SR-301-001 (8)
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OCT 1 1 1988
California
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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UNIC"L
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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,
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Marcie L. Simmons
Chairperson, Child Care Committee