By MIKE COURSON
Great Bend Post
Nine months ago, Advancing Barton County Childcare broke ground on a new 6,500-square-foot childcare facility in Great Bend. Planning for the project began long before that. Thursday morning, all the hard work at and behind the scenes paid off with a ribbon-cutting ceremony and open house at Bright Beginnings. Great Bend Chamber of Commerce CEO Megan Barfield was one of many local representatives present for the event.
"I just wanted to say that, on behalf of the entire business community, the Chamber of Commerce, just thank you for helping bridge the gap in a need that is statewide, country-wide," she said. "I just got back from a four-state chamber conference and the child issue just kept coming up. Great Bend even got a couple of shoutouts because there is some real work taking place here in Great Bend and Barton County. I think we should first give a round of applause to everybody just for the fact that we're standing here today."
Barfield said there are 735 potential childcare slots needed in Great Bend. The average unemployment rate across the state is 2.7 percent, and Barton County's rate slightly exceeds that at three percent.
"Every able body that is willing, able, and wanting to work, we want them to have the opportunity to work and not feel like they can't because they don't have adequate, quality daycare they can trust and afford," Barfield said.
Great Bend Eco Devo Director Sara Arnberger was another key player in bringing the facility to the community. She spoke of the impact the center will have on businesses and families in the area.
"We knew as economic development that this directly related to workforce," she said. "Three years ago, as we started having all these conversations with our businesses and asking what they need, and we started really recruiting and talking to businesses that want to come and asking what they needed, the first thing out of their mouths every time was, 'We need reliable childcare.'"
At the ribbon cutting last July, ABCC also announced that Kelsie Baxter will be the program director at Bright Beginnings. She brings more than eight years of childcare experience to the job.
"I'm really excited to be a part of this project," Baxter said. "It has been huge for our community and it's very needed."
The daycare, which will accommodate up to 80 children, was made possible, in part, with a $500,000 contribution from the Patterson Family Foundation and a $2.23 million grant from the Kansas Children's Cabinet and Trust Fund Child Care Capacity Accelerator. The Barton County Commission contributed $435,000 to the facility.
"With what we've created, we are going to be able to sustain this facility without subsidy," said Arnberger. "That is the goal and that's what we put on paper, so let's hope it works that way. We are also really excited to say we are paying a progressive wage to our childcare providers. We are paying a full benefit package to all of our full-time employees, and we are promoting continued education and registered apprenticeships through the state."
Attendees at Thursday's ceremony also heard from representatives with Tessere, formerly GLMV Architecture, and Icon Structures. Arnberger thanked the many partners of the project, including the ABCC Board, Children's Cabinet and Trust Fund, Childcare Aware, Barton County, the city of Great Bend, Service Tax Credit Program from the Department of Commerce, and the Patterson Family Foundation.