Rock County commissioners granted $100,000 to the city of Hills to remodel a former commercial building into a child care facility.
“My goal is that we can have someone run a day care with no overhead,” Hills Mayor Keith Elbers told commissioners at their July 19 meeting.
In May the county approved the government conveyance of property, making the tax-forfeited parcel at Third Street and Main Avenue free to the city of Hills if it’s used for a public purpose.
The structure was built to accommodate four commercial spaces with four separate entrances, at one time housing a hair salon, an insurance agency, a financial business, and woodworking shop.
Elbers said the city would renovate the spaces with kitchenettes and bathrooms and lease them to three or four separate child care providers.
But it would not be a collective day care center.
“The city of Hills is not interested in running any of these at all,” he said. “We just want to provide a facility for them to do it.”
Each space would operate under the state’s individual family child care licensure.
The Hills council members discussed the proposal at their July 12 meeting but won’t approve formal plans until several key elements are addressed.
For example, Health and Human Services requires playground green space, and the fire marshal recommends improved infrastructure for the now-empty building at an estimated $15,000.
Elbers said he recently secured suitable playground space to the south on a bare grass lot owned by Alliance Communications.
“I met with them and pitched them the (day care facility) idea,” Elbers said.
“They are all on board with leasing us (the city of Hills) the property for as long as we have the day care … for basically nothing.”
Formal approval is pending from the Alliance Board of Directors.
With the building and green space plans in place, Elbers hopes to complete renovations as soon as possible, due to demand for child care in the community of 686 residents.
Elbers proposes remodeling one space at a time, setting up the infrastructure in each space but waiting to work with interested providers on their needs and layout of the space.
Each space currently meets the state’s requirements of at least 500 square feet for the maximum capacity of up to 14 children.
Available spaces in the tax-forfeited property range from 800 to 1,000 square feet per unit.
The building also has a 1,200-square-foot storage area, which could double as an indoor playground during inclement weather.
“Room is not an issue,” Elbers said. “It is a perfect setup.”
Commissioners granted Hills $100,000 for renovation expenses through federal dollars from the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021.
The county received $1.8 million. The city of Hills received $74,135.
Hills and other Rock County communities also received $100,000 from the county’s ARPA share earlier this year for infrastructure improvements.
Tax-forfeited property key to facility plan
The corner commercial property was owned by Wendall and Wilma Bengtson of Hills and valued at $96,000.
Taxes were last paid in 2016. A total of $12,870 in taxes, penalties, interest and special assessments was due on the commercial property.
“What has been going on the last three or four years is that someone has been living there,” said County Administrator Kyle Oldre.
As a first step toward a public purpose, the city of Hills spent $25,000 to clean it.
“It was a disaster,” Elbers said.
“We were worried about mold, so we had it professionally done and we had it treated for mold so it’s ready to roll.”
In the city of Hills May 11 letter requesting the tax conveyance, Elbers first said the property would be used as a community building and fitness center.
However, the pending retirements of two Hills child care providers prompted a different approach.
“I don’t have to explain to you our day care problem,” Elbers said. “We’ve got two more day care providers retiring at the end of this year — one at the end of July and one in December.”
Operating out of the Hills facility would prevent wear and tear on homes and cut overhead expenses for providers currently operating out of their homes.
The building is also handicap-accessible.
“When this building came available, this is the perfect opportunity to do something,” Elbers said.
Opportunity open to any licensee
Karen DeBoer, Region 8 Children Care Awareness director in Worthington, said the Hills plan is ideal for the community and for providers.
It eliminates overhead costs for anyone who wants to be an in-home licensed child care provider, and the child care facility will provide more options for families in the community.
“We want them to earn an income. We don’t want them to do child care for free,” DeBoer said. “And they get to go home from their job — to give themselves a mental break.”
DeBoer said a facility already set up for an in-home day care would open career opportunities for residents who rent their homes. Obtaining an in-home license for a renter is often difficult.
“And if someone didn’t want to be an in-home provider, then another licensed provider can come into the facility,” she said. “It’s permanent as a child care facility and would always be a benefit to the community.”
The facility would not be a child care center because the providers won’t share spaces and other resources, as a center-based day cares are subject to more fixed expenses.
Center-based day cares are subject to individual staffing quotas for the various age groups and more stringent educational requirements as part of their licensure for a center.
Currently there are five licensed in-home providers in the city of Hills, with two in Steen and one in Beaver Creek.
Elbers is cautious about the next step to upgrading the building’s infrastructure to meet state child care requirements.
“Until all avenues have been explored, we are not sure on anything if it will be a day care facility or not,” he said.
“We all are hoping that it will be, as there is a need, but until all things have been investigated, nothing is a done deal.”
He said he will seek additional guidance at the next Hills City Council meeting at 6 p.m. Tuesday, Aug. 9.