By Audrey Posten

Members of the Kids Kampus Community Childcare Board met jointly with representatives from the city of Guttenberg, Clayton Ridge Community School District and Guttenberg Municipal Hospital and Clinics (GMHC) on Aug. 18, to discuss formation of a building committee to help the board assess options for renovating the current Kids Kampus facility or potentially relocating to a new site.

“The meeting is to discuss everything that’s been going on, both now and in the long-term future of the building for Kids Kampus,” explained board member Kim Franzen.

Kids Kampus has been in its current building at 210 Main St., which was completed around 1977, for about 35 years. Kids Kampus owns the building, while the land is owned by the hospital.

Although the board has been investigating relocation options for the past year, recent water leakage in multiple places in the building has prompted greater diligence.

Local contractor Jonathan Klaes, who attended the meeting, completed a walk through of the building interior and exterior to gauge its condition. His report noted the roofs, siding and most windows need replacing. The attic is not ventilated and shows evidence of bats.

“The interior, due to the bats and condensation, you’re looking at demolishing the entire ceiling, which means you might as well demolish the walls and start from scratch. Basically, what would be saved is the studs,” he said.

Klaes estimated a remodel, including a suggested redesign of the attic and roof system, would cost $500,000.

“How long can we reasonably stay in the building we’re in, knowing what we know about it?” wondered Kids Kampus board member Molly Moser. “We feel we need to be serious about moving. Does that lead us to a temporary location while we would build something or work on something else?”

Another consideration is that GMHC may some day choose to expand onto the Kids Kampus site.

“That does not mean Kids Kampus is getting kicked out. [GMHC CEO] Tim [Ahlers] has assured us many times over that we would get notice long before that time would come,” Franzen said.

At the meeting, Ahlers said GMHC last year developed a 10-year master plan that encompasses the Kids Kampus site and other adjacent properties.

“To be honest with you, we do not have a timeline or deadline or anything like that. We’re not going to push anybody out,” he shared. “When things become available is when we want to take advantage of those opportunities. We want to help you figure out the next step.”

New Clayton Ridge Superintendent Jay Marley also expressed a desire to help. He said the school district is currently assessing its buildings and grounds, and will begin identifying priorities.

“We’re assessing what are the programs we need to correct within our current infrastructure before we expand. We’re also landlocked down here, so we’re pretty limited,” he said. “That’s where I’m struggling. I want to listen and I want to support. I’m looking at different avenues we could potentially do that.”

Childcare centers are highly regulated, requiring an on-site kitchen, sprinkler system or direct access from infant rooms, air conditioning, individual rooms sized to allow state-regulated staff-to-child ratios, windows in every room, restrooms in or near each room, fenced-in outdoor space and more.

The Kids Kampus board has toured both St. Mary’s—with emphasis on the 1962 “new school” building—and the Guttenberg Care Center as potential relocation sites, but Franzen stressed no decisions have been made. Both would require some changes and cost to accommodate a daycare center.

“That’s why we felt the need to bring this to the table between us, the school, the city and the hospital board—to try to collaborate forces between all of us and help come up with solutions for us to be sustainable long term. Communities that are going to be thriving need a daycare,” she said.

Guttenberg City Manager Jamie Blume agreed.

“There are certain building blocks communities need to be able to stay sustainable. You need places for people to live, places for people to work and places for them to take their children. Those are three of the basic building blocks to keep a community alive and well,” she said.

Moser added that was also reflected in the Clayton County Foundation for the Future’s 2023 county-wide childcare assessment, which showed Clayton County is 1,000 spaces short of childcare. It also revealed childcare as a workforce issue.

“We surveyed all the major employers in Clayton County and all reported having some sort of issue with employees who can’t come to work, come later or leave early because of daycare. This backs up that we need reliable, quality daycare,” Moser said.

However, Franzen noted childcare is not a profitable business. Kids Kampus generates revenue through the rates it charges parents. Without “breaking their piggy banks,” there is little left over for large repair jobs or financing a new site, she said. Although the board is staying abreast of funding and grant opportunities, it’s likely a large community fundraising campaign will be necessary.

No matter the space, Franzen said Kids Kampus hopes not to decline in size. In fact, the facility would love to grow if it’s financially responsible to do so.

The board hopes the community will partner in finding a solution.

Said board member Taylor Grinstead, “We’ve thought about staying in our space and doing the patchwork until we find something long-term. Do we do an extensive remodel, but where do kids go during an extensive remodel? All those things have led us to exploring some of the other facilities. Do we start from the ground up, but what does that look like because we don’t have ground? We’ve put, as a board, our heads together. Now, we’d like your ideas. Let’s form a committee and see if there are partnership opportunities if facilities or buildings are being upgraded. A committee could help with long-term planning while we continue to work on what is feasible for us to do short-term. Let’s put our heads together and see what these entities can bring to help move forward.”