Eastern Charlotte has signed a 10-year agreement with the YMCA of Southwest New Brunswick to operate its new childcare facility.
The facility is expected to offer 82 spaces in total. Of those, 52 are childcare spaces and 30 are after-school spaces.
Council previously rejected the tender because of a funding cap imposed by the provincial Regional Development Corporation (RDC), pending a plan to raise the remaining funds.
The construction cost of the facility is $2.38 million, with an additional $365,000 in soft costs and $250,000 in fit-up costs, bringing the total project cost to just under $3 million, according to Eastern Charlotte.
The provincial government provided $920,000, the federal government contributed $918,000 and the municipality added $400,000. Another $500,000 was donated by a private donor.
That leaves approximately $257,000 to be raised by the YMCA. The organization has set a fundraising target of $750,000.
Gillies LePage, the minister responsible for the Regional Development Corporation, said there was a lack of childcare in the Eastern Charlotte area.
“It was a collaboration between education, RDC and the federal government, and of course, with the municipality and now the YMCA to manage everything,” he told The Courier.
LePage said the intention is to allow parents, who have been unable to work because they cannot find childcare, to return to the workforce.
“We will have more people in the workforce and safer places for kids to grow up, learn and have fun,” he said.
He said it also is an opportunity for the community to grow and for families to settle in the area.
For Shilo Boucher, the facility will be purpose-built.
“You can design it exactly the way the kids need it to be designed,” she said. “We’ve done a few of these, this is not our first one and the architect has worked alongside us for about a year, so we have their expertise.”
The facility is expected to create 15 to 20 jobs. Boucher said the YMCA will help anyone who wishes to pursue a degree in early childhood education (ECE).
Saint John-Kennebecasis MP Wayne Long said it was an amazing day for St. George.
“I’ve worked in Charlotte County, worked here in St. George for 15 years; even back then there was a dire need for affordable child care here,” he said.
The federal and provincial governments have committed to the $10-a-day child-care plan, although these spaces will cost a bit more than that.
YMCA chief operating officer Adrienne Boudreau previously told council fees would be $19 a day for one-year-olds and $16 a day for preschool children.
Long said it will take time to achieve the $10 a day goal.
“There’s going to be more affordable daycare spaces, and that’s what our government is all about,” he said. “We want to make sure that families can work.”
Eastern Charlotte Mayor John Craig said this was something that had been left over from the previous council’s mandate.
He said the partnership with the YMCA is key to operating the facility.
“Having a professional group like that as a partner,” he said. “It means so much.”
The building will be constructed on J.O. Spinney Drive and construction has begun. Craig has previously said the goal is for the project to be completed by mid-2027.
