Dire need

Athol Town Hall could soon be a new home to the The HUB Child & Family Centre

The general consensus at last week’s Committee of the Whole meeting was that Council supports the establishment of a daycare at Athol Town Hall, but that there needs to be more collaboration with existing user groups.

The HUB Childcare & Family Centre has requested the use of the Athol Town Hall for a five-year term to provide childcare services to 24 pre-school aged children. Staff are recommending a five-year agreement to provide use to The HUB with a hall sharing arrangement, where some bookings from other groups could continue in the evenings and weekends, after childcare hours.

According to a staff report, the demand for childcare in Prince Edward County long exceeds the available space. The HUB’s waitlist is currently sitting at over 400 children. The HUB’s vision of this space is for a childcare operation weekdays from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. year-round, and that the community would still be able to use the hall on evenings and weekends.

Preliminary modifications to the building would be required to make the space suitable for a childcare centre and meet provincial requirements from the Ministry of Education and to support shared use of the space when the childcare centre is not running. These include an accessibility renovation for the washroom facilities, the addition of an industrial use dishwasher for the kitchen, and the installation of a fenced-in playground area. The HUB would be responsible for completing and funding the required renovations and enhancement to the hall as well as funding some operating costs, including staff wages, everyday operating costs and food and supplies.There would be no monthly rental rate charged.

The 2023 Athol Town Hall utilization was six per cent, with the Athol Recreation Committee, Cherry Valley Women’s Institute and internal staff bookings being the largest users.

Susan Wallis is a long-standing member of the Athol Recreation Committee, and said she was not against the proposal, but wanted to be assured all groups could work in unison. She noted that the hall is used to learn new things and expand horizons, and is important in a rural community with no coffee shops or library. “It is a hub for education. It’s a hub for recreation, it provides support services, it fosters personal growth and community cohesion. It promotes positive mental health,” said Wallis. “The proposal is to provide 24 spaces, when the need for the community is 400. This is a bandaid solution, and perhaps the five-year period should be a time to reflect on the bigger need in the community,” she added.

Executive Director of the HUB Stacey Stanford told Council that children need childcare to promote the four foundations: sense of belonging, engagement, expression and well-being. “Childcare centres allow both children and their parents to participate in a local community, build relationships and connect with other families and community leaders,” she said. “The future of quality accessible and affordable child care in the County relies on new space opportunities. The need for more centralized and conveniently located space will allow service providers and community partners the potential for enhanced opportunities to collaborate and partner with other local organizations.”

Stanford also added that although the HUB has reached out to the Hastings and Prince Edward District School Board, there are currently no spaces available for use in local schools.

“This is just a drop in the bucket,” said Nicola Chapman. “Why displace the Athol Rec Committee. Why displace the Women’s Institute when there are other solutions. We are acting like this is the only solution on the table,” she said.

Umbreen Tapal attended the meeting with her threemonth old daughter. She said she had been to many events at the hall, but also felt there is a dire need for childcare for those in the community. “The needs of the community are changing. The demographics are changing. Having a community space shared by multigenerations, young and old can only be positive. It’s going to be a change, but it will be a delightful change.”

Debra Marshall spoke on behalf of the Women’s Institute, who have been established for over 115 years, with more than 80 of those years using the Athol Town Hall. “We have done much good for this community, and we continue to do so. I am a little bit upset today, because we are very much in support of women and children in our community,” said Marshall, who questioned the lease agreement. “We were of the belief we were going to collaborate along with the Rec Committee. There is nothing about collaboration with this document. Absolutely nothing with us sharing this space.”

Director of Recreation and Community Facilities Lisa Lindsay told Council that she and Athol councillor Sam Branderhorst had met with the groups, and that what was before committee was nothing more than a draft agreement. “We are not bringing forward a solution to childcare in Prince Edward County,” said Lindsay. “That is not the municipal role, and that is certainly not my role. We are asking for direction on a proposal to use the hall that was presented to staff.”

Branderhorst looked to move the approval of the bylaw until more collaboration could take place. “In part of that consultation process, I would be curious to see if we can accommodate the Strawberry Social and the Ham Supper,” she said.

Councillor Phil St-Jean agreed. “I have yet to hear anybody here in this room, deputants or commentors, say this is not a good idea, but they do have concerns about how it is applied, and how we do it,” he said. “This is an appropriate use for the Athol Town Hall. This will not be just a benefit strictly to residents in the Athol area, but in fact to the entire County.”

“I think it’s been close to 20 years that I have been hearing the County needs more daycare. I do support the HUB’s intention,” said Councillor Bill Roberts. “Maybe if this is a pilot project that can work for other halls, great. The reality is we are desperate for daycare infrastructure in Prince Edward County. Not just to support current needs, but to support the future.”

Wellington councillor Corey Engelsdorfer was in support of the concept, but wondered why the HUB wasn’t paying a monthly rental rate. “I am hopeful the details can be worked out between all parties. I think it is a very innovative initiative. It’s another example of a responsibility of the province being somewhat solved by the municipality— without any funding. We continue to creep outside of our essential services,” said Engelsdorfer.

“There is no monthly rental rate. I am assuming if the HUB were to rent someplace else, they would have to pay a monthly rental rate even if renovations were needed. And this kind of contravenes our fees and charges bylaw where other members have to pay if they are charging for a service, so why no monthly rental rate?”

“We had started with a no rental fee to not weigh heavy on the burden of the HUB with their operating budget to be able to continue to explore alternative options,” answered Lindsay, who then explained the upgrades the HUB will complete will outweigh what the rental fee would have been.

“In the lease it does indicate there will be a review after a year to see if the operating costs of the building had been increased so that a rental rate would be incurred to not weigh heavy on the municipality operating budget.”

CAO Marcia Wallace noted that Council wanted more details in the lease agreement to be more comfortable. “I am a little bit concerned with the tone here that we weren’t interested in consulting. It was a very difficult position the municipality was put in to bring a report forward and identify a recommendation. We didn’t do it lightly. We have not fully fleshed out anything because we didn’t know if Council would fully support it.”

“Let’s move in a way that we don’t say no to this opportunity for those 24 parents who’ve been spamming us via email for the last three days constantly from saying yes please, but let’s move in a way that also works for our community,” said Branderhorst.

After more than two hours of discussion, Committee recommended staff continue to consult with all user groups to iron out how the space can be shared. A detailed report leading to a five-year lease for The HUB Childcare & Family Centre will come to Council later in June.