ELORA – Centre Wellington Mayor Shawn Watters might have been hoping for a quick “yes” from Wellington County after a developer offered to build a childcare centre in Belwood as a way to give back to the community.
But he quickly discovered childcare is complicated.
It’s heavily regulated; it requires many partners and stakeholders; and it’s costly to operate.
“To take this on ourselves, the cost would be astronomical,” CAO Dan Wilson told council on July 15.
Back in January, council agreed to a motion from Watters to have staff make high-level inquiries into the feasibility of having a childcare centre in Belwood.
Watters has not named the developer, but Geranium Homes is developing an estate home subdivision just outside Belwood and has expressed, in public meetings, its desire to leave something for the community, as well as build homes.
Since January, there have been several meetings with the county and other childcare stakeholders like the Upper Grand and Wellington Catholic district school boards, YMCA of Three Rivers, Belwood Community Development Committee, and developers.
Wilson said Centre Wellington can offer the following as a supporting partner:
- bring together community partners with a common goal of providing childcare space in the county (including childcare operators, school boards and developers);
- investigate the availability of township-owned land that could be used for childcare facilities;
- assist with site servicing logistics (water, wastewater, storm, fibre) for Centre Wellington sites;
- assist with potential special financing arrangements with developers for the construction of a childcare facility (if required);
- communicate this approach with other lower-tier municipalities (i.e. through CAOs and treasurers) in the county to assist with a county-wide initiative on child care; and
- encourage the county to reassess child care development charges for future development.
But the key takeaway is that it will take collaboration with all stakeholders to make headway.
And Wellington County should take the lead, Wilson said, as childcare is in its jurisdiction.
As of June 2023, Centre Wellington had four full-day licensed childcare centres – the county-operated program in Aboyne, a third-party operated program at J.D. Hogarth Public School in Fergus, two for-profit programs (one in Fergus and one in Elora) – and six licensed home daycare providers.
That’s an access rate of 17.8%, which is well under the Wellington-Guelph rate of 23.3% and far from the Ontario target of 37%.
Wilson said Centre Wellington is not allowed to charge for childcare centres in its development charges (DCs), but the county is.
The county charges a total $9,409 for a single-detached or semi-detached home. Of that, just $6 is allocated to childcare facilities compared to $1,644 for libraries.
Some communities have DCs of $600 for childcare facilities.
“We brought the idea of DCs to their attention,” Watters said.
“There is opportunity to charge the developer … There’s opportunity to raise millions of dollars by elevating the DCs.”
Wilson clarified the county would have to show a need for childcare centres and prove it was planning construction of childcare centres in order to increase DCs.
“First they’d have to, politically, have county council decide what they want to do,” Wilson said.
“It’s not an easy file,” Watters added, “but it’s an important file for the county and the township.
“This is an opportunity to provide a much-needed resource in the community.”
Watters’ January motion also directed staff to investigate outdoor recreation space in Belwood.
Staff advised that the Parks and Recreation Plan currently underway is a perfect opportunity to ensure comments, suggestions and assessment of Belwood facilities is rolled into that.
Council voted to:
- support a collaborative approach to childcare centres with Wellington County taking the lead;
- forward Wilson’s report to Wellington County, along with a letter of support from council; and
- defer decisions on recreation needs in Belwood until the Parks and Recreation Plan is complete.
