The City of Trail will be building a new 65 full-time space childcare centre.
According to the City, the “Unicorn Childcare Centre” will run from 4:30 a.m. to 8:00 p.m., seven days a week, all year-round.
“We are extremely grateful for the provincial funding for this much-needed facility,” said Mayor Lisa Pasin. “Several key local community stakeholders including the Skills Centre, Teck, and Interior Health have been actively pursuing a community childcare initiative for more than three years and we are thrilled to know these efforts will now come to fruition.”
The City is receiving $2,558,240 in grant funding jointly from the Ministry of Children and Family Development’s Childcare BC New Spaces Fund and the Union of British Columbia Municipalities. Also, an additional $50,000 is being committed by Columbia Basin Trust to put towards supply costs.
With the centre set to be built at the north end of Kootenay Avenue in Tadanac, it will be owned by the City of Trail but managed by a non-profit childcare agency.
Several studies over the last 15 years identified the need for childcare which led to the grant application by the City which said more recently a 2018 feasibility study by the Skills Centre under the contracted services of Bock and Associates showed the need.
“The study reveals the current availability of childcare creates a significant barrier to families, mainly those working in shift work environments,” said Sue Bock, President, Bock and Associates. “Knowing we will be able to accommodate families needing shift-friendly childcare is a huge win for our community as well as our local workplaces relying on parents working outside of traditional work hours.”
The new childcare centre is expected to be up and running by September of 2022.