The Citizen, 2018-04-12, Page 26THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, APRIL 12, 2018. PAGE 27.
Huron East Council to consider daycare options
By Shawn Loughlin
The Citizen
Huron East Council is exhuming
discussion surrounding the future of
the Vanastra Early Childhood
Learning Centre, a topic that has
been on the table various times over
the current term of council.
Councillor Bob Fisher planted the
seed at council's March 20 meeting,
asking for a discussion on the future
of the daycare at council's April 3
meeting.
Fisher told councillors that he felt
the time had come for the
municipality to get out of the
daycare business and perhaps
investigate other options, such as a
privatized business or a co-operative
model. He said he felt the business
was losing too much money for the
municipality to continue providing
the service.
At previous meetings, Mayor
Bernie MacLellan has backed Fisher
up, saying that he anticipated a
discussion by council when the
centre's losses began to exceed the
rent it pays. Now, with in excess of
over $80,000 in losses and just
$34,000 paid in rent, MacLellan felt
council needed to seriously look at
the business.
Fisher said that if councillors are
to be running the municipality like a
business, he felt that losing $630,000
over his 12 years as a councillor on
one venture would be a decision that
calls for revision.
He said that he wasn't levelling
criticism at council or daycare staff,
or even municipal staff, but just said
that the provincial government had
"rigged" the daycare system to fail.
He also wondered, however,
whether it was the right time to
discuss it and investigate changes
with the municipal election
approaching in the fall.
Councillor John Lowe also felt the
municipality's role in the daycare
needed to be reviewed. He said that
while he understood that it's a
service provided by the municipality
at a loss, he wondered how many
Huron East residents are benefiting
for the service, which is most
definitely being paid for by Huron
East ratepayers.
While Fisher had said that no
councillor was advocating for the
closure of the daycare, Lowe said he
felt council should close the daycare
and leave it up to someone else if
they wanted to reopen it.
"If someone else comes along,
then so be it," Lowe said. "I think it
should be put back on the agenda for
discussion."
Deputy -Mayor Joe Steffler said
that daycares across the county are
facing challenges and Huron East is
no different. If council wanted to
make changes to its daycare, Steffler
said council should be investigating
costs and cost-saving measures that
have been implemented at daycares,
both municipal and private,
throughout the county.
Lowe, however, disagreed, saying
that he didn't need to see any cost
comparisons to know that Huron
East should get out of the daycare
business due to the amount of money
being lost every year.
In his report to council, Chief
Administrative Officer Brad Knight
reminded council that the
municipality charges the daycare
nearly $35,000 in rent on an annual
basis, which is a unique situation for
a municipally -owned building
providing a service to the
municipality, similar to a community
centre.
Councillor Ray Chartrand also
made the comparison to community
centres throughout Huron East. He
said that council doesn't "bat an eye"
when it hands over $500,000 to
arenas and community centres in the
municipality, deeming them a
service to residents that's destined to
lose money. However, when it comes
to money being lost through the
daycare, council sought action.
Chartrand also said that council
has only opted to debate the daycare
around budget deliberations every
year. By that time, he said, it's too
late. And now, with the 2018 on the
cusp of being finalized (it would also
be approved at that meeting) there
was no way council would be able to
find a solution to the daycare's
problems in such a short period.
"What makes you think you're
going to solve the daycare problem
in two weeks if we haven't been able
to do it in the last four years," he
said.
Chartrand said he felt the daycare
needed to remain open, but if council
wanted to explore other models in
order to make it run more efficiently,
he would be open to that as well.
Fisher said that was the only
conversation he wanted to have. He
said he understands the need for a
daycare in the community, but that
the municipality didn't necessarily
have to lose $80,000 a year in order
to provide that service.
Chartrand said that if council
wanted to commit to finding
efficiencies, then it should do so.
Raising the issue every year around
budget time, to not take any
meaningful action, only served to
stress out employees and worry
42.
Dave Mounsey
rTMemorial Fund
UN AROUND
THE SQUARE
Registration
closes midnight
April 30th
www.runaroundthesquare.ca
All proceeds from the Run Around The Square go
towards the Dave Mounsey Memorial Fund and
the purchase of life-saving defibrillators.
parents of children who use the
daycare, he said.
He suggested perhaps striking a
committee that could help improve
the situation at the daycare that
would involve councillors, members
of the administration committee,
municipal staff and daycare staff.
MacLellan suggested putting
potential daycare alternatives up for
discussion at council's May 1
meeting, leaving both staff and
council a month to do some
research. It had already been
decided, he said, that no change
would be made before the 2018
budget was passed.
Council will bring the daycare
issue back for discussion at its
May 1 meeting.
Hands-on
Central Huron Secondary School (CHSS) hosted its first
FunTECH program day on April 5, welcoming students
from Clinton Public School and Huron Centennial Public
School near Brucefield. CHSS teacher Ray Greidanus is
shown above instructing Jordan Fleming from Huron
Centennial in the use of a vehicle lift. (Denny Scott photo)
Sunday, May 13`°
The Square,
Goderich, Ontario
Kids' Race at 8:30 a.m.
5- and 10 -kilometre run at 9 a.m.
This year's Run Around
The Square defibrillator
donation will be the
Fund's 90th and will be
donated in memory of
long-time Blyth Fire Chief
Paul Josling, who passed
away in 2017. Paul was a
dedicated firefighter,
committed volunteer and
community champion.
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