Hartley daycare unveils preliminary drawings for new building

Guests at the Hartley Community Daycare Center's annual fundraiser were treated to a surprise last Saturday.

Preliminary drawings of the new daycare building were unveiled during the night's festivities. Drafted by the lumber division at Cooperative Farmers Elevator, the blueprints outline floor plans and the exterior.

"We were excited to show them off and I think it gave people a detailed vision of what we're trying to accomplish in the near future," said daycare Director Kaity Pedley. "We received a lot of great comments throughout the night. People liked seeing that it's not just an idea and that we want to see this project through until the end."

The plans call for two infant rooms as well as four individual rooms separately dedicated to ages 1-4. A 958-square foot recreation room is also featured prominently in the center of the layout, which will be used for a variety of purposes like before- and after-school programming for school-aged children.

"One of our main goals with this new facility was creating space for our school kids to provide programming in the afternoons," Pedley explained. "That's huge for us, because it will allow us to offer families more services."

Additionally, one corner of the building is dedicated to a staff break room, kitchen, administrative office and laundry room. Bathrooms are located throughout the facility in between rooms to allow easy access for children, and a fenced-in area at the back of the building will create a segregated outdoor playground split by age groups.

While the provisional blueprints provide something tangible for Pedley and the board of directors to look at, she noted the planning process is still very much ongoing.

"We are still looking to finalize a location for the new facility, but we have had some positive momentum over the past month in that aspect," she said.

Space constraints and other struggles at the current daycare facility sparked discussion about building new over the past year. It was constructed in 1920 with an expansion added in 1955, and several maintenance-related issues have caused headaches during the past two years.

According to Pedley, around $56,000 was spent in renovations and repairs last year alone. A significant kitchen upgrade was completed and an extensive rehabilitation of underground pipework was also necessary.

"A new facility would eliminate those headaches, which are forcing us to spend money on an outdated building instead of better programming for our children," Pedley said.

A new building would also expand capacity. The current daycare is allowed to have 67 children in the center. Twenty-two of those spaces are held for school-age kids, including 4-year-old preschoolers.

"If we had a center large enough to provide a separate space for our school-age kids, then we would be able to take that many more 0-3 year olds," explained Pedley. "Offering a before- and after-school program would help so many more families out who either pay for a nanny in the summer, rely on an older sibling or rely on communication devices while they are at work."

If and when it's built, the new daycare would expand capacity from 67 to 110. Pedley explained the current daycare facility simply cannot sustain itself long-term due to ongoing operating costs and financial constraints that limit program offerings.

The daycare will seek grants and other funding sources to finance construction. Saturday's fundraiser was the daycare's biggest yet, grossing $23,305 in contributions from local individuals and businesses.

"We were absolutely blown away by the support we received this year, and we feel so fortunate to be in this community," Pedley said. "It showed us that the support for this new building is there and it is wanted. The community needs and deserves a new facility like this."