Danielle and Andre Satschko hope to help alleviate Huntsville’s childcare crunch, and they hope that Huntsville’s council will agree.
The couple moved to Huntsville from Brampton in 2019 with the intention of opening daycares while they raise their family.
They have been working to open a daycare at the old Fabricland location on Manominee Street, but renovations have been delayed due to an environmental assessment. In the meantime, they have identified the former Motivations Fitness location in the Canada Summit Centre as a suitable second location for a daycare for more than 50 children.
In a presentation to Huntsville’s general committee on Jan. 26, they noted that local licensed childcare centres have long waitlists, and that “under Ministry of Education and Building Code guidelines, there are very few locations in Huntsville that can accommodate a daycare (e.g. square footage per child, window/natural light requirements, outdoor play space requirements).”
“There are parents who are begging for this care,” said Danielle.
Current zoning on the proposed Summit Centre location allows for a daycare, and the space has both natural light and more than the square footage needed. Space adjacent to the building, which can be accessed directly via a stairwell and elevator from the second floor, could be used for a playground on a rotational schedule based on the proposed number of children.
The Satschkos also pointed out that the Summit Centre, with its pool in the same building and greenspace within walking distance, “provides wonderful accommodations for growing minds.”
They are working with Muskoka Futures on a loan to fund the daycare projects. “They are right behind us,” said Andre.
The Summit Centre daycare would create 13 to 15 full-time jobs, plus five to six additional part-time supply staff, noted Danielle.
Pending approvals and construction, they hope to open in fall of 2022.
In a staff report later in the meeting, Greg Pilling, the Town’s manager of facility operations, sales and customer service, outlined how the space could potentially be used as a daycare.
The Satschkos’ proposal is for a daycare with a capacity of 54 children in a 3,500-4,000 square-foot area, about half of the 7,579 square-foot space. The daycare would include three play rooms, washrooms, a staff room and office, storage space, a laundry area, and kitchen, as well as a 1,080 square-foot outdoor playground adjacent to the building, ideally on the north side of the Jack Bionda arena.
The cost of any approvals, renovations, and playground design and construction would be borne by the daycare.
Although a proposed lease rate was not specified, the staff report notes that the space is currently valued at $20 per square foot with utilities included. Prior to closing in August 2020, Motivations Fitness rented the full space at $8.09 per square foot or $61,320 per year including utilities. The floor was replaced in July 2021 at a cost of $23,791 and the space has been used as programming and rental space since July 2021. Revenue for the space since then has been $36,500 from Town programs including summer day camp, PA day camps, holiday camps, and $548 in rentals by outside groups.
The remaining space would require renovations by the Town once daycare plans are finalized. It could continue to be used for Town programming or rentals.
While councillors expressed appreciation for the proposal and acknowledged the need for more childcare options for parents, they ultimately determined that staff must issue a notice for expressions of interest (EOI) for use of the space.
Mayor Karin Terziano kicked off that discussion by saying she was concerned that the staff report did not suffice as public consultation or transparent public notice. “We usually have a process to get expressions of interest for the usage of any space…my concern is that [this] doesn’t fulfil our transparency policy.”
Councillor Tim Withey expressed similar concerns. “What if another interested party comes with another daycare proposal that we happen to for some reason like better and we’re already working with Danielle and Andre. It just seems backwards to me.” He added, “I firmly believe this is needed in our community.”
The Town’s CAO Denise Corry said that while the process may seem unusual, “it’s not a normal day and age right now so for the Town of Huntsville to go out and do an RFP or an expression of interest advising that we have the space for lease, what we’re seeing now are businesses closing down and working remotely and the need for businesses or organizations to have real estate to run their business we’re seeing is declining drastically…
“Do you feel this use supports what’s required in our community and is it complementary to the existing use of the current building?…If you do, then staff and the applicants can put some extra work into it to formalize a proposal which will still have to come back to council.” At the same time, staff would notify the public and request other expressions of interest, Corry said.
Councillor Dan Armour called the space “troubled” since Motivations left, and said this proposal would create jobs, childcare, and a long-term lease for the Town. “I know there’s a lot of questions here…I think we all support it in principle, I know I definitely do.”
“I think that we do have to go out for an expression of interest… we don’t break the rules for anything else,” said Terziano.
Deputy Mayor Nancy Alcock concurred with both Armour and Terziano.
Councillor Brian Thompson said that he thought the Town may have single-sourced on lease applications in the past, and added that if an RFP or EOI notice is issued, it should have a short timeline. “This is a critical thing for the town of Huntsville and let’s get going on it.”
Jessica Boyes, legal and agreements coordinator for the Town, said that the Town’s acquisition and disposition policy does permit direct negotiations with a third party regarding a lease.
Following the full 45-minute discussion, the motion to work with the couple on a formal proposal for the daycare was postponed and staff were directed to issue a request for expressions of interest for lease of the space.
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What a great proposal! I do hope council/staff doesn’t diddle and fiddle this opportunity away with unnecessary bureaucratic delays. Certainly check and see if there are other proposals sitting out there waiting just for this beautiful space to become available, but don’t take too long or this couple are going to have to move on. You can only make proposals for so long and then you’ve got to get down to business. I’m sure their pockets aren’t that deep that they can wait forever.