The date a new daycare and preschool at the site of the Grace Baptist Church in Hope was meant to open has passed, with the project facing delays but determined to open this year.
In January, an ambitious daycare and preschool project for Hope was announced by project partners Yale First Nation, the Read Right Society and the Grace Baptist Church. Aided by $500,000 from the B.C. government, the plan was to accommodate 37 students in a daycare and preschool space for children as young as 12 months. Filling a gap in childcare for the community, as well as bringing together cultural groups and exposing young children to Indigenous curriculum were some of the ideals of the project.
Swetexl (pronounced swa teh hill and meaning rainbow in Halq’emeylem) will open assured Jodi McBride, executive director of the Read Right Society. She is taking both resumes for early childhood educators and applications from families in anticipation of this.
”Our goal was initially to be open for September, and we knew that was a very aggressive goal,” she said. “It just took a little bit longer with different kinds of permits and surveys the district required, so that set us back. But it’s definitely still moving forward.”
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The District of Hope required a geotechnical survey, to check whether the ground the building will go on is stable as is or needs to be changed before construction begins.
“In this case what’s being asked for is a geotechnical engineer for soil bearing capacity, so it’s more to do with the soils at the site. This is conducted in order to determine or confirm the soil’s ability to support a load applied to the ground, meaning can it hold the building up?” said Jas Gill, director of community development with the district.
The survey took around a month, McBride said, and the project partners are waiting to get the results back. She said the partners were surprised to be asked to complete this kind of survey, which added $5,000 to their budget and possibly more costs if changes to the ground are needed.
Gill said the district’s policy is not to talk about confidential matters before a building permit has been issued. At this point, the Swetexl partners have to provide information for their application but have not yet been granted a building permit. Once it’s been submitted, the plan will be reviewed by the district and a permit should be issued.
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In general terms, Gill said asking for these types of assessments is not out of the ordinary. The decision to ask for the assessment is made by the building inspector at the district and would depend on the types of soil at the building site.
“We want to make sure the structure that goes in there has the proper structural integrity,” he said. “And let’s say that the soils were bad, or not conducive to that building, you could have a shearing effect. The building could settle.”
Gill said each building application is placed in a queue when it comes to the district and remains in its place in the queue.
“We try to make sure that we’re meeting the best capacity that we have, for a small organization,” Gill said, adding the amount of development in the district this summer has been overwhelming.
The daycare building is a modular building being built off-site, so McBride added once all permits and surveys are a go the actual construction of the building could be finished within a matter of weeks.
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McBride said the families of the 12 children who have registered are anxious to know when they can get their kids into the space. For now, they are continuing with the arrangements they previously made, some with one parent staying home to care for the children and others waiting to go back to work.
“In the meantime, they’re just doing what they’ve been doing, because there’s been a shortage of daycare anyway in Hope. It’s not a good thing, but families are used to working around it,” she said.
McBride said the parents who have signed up were informed of the project goals, but were never promised the space would be open in September.
Without knowing the timelines of the build McBride said hiring can’t yet begin. She said there will be six to 10 people hired, including janitorial and support staff.
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