When you think that in the summer of 2020, the daycare operated outside with the napping tent pictured here to provide shelter from the rain, it just shows how far our little daycare has come. This is due to the tenacity and dedication of our board, in particular Meaghan Feduck. They have followed the vision of a new "Family Place", navigating the labyrinth of grant, licensing and permitting requirements, dedicated countless hours to planning with Chris, our builder. We would like to thank Helen O’Brian, Meaghan, Ryan Boer, Kathy Stoessel, Travis Baerg, Lyn Barber, and Jeannine Georgeson. They have dedicated many hours to making sure this new building meets all of our needs in the most efficient manner possible.
Frequently Asked Questions
Mayne Island Early Childhood Society
June 5, 2020
http://www.miearlychildhood.ca/family-place-updates.html
June 5, 2020
http://www.miearlychildhood.ca/family-place-updates.html
| Family Place FAQ MIECS |
Q: Why will the new daycare building be at the Community Centre and not at the school?
A: The daycare has been operating under a license agreement with the school since September 2018. The current classroom is a shared facility with the school district’s Strong Start program. Since opening, the need for childcare has quickly outgrown the shared room. Many families are on a wait list for service, and the program can not run full time since it is reserved for school district programming two mornings per week.
As the early years children of Mayne Island grow, so will the demands on available space at the school. The changing needs of both the school and daycare make it difficult to secure space year after year. The Community Centre Society has graciously offered us a land lease to build a facility that can operate long-term according to our community’s changing needs, without involving complicated administrative systems.
Q: Why is there a tent on a platform at the building site? Is that the new daycare?
A: The daycare has set up a temporary camp at the building site to help us fulfill our COVD-19 safety plan and obligations under new regulations. The tent is being used as part of our daily programming for the 2020 summer season. We will remain based at the school until our new building is in operation, but we’ll use the community centre grounds and partial facilities to help us spread out and enjoy more outdoor programming over the summer.
Q: How much funding will be necessary to raise in the community? Will it affect our taxes?
A: The Childcare BC New Spaces fund provides funding to create new licensed child care, helping families access affordable, quality child care and strengthening communities across British Columbia. Through the fund, the Province is providing 90% of the total project costs to the MIECS. The CRD has generously provided Community Works funding for much of the remaining costs of the new facility. The Society has committed a portion of it’s reserve funds towards the project.
Mayne Islanders will not see any increased taxes as a result of this building.
Incidental costs such as toys and books are extra to the project, and the community will likely see a small-scale fundraising initiative in the coming months to raise funds for daycare-specific materials.
Q: Why does little Mayne Island need a daycare? Maybe now, but what about into the future?
A: There are currently over 30 children under the age of 6 living full-time on Mayne Island, and this number has been growing steadily for the past five years. Population projections for our island communities predict this trend continuing for the next 20 years. With a majority of Mayne Island citizens currently over the age of 65, the need for working-age families to live and work here is also increasing, as are the job prospects. Some families can and do subsist on one household income, but many more want and need childcare in order to pursue a livelihood. Others use childcare services as respite to attend to other areas of their lives and obligations.
Of course we cannot predict the long-term need for a daycare on Mayne Island. For this reason, we have designed our building project as a multipurpose space. In the event that the daycare is no longer needed, the facility could be used for other social purposes such as senior’s programming, non-profit meeting space, or other social or recreational use. Being housed on the grounds of the community centre makes good sense for the long-term future of the building.
Q: Why have the architect and contractor been signed on already and why were these jobs not put out to tender locally?
A: The funding parameters do not require the grantees to follow formal procurement procedures as would normally be the case in large government grants. One reason for this might be that many, if not most, non-profit daycares do not have the staffing capacity or timeline availability for carrying out such formal processes. Instead, the funding process required applicants to provide detailed information about the project budget and plan. In order to complete the funding application, The Early Childhood Society entered into relationships with several contractors who gave detailed estimates for the work. As a result of developing our plans together, the retained architect and contractor have been actively engaged and are trusted by the society to carry out the plans. The MIECS board of directors went through a process of due diligence to bring them onboard the project.
Mark Hamilton (architect) and Chris Wolfs (contractor) both have deep ties to and local knowledge of Mayne Island. In addition to their expertise, the Early Childhood Society is convening a small advisory group of community members with expertise in the various aspects of our project. This group will help to guide the work and advise the contractors in completing the project.
Q: How will local tradespeople be engaged?
A: MIECS is committed to providing as much local labour and trades opportunities as possible for the completion of the project. This will most likely occur through the contractor with a simplified bidding process. Anyone interested in working on the project should send an email to [email protected]
Q: What kind of community partnerships do you anticipate?
A: In developing our project, we have identified groups that may have an interest in partnership with the society to see this project to fruition. Without the support and generosity of the Community Centre Society, this project would not be possible. We envision potential opportunities throughout the build and into the implementation of the daycare, such as: a group taking on part of the build as a legacy amenity; facility user agreements; joint programming development; shared administrative staffing; or, human resources development initiatives.
Q: When will construction begin?
A: We anticipate receiving permits in the late summer/early fall, although some site development activity may occur before then.
Q: When do you anticipate the centre will open?
A: We anticipate opening in mid 2021.
Q: How do I enroll a child?
A: Because the building will not be completed until 2021, we are currently operating at full capacity in our maximum 8 multi-age program. However, it is possible that space may become available sooner. See below for links for more details.
Q: How long is the wait list?
A: Mayne Island Daycare maintains a list of families waiting for daycare space. In order to be on the waitlist, families must submit a application form in full, including desired number of days and preference of days. Currently, the daycare provides service to 15 children per week, with five of those families awaiting more service, and five families currently not receiving service but waiting. The new facility, fully staffed, will enable all of those families –and more -- to receive new or additional service. We will be adding an infant/toddler program, which will free up space for children in the 3-5 category to receive more service in our existing program.
Q: Are both full time and part time spaces available?
A: Our program seats are sold per full day as available. There is no drop-in available at this time.
Q: How will the after-school program work?
A: Program staff will meet registered students at the school at the end of the day, and will travel together to the Community Centre. The program will be a dynamic mix of indoor and outdoor activity and will be offered four days per week Monday-Thursday until 6 or 6:30pm.
A: The daycare has been operating under a license agreement with the school since September 2018. The current classroom is a shared facility with the school district’s Strong Start program. Since opening, the need for childcare has quickly outgrown the shared room. Many families are on a wait list for service, and the program can not run full time since it is reserved for school district programming two mornings per week.
As the early years children of Mayne Island grow, so will the demands on available space at the school. The changing needs of both the school and daycare make it difficult to secure space year after year. The Community Centre Society has graciously offered us a land lease to build a facility that can operate long-term according to our community’s changing needs, without involving complicated administrative systems.
Q: Why is there a tent on a platform at the building site? Is that the new daycare?
A: The daycare has set up a temporary camp at the building site to help us fulfill our COVD-19 safety plan and obligations under new regulations. The tent is being used as part of our daily programming for the 2020 summer season. We will remain based at the school until our new building is in operation, but we’ll use the community centre grounds and partial facilities to help us spread out and enjoy more outdoor programming over the summer.
Q: How much funding will be necessary to raise in the community? Will it affect our taxes?
A: The Childcare BC New Spaces fund provides funding to create new licensed child care, helping families access affordable, quality child care and strengthening communities across British Columbia. Through the fund, the Province is providing 90% of the total project costs to the MIECS. The CRD has generously provided Community Works funding for much of the remaining costs of the new facility. The Society has committed a portion of it’s reserve funds towards the project.
Mayne Islanders will not see any increased taxes as a result of this building.
Incidental costs such as toys and books are extra to the project, and the community will likely see a small-scale fundraising initiative in the coming months to raise funds for daycare-specific materials.
Q: Why does little Mayne Island need a daycare? Maybe now, but what about into the future?
A: There are currently over 30 children under the age of 6 living full-time on Mayne Island, and this number has been growing steadily for the past five years. Population projections for our island communities predict this trend continuing for the next 20 years. With a majority of Mayne Island citizens currently over the age of 65, the need for working-age families to live and work here is also increasing, as are the job prospects. Some families can and do subsist on one household income, but many more want and need childcare in order to pursue a livelihood. Others use childcare services as respite to attend to other areas of their lives and obligations.
Of course we cannot predict the long-term need for a daycare on Mayne Island. For this reason, we have designed our building project as a multipurpose space. In the event that the daycare is no longer needed, the facility could be used for other social purposes such as senior’s programming, non-profit meeting space, or other social or recreational use. Being housed on the grounds of the community centre makes good sense for the long-term future of the building.
Q: Why have the architect and contractor been signed on already and why were these jobs not put out to tender locally?
A: The funding parameters do not require the grantees to follow formal procurement procedures as would normally be the case in large government grants. One reason for this might be that many, if not most, non-profit daycares do not have the staffing capacity or timeline availability for carrying out such formal processes. Instead, the funding process required applicants to provide detailed information about the project budget and plan. In order to complete the funding application, The Early Childhood Society entered into relationships with several contractors who gave detailed estimates for the work. As a result of developing our plans together, the retained architect and contractor have been actively engaged and are trusted by the society to carry out the plans. The MIECS board of directors went through a process of due diligence to bring them onboard the project.
Mark Hamilton (architect) and Chris Wolfs (contractor) both have deep ties to and local knowledge of Mayne Island. In addition to their expertise, the Early Childhood Society is convening a small advisory group of community members with expertise in the various aspects of our project. This group will help to guide the work and advise the contractors in completing the project.
Q: How will local tradespeople be engaged?
A: MIECS is committed to providing as much local labour and trades opportunities as possible for the completion of the project. This will most likely occur through the contractor with a simplified bidding process. Anyone interested in working on the project should send an email to [email protected]
Q: What kind of community partnerships do you anticipate?
A: In developing our project, we have identified groups that may have an interest in partnership with the society to see this project to fruition. Without the support and generosity of the Community Centre Society, this project would not be possible. We envision potential opportunities throughout the build and into the implementation of the daycare, such as: a group taking on part of the build as a legacy amenity; facility user agreements; joint programming development; shared administrative staffing; or, human resources development initiatives.
Q: When will construction begin?
A: We anticipate receiving permits in the late summer/early fall, although some site development activity may occur before then.
Q: When do you anticipate the centre will open?
A: We anticipate opening in mid 2021.
Q: How do I enroll a child?
A: Because the building will not be completed until 2021, we are currently operating at full capacity in our maximum 8 multi-age program. However, it is possible that space may become available sooner. See below for links for more details.
Q: How long is the wait list?
A: Mayne Island Daycare maintains a list of families waiting for daycare space. In order to be on the waitlist, families must submit a application form in full, including desired number of days and preference of days. Currently, the daycare provides service to 15 children per week, with five of those families awaiting more service, and five families currently not receiving service but waiting. The new facility, fully staffed, will enable all of those families –and more -- to receive new or additional service. We will be adding an infant/toddler program, which will free up space for children in the 3-5 category to receive more service in our existing program.
Q: Are both full time and part time spaces available?
A: Our program seats are sold per full day as available. There is no drop-in available at this time.
Q: How will the after-school program work?
A: Program staff will meet registered students at the school at the end of the day, and will travel together to the Community Centre. The program will be a dynamic mix of indoor and outdoor activity and will be offered four days per week Monday-Thursday until 6 or 6:30pm.
For more information on daycare programming, the Early Childhood Society, and to register visit:
www.mayneislanddaycare.ca
www.mayneislanddaycare.ca