Thank you to Superintendent Patrick Crowdis for joining forces with the ABCC team to see this plan continue throughout Barton County."
Foley also announced that Kelsie Baxter has been hired as facility director. "Kelsie comes to us with years and years of experience and a compassion for teaching and leading that can't be matched," Foley said. "We know under her leadership that this facility is sure to be a success."
Gov. Kelly said a vision of her first and second terms is to make Kansas the best place in the country to live, to work, and to raise a family. "Providing quality childcare services is fundamental to that goal," she said. "Devoting resources to early-childhood development and care is the smartest investment a community can make in its future."
Kansas saw unprecedented economic growth in Kelly's first term, but the governor said many parents still choose not to work because they cannot afford childcare. A lack of affordable care, especially in rural communities, leads to workplace absences and compromised work.
"Right here in Great Bend, the number one concern of employers is being able to recruit and retain employees because of the lack of childcare options," Kelly said. "That's why Advancing Barton County Childcare was created in the first place. In Barton County alone, there is currently a shortage of more than 800 childcare slots. Simply put, if we want to keep our economy growing, we need to support abundant and affordable childcare for our expanding workforce."
Kelly's office provided $53 million in bonuses to nearly 23,000 childcare professionals across the state after the pandemic. Last month, her office announced the recipients of the Childcare Capacity Accelerator Grant, which provided more than $43 million to 52 organizations or partnerships in an effort to expand childcare by enhancing existing facilities or building new ones. The grant will help open 4,200 new childcare slots around the state.
The Great Bend facility will serve up to 59 children aged five years or younger, and ultimately expand to 89 children. "It will also create 12 well-paying jobs with full benefits," said Kelly. "That's unheard of in childcare."
Arnberger thanked the governor and her office for recognizing the relationship between economic growth and the need for childcare.
"Childcare in the past was not always a topic of conversation," Arnberger said. "For lack of better words, that was a woman's job and they need to deal with that, and that's how it went. But in later years, it really has become the topic of conversation. A lot of that is because of the driving force behind Gov. Laura Kelly and her staff saying this is an integral part to workforce development. This is integral to growing our rural communities. And for that, I'm so very thankful because without their championing these projects and this initiative, I promise you this project would still have another two years before we'd be breaking ground with shovels."
Great Bend Mayor Cody Schmidt was among the many who thanked all private and public sponsors of the facility. Last July, ABCC received a $500,000 grant from the Patterson Family Foundation. The Barton County Commission contributed $435,000 to the project.
"When this started, it was a dream," Schmidt said. "It was a hope. Now it's a reality. To the Barton County Commissioners that are here that supported us, thank you. To the city council, thank you. Without us working together and believing in what this community needs, none of this happens. To Governor Kelly and her team, without your faith and believing in rural communities, thank you."
GLMV Architecture helped design the project, keeping in mind its target audience with a tricycle track and rounded corners on drywall to minimize accidents.
"As architects, we do a lot of work that seems trivial," said GLMV Project Manager Chad Bard. "It's based on efficient buildings, economic structures, and the profitability of end users. While that's all fine and dandy for the bottom line of companies, we feel that the real charge of our architecture is to affect the built environment in positive and meaningful ways. This is a great example of where our passion lies as designers, where we can truly affect the next generation, keep them safe, get them a great head start, as well as allow working adults to have a viable option for places for their children to grow up safe."
Icon Structures will handle the construction of the facility. Project Manager Jordan Oulette spoke of the importance of such a project.
"We are here because we care about our youth," he said. "And Icon is not here just for this community. We are here to give hope to other communities that we can provide resources for children, that children will be given the care and help to succeed in their future."
The Great Bend facility carried an original price tag of $1.6 million. When completed, the new facility will offer approximately 6,800 square feet of space to serve area families.