By COLE REIF
Great Bend Post
After hearing proposals to renovate an old apartment complex into child
daycare homes in Hoisington, the city council voted Monday to nix the idea and
have the buildings demolished instead.
The City of Hoisington acquired the vacant Windgate apartment site on north
Vine Street that consists of five buildings. The city proposed raising $629,000
to renovate two of the structures into daycare homes to provide care to up to
84 children.
Hoisington City Manager Jonathan Mitchell said staff and partners
raised more than $400,000, but ultimately it was decided to not move forward
with the project.
"That shows childcare is significant need in our county, but the governing body didn't feel that this particular project was the best fit for our community," said Mitchell. "We're going to work with the Kansas Department of Health and Environment (KDHE) and other partners to raze those structures."
The city planned to team up with GPS Kids Club, a nonprofit daycare in
Hoisington, to manage part of the new daycare. While understanding there is a
need for more daycare, the city council heard a few concerns from existing
providers on the impact of building the new facility.
Mitchell said the three main needs the community has heard for growth and development
are workers, housing and childcare.
"We're going to try to attack one angle of that by creating housing lots," said Mitchell. "We still need people who are interested in building homes in our community. That is the next piece in this solution, but we are trying to create additional housing lots."
Mitchell said the city will continue to look for the right solution to the
childcare need.