A few passing clouds. Low 54F. Winds light and variable..
A few passing clouds. Low 54F. Winds light and variable.
Albion Town Manager Jacob Ihrie gives details about a proposed day care project in town as Councilman Darold Smolinske looks on during Tuesday’s council meeting.
Albion Town Manager Jacob Ihrie gives details about a proposed day care project in town as Councilman Darold Smolinske looks on during Tuesday’s council meeting.
ALBION — When Albion Town Manager Jacob Ihrie started his job pretty much one year ago, Councilwoman Chris Magnuson offered him some advice:
“Never come ask for anything without a plan,” Ihrie remembered Magnuson saying.
“I have a plan,” Ihrie told the Albion Town Council Tuesday night, detailing ideas for the town’s involvement in helping to bring a new 150-child day care to town.
The overall economic benefit to such a project is in the millions of dollars annually, Ihrie said, as lack of adequate, affordable day care leads to:
• people exiting or not entering the work force;
• less disposable income for people to spend in the community.
Having people not working hurts the tax revenues for municipalities, Ihrie contended.
According to Noble County Economic Development Corp. Executive Director Gary Gatman, employers have two big concerns: affordable starter housing for young workers and child care.
The council didn’t jump in feet first at the end of Tuesday evening’s presentation, but it did dip its toes in the water without flinching, authorizing Ihrie to inquire about getting firms willing to provide architectural renderings and cost estimates of building such a facility in Albion, as well as finding an actuarial firm to help determine how funds from one of the town’s TIF districts could be used to help fund the effort.
“I think it’s exciting,” Councilman Don Shultz said in voting for the authorization.
Ihrie has been working on the proposal with Jenna Anderson, coordinator for Thrive By 5, Noble County’s early childhood education coalition. Anderson also spoke during Tuesday’s meeting, along with Kendallville Day Care executive director Tina Lee and Kendallville Day Care board member Tom Foster.
The building project carries an estimated $2 million price tag, according to Ihrie. That number was for a 200-child, 10,000-square-foot structure. The day care envisioned by his and Anderson’s proposal would be 7,500-square-feet.
To offset that cost, Anderson said she will be applying to grants totaling $1.3 million. But to even apply for such grants, some require the kind of hard figures which architectural and accounting firms will provide thanks to Tuesday’s decision by the town council.
While the action item for Tuesday’s meeting was seeking firms to provide those figures, Ihrie broached the idea of the town helping to fund the project through TIF revenues, which are collected from businesses the tax on improvements to their properties provide. It would be a fitting use since the project would benefit those employers.
Specifically, Ihrie was eyeing TIF 2 monies. That district currently has $1.4 million in the bank.
According to Clerk-Treasurer Carol Selby, that fund has had year-to-date expenditures of approximately $40,000. For the last 10 years, that district has brought in, on average, $166,000 per year, Ihrie said.
Ihrie told the council that if the town chose to fund the day care project, it could issue a bond from that TIF account. The town could theoretically raise $1 million with a 15-year payback of approximately $115,000 per year, according to Ihrie’s preliminary estimate.
According to the plan proposed by Anderson and Ihrie, Kendallville Day Care would run the Albion operation. The Kendallville Day Care has been operating for 52 years and is self-sustaining, according to Foster.
Gatman described employers’ mood concerning the need for day care as “desperation.”
“We’re pretty much break even,” Foster said.
The need for day care options is there.
Kendallville Day Care has a capacity of 118 children, with 72 on a waiting list. The other day cares in the area also have waiting lists.
“It’s a need, and it’s getting bigger,” Lee said.
Email notifications are only sent once a day, and only if there are new matching items.
Your comment has been submitted.
There was a problem reporting this.
Keep it Clean. Please avoid obscene, vulgar, lewd, racist or sexually-oriented language. PLEASE TURN OFF YOUR CAPS LOCK. Don't Threaten. Threats of harming another person will not be tolerated. Be Truthful. Don't knowingly lie about anyone or anything. Be Nice. No racism, sexism or any sort of -ism that is degrading to another person. Be Proactive. Use the 'Report' link on each comment to let us know of abusive posts. Share with Us. We'd love to hear eyewitness accounts, the history behind an article.
We're always interested in hearing about news in our community. Let us know what's going on!
Sorry, there are no recent results for popular commented articles.