WAUPUN — The Waupun City Council voted to extend the Childcare Stabilization Grant for another year at the Common Council meeting Tuesday, February 11, 2025.
In the agenda meeting packet, the item describes the current state of the grand, and the proposed change to the application deadline.
“The Childcare Stabilization Grant was established in 2023 with the goal of expanding licensed childcare slots in the City of Waupun available to working families,” the agenda item said. “To date, $125,000 of the $250,000 reserve has been expended with the first recipient being Wee Care. Staff is working with an interested provider but is struggling to find a suitable location for the facility. The Childcare Stabilization Grant as drafted expired December 31, 2024. We are seeking approval for an extension of the program application deadline of December 31, 2025, with awarded projects completing by June 30, 2026.”
Alderman Jason Westphal asked to clarify if the program was an extension of the existing grant program, or a renewal that would allow organizations who were previously awarded to apply again, which City Administrator Kathy Schlieve said was just an extension and would not take reapplications.
Alderman Dan Siebers asked if there was anything in the pipeline that they could talk about, to which Schlieve said there were some prospects, but the main limiting factor is acquiring a suitable facility for a daycare in town.
“We were close, we just need some more time,” Mayor Bishop said. “This is worth working on.”
No specific names were mentioned at the meeting for prospective daycare centers.
The motion was passed unanimously by the Council. The Council went on to discuss other matters for the rest of the meeting.
“Access to quality childcare is a critical issue for Wisconsin’s workforce,” Schlieve said in a statement following the meeting. “This is not a problem unique to Waupun. As a community, we have been a leader in thinking about this issue however.”
“Our initial award with Wee Care increased available space at that facility by supporting a facility remodel,” Schlieve said. “We are currently working with a prospective provider to bring additional service to Waupun. However, we are challenged with finding a suitable facility that meets all of the needed requirements, given the degree of regulation licensed childcare facilities must comply with. For that reason, we asked the council to extend the deadline for the grant program created until the end of this year as we work to solve this space challenge.”
There were a few major attempts over the last year to start a new childcare service in Waupun, but for one reason or another each attempt fell through.
Back in October, a new daycare service called Tiny Hero’s Daycare announced to Facebook they would be opening in March 2025, but in early December announced that their plans to purchase a property had fallen through. However, they assured readers that they were still trying to make it happen even if their timeline has been pushed back.
Extending the grant would give Tiny Hero’s Daycare another chance at receiving the grant if they can secure a facility, along with other new daycare center if others are formed and apply.
