Bud 'n Bloom looking to grow

Details

Published on Thursday, February 23, 2017

By Eoin Devereux

The Neepawa Banner/Neepawa Press

The ongoing search for extra space continues for Budz ’n Bloom Daycare. The facility, which currently operates out of a 4,400 square foot location on Hamilton Street in Neepawa has been working for over two years on a multi-phased expansion plan. On Tuesday, Feb. 7, staff and board members provided an update to Neepawa Town Council on their progress. 

As part of that presentation, board member Marla Steen first shared some background details with the councillors on the operation. Budz ‘n Bloom is currently licensed for 52 children, subcategorized into eight infant slots, 32 openings for pre-school age children and 12 spots for school age children. They currently employ 13 staff members.

From this starting point, Steen shifted attention to the rapidly growing need within the community for more available child care spaces, noting that parents must first sign up with the Manitoba Online Child Care Registry in order to secure a place for their child. For Budz ‘n Bloom alone, there is a current waiting list of 45 children hoping to find a spot. Steen noted that the backlog is a growing concern for families in and around Neepawa, and will only get worse.

“Due to the rapid growth in Neepawa in recent years, there are critical shortages for daycare in our community. According to the Manitoba Online Childcare Registry, there are only six licensed daycare providers [within Neepawa and surrounding area], with two scheduled to close later this year,” stated Steen. “Many parents have become frustrated with the wait times and are simply giving up on the wait lists. Some parents have chosen to deal with it by working night shifts when possible or driving their children to daycares out of town.”

To combat the trend, Budz n’ Bloom developed a two phase expansion plan to help alleviate the daycare shortage problem. Phase one looks to establish a temporary location for a before and after school program, with an anticipated start date of Sept. 2017, then relocate the school age program to an offsite location. That move would enable them to increase the program by 15 children, with a reallocation for three additional school age and 12 pre-schoolers off the current waiting list. While board members and staff have been working to find a temporary location for a before and after school program for over two years, it’s been a difficult search, as there are very specific provincial mandated requirements that must be followed. Several local options that have already been explored either don’t have available space (NACI, HMK), or can’t comply with the required guidelines (local churches, existing available business locations).

Recently, Budz ‘n Bloom found an organization that is willing to look at the possibility of renting them space for a temporary location and are working through the licensing requirements. Unfortunately, this proposed location is not within walking distance to the school, requiring bussing via Beautiful Plains School Division.

Phase two of the plan would see Budz ’n Bloom obtain land to build a second location that would include infant and school age spots to reduce the waiting list for quality, licensed day care in Neepawa and the surrounding area. In an interview with the Neepawa Press after the presentation, Steen indicated that finding a location remains the priority.

“We’re actively pursuing land. If something comes up that meets our needs, we’ll access it, but at this point, we do not have any land singled out. [Neepawa town council] made a few suggestions on possible locations to explore. We’re in the process of tracking down details on those properties. The next meeting [for the Budz ’n Bloom board] is on the first of March, so that’ll be something we’ll be able to discuss as a board,” stressed Steen. “But our big thing is to locate land that we’ll be able to build a building on. Once the purchase of land is done, then we’ll move into the fundraising part. It’s a huge undertaking for a non-profit like us. We’d be looking for grants, doing some type of major fundraising effort, but at this point, it’s more important to focus on getting that land.”