Basalt, Pitkin County join forces to secure childcare funds from the state for Stott’s Mill site

News News | Aug 23, 2023

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Basalt will be the next location for early childhood education in the Roaring Fork Valley, with Blue Lake Preschool headed for the future Stott’s Mill development. To fund construction of the space, the town of Basalt and Pitkin County are partnering to secure grant funding on behalf of the daycare operator.

Basalt Town Council will assume responsibility for the lease of the 4,000 square-foot space and eventually sublease it to Blue Lake Preschool and the Basalt Education Foundation for a Pre-K daycare and after-school center. The rent will be $2,400 monthly, 80% of market-rate rents for comparable daycares, with a 3% annual increase.

The town will hold the lease, which starts in September, for at least five years with an automatic extension up to 10 years, with council’s approval.

“The idea would be for us to take that responsibility now to have control over the site and make sure that the arrangement at Blue Lake gets off on good footing,” Basalt Town Manager Ryan Mahoney said. “Down the road, it might make sense to transfer (the lease) over to Blue Lake or another operator.”

The providers are responsible for the drywall, paint, flooring, plumbing, electrical wiring, HVAC, and more — which is estimated to cost $1.2 to $1.8 million. The expectation is that community support, grants, and fundraising will be required to complete the site. The developer constructed the shell space with completion scheduled for September.

Blue Lake plans to host two classrooms with a capacity up to 40 children full-time — and more for part-time attendance — by fall 2024.

If the daycare facility is unsuccessful, the town has the authority to issue another request for proposals for a new provider. And two affordable-housing units could also occupy the space, but council has long expressed a preference for a childcare facility.

MSP Development Group broke ground on Stott’s Mill in 2021 after years of delays. The site is a mix of apartment units, single-family homes, and duplex lots. The 18-acre site sits between the Southside neighborhood and Basalt High School.

County coming on board to secure state funds and childcare spots

Town of Basalt sought partnership with Pitkin County to help Blue Lake secure funding through the Employer Based Childcare Facility Grant, offered through the state Department of Early Childhood. It provides up to $800,000 toward the construction of childcare facilities, and the Stott’s Mill location is eligible.

Pitkin County commissioners approved putting up $250,000 toward a grant matching contribution from both its American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) fund — $150,000 — and the county general fund — $100,000.

The county’s ARPA money must be obligated by the end of 2024. Approximately $1.6 million of the original $3,451,031 of ARPA funding remains unassigned and available to the commissioners, according to the county’s agenda item summary.

But County Manager Jon Peacock said he suggested splitting the funds between ARPA and general fund due to county employees’ potential to benefit from the grant.

“My thinking on that is because there is a benefit that may accrue to our own employees ahead of the community, it was really keeping with the intent of the ARPA funds versus having some portion that is an employee benefit, which I think is more appropriately drawn from local funds,” he said.

Where the grant-matching funds come from could be changed in the future, but the dollar amount needed to be approved on Tuesday.

The exact number of priority spots or selection process for children of Pitkin County employees and town of Basalt employees has yet to be decided, though the purpose of the grant is that the employer seeking the grant will utilize at least some of the new childcare slots for their own employees. The rest will go to the community.

The Town of Basalt and Pitkin County will know if they are awarded the grant in October. The grant application is due Aug. 30.

If the grant bid is unsuccessful, Mahoney said the town would seek other grant opportunities or a public/private partnership with a likely tradeoff of priority spaces for employees of that private company in proportional exchange for funding assistance.

Funding the remainder of construction through the town’s coffers alone would be too great of a lift, he said.

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