The culmination of a project two years in the making, Great Bend Economic Development Thursday morning broke ground for Advancing Barton County Childcare’s new day care center at Farmers Plaza on the corner of 10th Street and K-96. The event also provided the opportunity for GBED to announce the site of its second childcare Barton County facility, in Hoisington with the cooperation of USD 431.
“For anybody that knows this has been quite the task,” GBED President Sara Arnberger said. “I cannot tell you how proud and excited I am to get to this day see all of your smiling faces and get to celebrate it with you.”
Against a backdrop of spades planted in the soil, Arnberger was joined by her board members, contractors and, as the keynote speaker, Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly. Despite the muggy conditions, a large crowd gathered in a tent set up for the occasion, as well as stood around the site of what is being dubbed Farmers Plaza Childcare Center.
“On behalf of the Advancing Barton County Childcare team, we are excited to welcome you all to this long-awaited moment,” said ABCC Board member Mary Foley. “ABCC was born from Great Bend Economic Development as our area businesses echoed many times over their need for high quality and available childcare options in order to retain and recruit employees. Out of that need, ABCC was formed with a unique combination of area businesses, leaders, educators, as well as public and private partners.”
Foley thanked all those who helped and contributed to the effort, from planning to funding to building.
She also announced that Kelsey Baxter was hired at the center’s director.
“When this started, it was a dream, it was a hope,” said Cody Schmidt, board member and Great Bend mayor. “And now it’s reality.”
Schmidt had been in on the project since the start. He thanked the Barton County Commission, the Great Bend City Council and the governor “for her faith and believing in rural communities.”
For her part, the governor echoed the need for childcare and the importance of the Great Bend center.
“My vision for my first term as well is to make Kansas the best place in the country to live and raise families,” Kelly said. “Providing child quality childcare services is fundamental to that goal, devoting resources to early childhood development and care is the smartest investment in making sure children get a strong start and it sets them up for long term success.”
Access to childcare services doesn’t just benefit kids and families, she said. It’s a vital component of workforce development unlike ever before.
Now, there are people aren’t working, “not because there are enough jobs, but because there’s not enough childcare,” Kelly said. “And we’re not unique in this regard. Across the country, businesses and employers are sounding the alarm that the shortage of childcare options is putting their economy. A lack of quality childcare often accounts for employee absences, and almost half of all will be parents in the U.S. say the number of hours they can work has been compromised by a lack of childcare options.”
This is especially true in rural communities, the governor said. “Right here in Great Bend, the number-one concern of employers being able to recruit and retain employees is the lack of childcare options. That’s why advancing Barton county childcare was created in the first place.”
She said there are more than 800 childcare slots needed in Barton County. “Simply put, if we want to keep our economy growing, we need to support abundant and affordable childcare for our expanding workforce. Investing in child care services is one of the smartest ways to recruit new workers and businesses to increase productivity by reducing employee turnover and absenteeism while simultaneously supporting Kansas Children.”
Advancing Barton County Childcare, established by GBED, took on the crucial task of securing funding and constructing a state-of-the-art group day care center in Great Bend, Arnberger said. Recognizing the pressing need for reliable and accessible childcare services, this $1.9 million 6,800 square-foot facility is envisioned as the first of several day cares to be built across county, such as the second location in Hoisington.
Icon Structures of Wichita has been selected as the project’s construction manager at risk. The project architect is GMLV Architects, also of Wichita.
Capping off the funding
In late June, it was announced that the center was one of 52 organizations statewide to share in more than $43 million as part of the Child Care Capacity Accelerator grant program, and would receive $2.23 million. The funding came through the Kansas Children’s Cabinet and Trust Fund.
The program was designed to advance the rapid development of additional child care slots statewide. The funding will create 4,200 new child care slots across the state, Kelly said.
The grants were awarded based upon a competitive request for proposal process that yielded 105 applications totaling over $117 million. Grantees were required to identify at least 25% matching funds from other sources.
That amount was enough to finish off the funding for the Great Bend center as well as the facility in Hoisington.
Background
The Great Bend facility will be a 501(c)3 non-profit under the umbrella of GBED.
In 2021, ABCC, in partnership with the Golden Belt Community Foundation, received a Community Service Tax Credit Program grant from the Kansas Department of Commerce. In addition, the City of Great Bend (through economic development funds) and Barton County contributed, along with private donors, have kicked in money.
The GBED and ABCC worked closely with Garden City to duplicate successful efforts there led by the Finney County Economic Development Corporation.
The Finney County Childcare and Early Learning Network board was formed in 2019 and began work in identifying spaces that could accommodate childcare. The group has been awarded tax credits to help expand services to address long-term workforce requirements in the growing community.
For more information, visit www.gbedinc.com, or call 620-796-2407. Arnberger can be reached via email at director@gbedinc.com.
