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SR-301-001 (8) . '3tJ/~OO/ . )l-A OCT 1 1 1988 California CM:JJ:BM:BS:LC:KKS:dvm City Council Meeting 10/11/88 Santa Monica, TO: Mayor and City Council FROM: city staff SUBJECT: Report on the status of Santa Monica Child Care Efforts and Request for Authorization to Proceed to Develop a child Care center for City Employees and Residents. INTRODUCTION This report provides Council with an update on the City's Employee Child Care Benefit Program. Although Council has adopted far reaching policies for its employees in this area, space constraints in Santa Monica have stalled efforts to fully implement several components in the program. In response, staff requests authorization to proceed to develop and implement a City sponsored child care/pre-school facility at Marine Park which would be open to city employees and the community alike. BACKGROUND Four issues commonly arise when describing the difficulty working parents have while looking for safe and reliable care for their children during working hours: availability, affordability, accessibility and quality. Child care service delivery is a complex system of care that is comprised of a mix of private and public providers, formal and informal arrangements, regulated, unregulated, exempt from regulation and illegal situations. Many parents find themselves - 1 - , I-L\ ICi 11 1~& . . caught in this quagmire being forced to put together patchwork arrangements that often lack in reliability and can be inadequate in quality. City council addressed these issues for City employees in 1986 by directing staff to develop a comprehensive child care program for city employees through a three phased program. Phase I sought to directly assist City employees with children through a Dependent Care Assistance program (DCAP). This phase provides a $100 per month subsidy to income eligible employees and a tax free salary set aside program. Phases II and III were designed to benefit employees indirectly by expanding community based child care options through the provision of start-up funds and a small amount of on-going support so that local providers could expand current programs at facilities already being used for child care services. Request for Proposals to implement Phases II and III have been inadequately responded to by potential child care providers on two occasions. staff researched the reasons behind the low response rates and found that lack of space, both facilities and open space that is appropriate and affordable, is the primary barrier to developing new child care programs in Santa Monica. Therefore, it has been determined that by providing space as well as start up costs the City can eliminate a major obstacle to fully implementing the City's employee child care program. At the same time, the City can play a vital role as a catalyst in the development and expansion of new community based and employer - 2 - . . supported child care programs and take the lead in creating work environments that are supportive of family life. DISCUSSION Marine Park is located two blocks east of Lincoln on Marine Avenue in the southwest portion of Sunset Park. Staff proposes that a portion of it be used as the site for the City sponsored child care center. The park consists of the Marine Park Community Center and outdoor open space. The Community Center is approximately 6,000 square feet of building space consisting of a series of rooms, offices, an auditorium, and an interior courtyard. Staff proposes to convert a portion of the building space (approximately 3,000 square feet) into a child care center. The space to be upgraded is presently being used for storage, occasional day meetings, evening meetings and as office space for staff of Recreation and Parks. Unimproved outdoor space of approximately 4,000 square feet will be used for the center/pre-school yard. Currently, this side area on the eastern edge of the building is used only as a path to the park play areas. State licensing requires the outdoor yard be for the exclusive use of the child care program. Of total open park space, the dedicated area represents less than 1%. Of the general park area adjacent to the community center, exclusive of existing courts and buildings, the area represents only 6%. Current Community Center daytime uses include a tiny tots program which is compatible with and could be creatively incorporated - 3 - . . into the proposed program. other periodic users include Emeritus College and Senior Health and Peer Counseling programs. These programs will be eligible for and can be transferred to the new meeting space in the Ken Edwards Center or other community facilities. In addition, some City sponsored groups use one of the meeting rooms once a month . Current use of Community Center meeting rooms in the evening include arts and crafts and adult education. These programs will be transferred to other park facilities. other evening uses, such as AA and christian Bible fellowship classes will be relocated. The Director of Cultural and Recreation services will be negotiating with churches to provide meeting space for these uses. Additionally, community meeting space has been included in the NME and Southmark developer agreements. The outdoor park uses, such as baseball and soccer, will not be affected in any way by the project. After school programming will not be affected as well, in either the playing fields or auditorium uses. The site will accommodate a center for approximately 60 children, including a mix of infants, pre-schoolers, school age, and mildly ill as determined by the provider, an employee needs assessment and other child care needs analyses. Primary slots will be available to City employees. The remainder will be available to neighborhood residents and then other families in the community. The Marine Park Community Center offers a unique opportunity for a City sponsored child care center. The setting is ideal for a - 4 - . . child care center within a park context. The building can be easily converted into classrooms and the side yard will be designed to blend with the rest of the park. The pre-school will not compete for current park open space or playing fields and will not result in a decrease in overall park programs because existing uses will be transferred to other park facilities or absorbed. In addition, as part of the design phase, staff will explore with the community desirable minor capital improvements. The establishment of a child care/pre-school will complement current park usage, and enhance the safety and quality of life for children and families in the program and surrounding neighborhood. BUDGETING FISCAL IMPACT In the original staff report approving the City's child care program, initial estimated costs of Phase II and III were approximately $161,000 for start-up costs and a minimum of $6,500 in ongoing annual operating subsidies. $150,000 is requested to provide start-up funds for facility design and renovation. Funds are to be appropriated from the General Fund Reserves to CIP account #01-710-262-000-953 when program components are ready to be implemented. RECOMMENDATIONS Staff requests council authorization: (1) to utilize a portion of Marine Park as the site for a child care centeri (2) to work in consultation with the Recreation and Parks - 5 - . . commission and other interested groups to incorporate community input into planning the center. (3) to issue an RFP for an operator to design, develop and operate the center/pre-school including designating a consultant to fully implement the start up of the center, and (4) to appropriate $150,000 from General Fund Reserves to CIP account #01-710-262-000-953 for facility design and renovation. Prepared By: John Jalili, City Manager Barbara Moran, Dir. Cultural & Rec. Services Barbara stinchfield, Mgr. Comm. & Neigh. Servo Div. Kathryn K. Spellman, Sr. Management Analyst Liz Casey, Assist. Planner - PPD w/childrpt - 6 - , ~ UNIC"L . II-If- .. POBOX 748 SANTA MONICA CALIFORNIA 90406 SSOCIATION (213) 393-6044 October 11, 1988 Dear Honorable Mayor Conn and city Councilmembers, The Municipal Employees Association wishes to express its complete support of the proposed city-sponsored child care/pre-school facility at Marine Park. This will not only provide City employees with the opportunity of acquiring affordable and quality day care but the location will enable parents to visit their children during the lunch hour, especially the infant and mild sick care programs. The proximity to City Hall will ease the burden of scheduling medical and dental appointments for our children and in emergency situations, the anxiety factor of distance from our children will be eliminated. The completion of the last two phases of the benefit plan along with the on-going DCAP Program demonstrates the city's support of the family and sensitivity to the expressed needs of our working parents. Contained in this crucial part of the plan are the areas of greatest concern to MEA employees--dependable infant care so we can return to work with peace of mind and a comforting place for our mildly sick children so that in our absence we know they are well cared for. We need a place for the final components of our benefit plan. The Marine Park site answers our need. On behalf of the Municipal Employees Association, we enthusiastically endorse the recommendations of staff and applaud the completion of our Child Care Benefit Plan. Respectfully, -;r;~ r/~ Marcie L. Simmons Chairperson, Child Care Committee