Jill Schramm/MDN Daycare operator Stacey Davis talks to the Minot Child Care Committee about creating more residential options for centers. Committee members shown, from left, are Rianne Kuhn, Bekka Oswill and Keli Rosselli-Sullivan.

A childcare committee has prepared a list of recommendations for the Minot City Council to consider as it looks for ways to increase the availability of services in the community.

The city-appointed committee met Wednesday to summarize its findings over the past year and settle on recommendations, which fall into six categories – people, information, grants, tax incentives, startup costs and buildings.

The committee is recommending the city designate sources of information, such as involving its economic development director in assisting childcare startups and creating online information sources and links to make resources easier to find for providers and parents. An annual event or childcare fair also was proposed for disseminating information.

The use of grant dollars to create childcare opportunities was proposed, although the emphasis was on finding existing funds in the city budget rather than seeking out new funds for such a program.

Council member Lisa Olson suggested creating a grant program to emulate what West Fargo is doing.

“I liked that grant program, and just listening to all the people that presented to us, it seems like infant care is the most critical need that we’re seeing. If we can encourage either current daycare providers or new daycare providers to provide more infant care, I think a grant program could come into play there,” Olson said.

Council member Scott Burlingame suggested earmarking $100,000 in the MAGIC Fund each year for childcare facilities to expand the numbers of children they serve. He also threw out the idea of $50,000 each year for microgrants of up to $200 for training and licensing employees.

The discussion of tax incentives focused on educating providers about property-tax exemptions already available under state law.

City Assessor Ryan Kamrowski said nonprofit centers already are tax-exempt, but cities have authority to provide exemption to for-profit centers on portions of buildings used for early childhood services in commercial zones. Kamrowski said his office hasn’t received applications. His recommendation is that the council approve a resolution stating the city will accept those applications.

Committee members also discussed the continued delays with background checks that get in the way of hiring employees. However, the state is addressing the backlog problem and plans to have improvements in place by this summer. Other startup recommendations include making CPR/first aid training more accessible and affordable by having the Minot Fire Department offer courses to childcare staff. Flexibility in zoning, such as easing parking requirements in commercial areas, also was suggested to aid operations looking for places to start up.

Stacey Davis, a childcare operator in Minot, spoke about her interest in expansion using residential property, but the committee determined that is an issue better addressed as part of discussion on Minot’s housing needs.

“We just had a housing study done,” said Doug Diedrichsen, principal planner for the City of Minot. “We are a lot of housing units short of what we should be for that starter home range. That is part of the reason why housing is so expensive.”

Converting housing into commercial space as daycares contradicts the goals of the planning initiative addressing housing, he said.

The building recommendation being forwarded to the council reflects the committee’s desire to engage the Minot school board in discussion about allowing the use of McKinley or Bell elementary buildings for childcare in light of the board’s decision to close those schools. The committee heard from one daycare provider interested in potentially using the McKinley school.