It looks like Queens Daycare may get to stay in their current location.
The daycare is currently located in the former Mount Pleasant school but had been given notice they would have to leave as the municipality declared the building surplus in September 2017.
After failed attempts to find a new location, the daycare association asked the Region of Queens to give them the building for $1 after the municipality put out a Request For Proposals for the building.
On Tuesday council accepted the association’s proposal.
There were no other applicants for the building.
Mayor David Dagley says council was pleased to make that decision.
“We’ve been working with them to find solutions to their issues, it’s a very valuable service provided to the Region of Queens,” says Dagley.
He says there are still details to work out and there are still two tenants in the building who are set to move out, including the Queens County Food Bank.
A public hearing regarding the purchase is set for January 8.
Meanwhile, the chair of the Queens Daycare Association says they are thrilled they will no longer have to worry about finding a new home.
Donna Dexter says it was difficult to find a space that suited all of their needs.
As long as the purchase makes it through the public hearing, the association will be able to expand if they choose.
“We are going to be looking into where the highest need is, whether it’s for increased care for toddlers … or there may be more need for infant care.”
Since the introduction of the province’s pre-primary program, they’ve seen a drop in their three to five age group but an increase in a need for toddler care.
Dexter says council’s decision means less stress for families and staff over the holidays.
“To offer the stability that that brings to our staff, to our staff and to our parents who have been wondering for over a year now what the future would bring for them … it was like the best Christmas present ever,” says Dexter.
Story by Brittany Wentzell
Twitter: @BrittWentzell
Email: wentzell.brittany@radioabl.ca
