ST. PAUL – During the County of St. Paul Public Works Meeting on Feb. 13, representatives with St. Paul Education Regional Division (SPERD) spoke with council during a delegation, seeking assistance with funding for a daycare space at a new school that is planned for the Hamlet of Mallaig.
Doug Fedoruk, Director of Transportation and Facilities with SPERD, says the County previously assisted SPERD with conducting a survey in the Mallaig area to see if there was an interest in a daycare space.
“It came back, very, very positive,” said Fedoruk.
So, a daycare space was incorporated into the proposed new school’s design. The project is still in the preliminary stages and construction has not yet been approved by the province, although design funds were approved by the provincial government in early 2023.
The daycare space would not be funded by the province.
“So, we are required to look for a capital input of cash to create this daycare space,” Fedoruk told council, expressing his hope for a partnership with the County of St. Paul.
A commitment by mid-February would be ideal, so they could finalize the design.
“I wish we could say we have a year to make a decision, but... we need a decision for capital fairly quickly,” as requested by the Government of Alberta, said Fedoruk. “If they approve construction, it could go to tender as early as August [or] September.”
This means there would be a construction window of about 18 to 24 months, following construction approval.
Coun. Maxine Fodness asked how big the daycare space would be.
Fedoruk said it would be about 150 square meters, and would cost approximately $6,000 per square meter, which is approximately $900,000 in total.
Fodness also asked how the daycare would operate and who would operate it.
Fedoruk said that in other schools operated by St. Paul Education, there are non-profit and for-profit daycare operators operating daycares. The proposed daycare centre would operate the same. St. Paul Education would pay for utilities like water and heat, and some maintenance.
Coun. Darrell Younghans asked how the $900,000 would be funded, asking if it would be split 50-50.
“I’ll be entirely honest with you... I don’t believe that we have the capital reserves to fund the difference,” said Fedoruk. The plan is if the County is willing to commit funding, SPERD would then continue looking for potential partners who would be interested in helping with the costs.
Fedoruk said the school division has reached out to Bonnyville-Cold Lake-St. Paul MLA Scott Cyr to see if there’s anything he can do to help.
“We’re hoping that with information and meeting with the MLA and community partners, we can provide a really good solid business case to hopefully get some additional government funding,” said Fedoruk.
“I hate this pressure... I don’t like it myself,” he acknowledged, speaking to the need to move quickly on the topic.
During discussions, council expressed they are in favour of the idea of creating a daycare in Mallaig. They believe the daycare space would be beneficial to the community, but the challenge is how much the County could afford to commit.
Reeve Glen Ockerman suggested a tripartite agreement. Th County of St. Paul could commit to funding a third of the daycare space, and two other partners could split the rest.
Coun. Dale Hedrick made a motion to proceed with exploring a tripartite agreement of up to $300,000.
With a motion on the floor, Coun. Ross Krekoski sought clarification, if the tripartite agreement is dependent on an “if” there are two other partners also willing to commit.
Ockerman affirmed, and Hedrick’s motion was carried.
