By Dan Spalding
News Now Warsaw
WARSAW — Warsaw City Council on Monday threw its support behind an innovative child care plan that will take shape at the Parkview Warsaw YMCA that would allow all parents – not just YMCA patrons — to access the program.
Council agreed to a revised agreement from earlier in which they would provide federal ARPA money — roughly $350,000 — that will be used with grant money from a Lilly Endowment to renovate existing space at the YMCA for a child care center intended for parents who remain on-site while working remotely as their kids play in a cordoned off area.
Kosciusko Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Rob Parker said the plan is modeled after programs in Indianapolis and Chicago but with one difference.
“They’re all for-profit, the ones I’ve seen,” Parker said. “This is the first one that I’m aware of that is in a non-profit space that serves the entire community. That’s what really excites me.”
He and YMCA Executive Director Jim Swanson, who pitched the plan to the city council, think it has lots of potential.
“It’s for anyone in the county and beyond, if they want to use the space, they can. That’s the beauty of this,” Parker said.
The program will be intended for children as old as 3 and services would require a fee.
Swanson said they want to make the fees affordable.
Specific time blocks could be made available for parents.
He did not provide a timeline for construction but said they hope to open the facility in 2025.
Parker said LaunchPad, the chamber’s child care initiative, would not oversee the child care center but is providing consulting on the project.
The city council spending plan for the proposal was approved 7-0.
