Aurora seeks $1.25 million for day care center

Talk of a day care shortage in Aurora has been running through town for years, but for Aurora Child Care's board of directors, it all comes down to one question.

If a new industry came to town, could Aurora provide its work force with sufficient child care?

"The answer to that is no, at least not with the situation we have right now," said Christian Evans, a member of the group's board and executive director of the Aurora Area Chamber and Development Corp.

That's why, after several years of talk and three years of task force work, the group is moving forward with a proposed $1.25 million community child care center in Aurora.

To be sure, Aurora is not without day care options now, but all of them are in-home providers. Many of those providers have a waiting list, and their number is shrinking -- two have had to quit recently because of family illnesses, Evans said.

Evans told chamber and development members at a meeting Tuesday that he sees at least one person a week come into the chamber office to pick up a list of day care providers.

The problem is worse in the summer, when more families are moving in, he said.

"We're fortunate to have these people coming in," Evans said. "It's just been frustrating for some of those people, because they make calls and it's hard to find places for them."

Results of a 2006 survey by the chamber back that frustration up. Of that survey's 191 respondents, 30 indicated they would re-enter the work force if quality child care was available.

Dennis Ferguson, president of Aurora Child Care, which was formed earlier this year by the Aurora chamber, said the day care's need is ultimately a work force issue.

"We just feel that this is just another spoke in Aurora's wheel to keep everything moving forward," Ferguson said.

Plans are complete for the 6,500-square-foot building, which would have a capacity of 80 to 100 children. The center would include two fenced-in play areas, two infant rooms, a storm shelter, space for a preschool program and offices, kitchen and laundry facilities.

At full capacity, the center would be staffed by eight full-time and 10 part-time staff. A few of Aurora's in-home providers have expressed interest in moving their work there, Evans said, though none of the staff have been determined.

A site of about three-quarters of an acre has been selected just southeast of the intersection of highways 34 and 14. The group expects to purchase it from the Aurora Veterinary Clinic in December.

It hopes to break ground on the center next spring and finish it near the end of 2009.

But first, the group has to raise the money to pay for it. They've begun a fundraising blitz, approaching businesses and individuals in town looking for donations.

Ferguson said he knows the current economic climate might make people reluctant to give, but he hopes to have an idea of how much funding will be in place by the end of the year.

"It's not the best time, but when is it a good time?" he said.

Ferguson said that if enough money doesn't come in, the group may scale back the project or borrow money to complete it. But it will be built in some form, he said.

In the end, he said, this project will require residents and businesses from across the Aurora area to take ownership -- especially since resolving a child care crisis benefits the town as a whole.

"It's really going to take the entire community coming together on this to make this work," Ferguson said.