Charles City’s TLC donors get walk-through of new site remodeling progress

By Bob Steenson, bsteenson@charlescitypress.com

Donors and other supporters of TLC: The Learning Center got a look Wednesday at the progress being made in the remodeling of the organization’s new home in the North Grand Building – and got a pitch for new ways to continue their financial support as well.

The child care organization began construction work in January on its space in the newer north part of the building along 6th Avenue. It had hoped to be ready to move in over the summer before the start of the new school year, but fell victim to the supply line delays and equipment shortages that have plagued many construction projects in the wake of the COVID 19 pandemic, TLC Director Pam Ost told the group.

Lisa Garden, president of the TLC board of directors, said the project is currently waiting on a major piece of electrical equipment, hopefully arriving in October or November. Until that is installed, the HVAC (heating, ventilation and air conditioning) system can’t be completed.

Garden said the hope is still that the center will open before the end of the year, but it all depends on receiving equipment that’s on order.

She said North Iowa Community Action, their landlord at their current location on Jackson Avenue, “has been really accommodating to us,” letting TLC remain there as long as needed until it can move.

“They have stuff to do because they’re going to expand their area as well,” Garden said, referring the NICA’s plans to grow its Head Start program in that building.

“It’s coming,” Garden said about the remodeling. “It’s nice to come in and see the progress.”

Those familiar with that part of the North Grand Building when it was the Charles City Middle School would note many changes that have taken place in the renovation.

Although the central corridor that splits the north and south parts of the building remains, almost everything to the north of that had been changed for TLC, with new walls, flooring, ceilings, restroom facilities in each child care area, cubbies for kids’ coats and packs, counter space with a small refrigerator and microwave in each child care area, office spaces, a conference area that would be available for public use after hours and more.

With the new location, TLC will expand from its current capacity of 93 children to 179 children, almost doubling, Ost said.

Ost noted that the project had received $1.525 million in state grants to support child care expansion, and with other donations they thought that the project had been paid for. But because of pandemic delays and inflationary cost increases, they are now about $300,000 short.

Tim Fox, the executive director of the Charles City Area Development Corp., prefaced Ost’s talk to the group Wednesday by saying that child care availability has increasingly become an important part of economic development, and the presence of TLC in the community, especially with the expanded number of children it will be able to serve, plays a key role in that.

With that in mind, part of Ost’s message included new ways that businesses can support TLC.

She said in the past the organization has made annual appeals for donations to keep it running, but they want to move beyond that, and Ost introduced a TLC business collaboration model that offered full-time child care slots and discounts for specific levels of contributions.

For example, at the highest level, it suggested that for a three-year commitment of $100,000 per year a business could have seven full-time child care slots that it could offer employees, and 15% weekly fee discounts for up to 15 more employees. Other numbers of child care slots and discounts are available for other dollar amounts.

Ost emphasized that TLC wants to work with businesses, and would be flexible in how they set up such arrangements. Child care discount packages for employees are also available for small businesses for monthly payments in the area of $250 to $600 per month.

Studies show that families with children spend about 13% to 16% of their income, on average, for child care, Ost said, and the availability of paid-for or discounted child care could be a boon to businesses’ employee recruitment efforts.

Other contribution opportunities for business, groups or individuals to support TLC include being recognized as sponsors of specific rooms in the facility, or being recognized as sponsors of the playground area that will be built in the green space north of the building next spring, Ost said.

Garden said there is currently a waiting list for child care slots, and when the new center opens up those people will be offered service, then any remaining slots will be available to be filled. Staffing will also be increased as needed to meet the expanding number of kids, although she said staffing is always a challenge.

The child care center is leasing the north former classroom area and other space in the newer portion of the North Grand Building from the Charles City School District, with an option to purchase in the future. The child care center will only have to cover its share of utilities and some other maintenance costs in order to occupy the space.

The school district dedicated $750,000 to renovate the shell of the building, including a new roof and new utility hookups, to isolate it from the older front part of the building which was sold to a developer who will create residential apartments.

The only part of the existing building that TLC will use south of the main corridor is the space formerly taken up by the girls locker room off the former pool area, which is being turned into a new commercial kitchen that will feed the TLC kids and also be open to the public if the newer portion of the North Grand building is used for meetings or events. TLC will also have access to the gymnasium.

In March 2021, TLC received $775,000 in the state’s first round Future Ready Iowa Child Care Challenge Award — $750,000 from the Iowa Department of Human Services and another $25,000 in a Child Care Challenge Award.

In early January TLC learned that it has been selected for another Future Ready Iowa Child Care Challenge Award — $605,000 from the Investing in Iowa’s Child Care fund, and $145,000 in a Child Care Challenge Award, for a total of $750,000.

Groundbreaking on the remodeling began on Jan. 26.