One of Melfort’s oldest buildings could host some of its younger residents soon, if all goes according to plan.
City council approved a request by the Melfort Daycare Cooperative to lease space in the Historic Post Office for a school-aged daycare. While the space is secured, the cooperative still needs to meet regulatory licensing procedures with the province’s ministry of education before it can officially open.
The daycare made the request because there are 88 kids on a waiting list.
“We know right now that there is a shortage of childcare spaces in Melfort,” Jessica Watt, a board member with Melfort Daycare Cooperative, said. “And so we are doing our best to try and find some solutions in the short term.”
Watt told councillors the plan is to have 30 kids aged six to 12 in the daycare, for a before and after-school program, although there would be full day programming in summer.
“I’m a little bit blown away that there’s 88 kids on a (waiting) list,” Coun. April Phillips said.
Watt told councillors the lease would be for one year, starting in January, with an option to extend it to a second year. She said MDC is hoping to centralize its facilities, but that will take time.
“We don’t want to stop anyone else from being able to have access to the post office,” she told councillors, and said if another group wants to rent space for a function, they could partition off the daycare and make it work.
A city report said the daycare will lease the north annex in the old post office, along with washroom and kitchen space.
The lease will be $1,042 per month, which would help defray some of the $30,000 annual bill the city pays to maintain the building.
But discussion over the lease led to discussion about the long term future of the historic post office, which dates back to 1912.
Coun. Tim Hoenmans said the city has been trying for years to find a purpose for it.
“There was a boutique hotel suggested for there, there was a kids indoor playground suggested for there, there was a library suggested for there,” Hoenmans said. “It’s not like we haven’t been looking at things, we have to come to some sort of decision and figure that out.”
Coun. Phillips said a short team lease makes sense.
“I think it’s better to use than sitting empty,” Phillips said. “If it just sits empty with nothing in it, it further deteriorates. Having somebody in it, and recovering a little bit of cost, is better than nothing, and it gives us time to find that right purpose. We have tried for 10 years.”
Council’s approval includes asking city administrators to work out final details of the lease, and making sure all needed inspections are carried out.
Editor’s note: While the space for the site is secured, the daycare is still in the process to finalize a licensing agreement with the province’s ministry of education.
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doug.lett@pattisonmedia.com
Twitter: @DougLettSK
