Sartell Approves Altering Community Grant Program to Include Benefits for Childcare Facilities

(KNSI) — The Sartell City Council unanimously approved a proposal to alter its Community Grant Program to include benefits for childcare facilities.

The United Way estimates Sartell needs to add 443 childcare spots to make up its current deficit. City Administrator Anna Gruber says the gap between need and availability is so great because of the great success in the past two decades in attracting families to its community. “A large majority of this population is families that are raising kids and commuting to work elsewhere. So, we know that if we want to continue to grow that commercial base that we’ve seen a lot of growth in in the last five to seven years, we need to address the child care crisis.”

The grants would range from $5,000 to $20,000 as part of a tiered system, depending on how many spots are created. It applies to centers only, and funds can be awarded to a new or expanding facility.

Gruber says Sartell is trying to be proactive to keep a bad problem from worsening. “Of course we have our Central Minnesota Health Care Hub, which is our area out by Highway 15, kind of across from the Centracare Health Plaza. And then now, with the U of M Medical School being announced for the plaza, we know that childcare is already a crisis and is only about to get magnified because of the growth in that area.”

Gruber says she doesn’t know of another city with a similar program but says plenty of nonprofits use the model. The council amended the staff proposal to make it so a center would need to hire at least one new staffer to qualify, and it will sunset in five years unless renewed by the council.

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