7.1. SR 03-26-2001MEMORANDUM
Item ~ 7.1
TO:
FROM:
DATE:
Mayor and City Council
Pat Klaers, City Ad.or
March 26, 2001
SUBJECT: Municipal Facilities
At the end of the March 19, 2001 City Council meeting, Councilmember Kuester requested
that the City Council spend a fe~v minutes in a worksession setting to discuss city and
community facilities. This is a topic that has generated a great deal of discussion and publicity
over the past year. Projects related to this discussion topic include at least the folloxving: · the Lions Club (and City) project in Lions Park
· the potential loss of the small theater in the senior high
· the family center grant for the school district project (C.Ed.) - see attachment
· City Hall expansion plus maybe large meeting room space
· YMCA and City project
· "Center for Community" Committee (by way of the Operation ER project)
State awards diStrict $500,000 grant for family center project
by Jim Boyle
Editor
The Minnesota Depart-
ment of Children, Families
and Learning has awarded
the Elk River Area School
District the promise of
$500,000 in bonding money
for a family center.
Now school district and
agencies which have part-
nered up must figure out a
way to get one built.
The initial footprint calls
for a 33,800-square-foot
building estimated to cost
about $4.5 million. The
grant money would come
upon completion of a proj-
ect.
Charlie Blesener, adminis-
trator of District 728
Community Education
made the grant award pub-
lic last week at a meeting of
the Elk River Area School
Board.
More than one-half dozen
agencies have partnered up
with the school district so
far to pursue a family cen-
ter.
The state issued the grant
in recognition that. early
childhood education spaces
are a challenge for school
districts to provide.
"The need for us has
always been there,"
Blesener said. "This just
gives it a higher profile."
The school board accepted
the grant and asked about
Grant cont'd to page 7
Grant
Continued from page 1
a ti~neline.
Blesener said one has not
been set, but that is one of
the next steps. Meanwhile,
the organizations involved
would continue to seek
funds.
Sherburne County Public
Health, Sherburne County
Social Services, Reach
Up/Head Start of St. Cloud,
Migrant Head Start, Child
Care Choices, Inc. and sev-
eral representatives of the
Elk River Area School
District worked on getting
the grant.
The Elk River Area School
District is looking for a ded-
icated space for community
education, early childhood
education, early childhood
special education, early
'childhood screening, Adult
Basle Education and a
young parents program.
Public Health envisions
having space for its Women,
Infants and Children pro-
gram. Social services is
seeking to co-locate its
supervised visitation and
crisis nursery in a center.
Migrant Head Start would
like space to deal with the
wave of needs generated by
the wave of migrant work-
ers. Child Care Choices
wants to have space to help
train child care providers.
For years early childhood
programs in the Elk River
Area School District have
gotten pushed around as
the district ran out of space.
A family center would be
permanent space for early
childhood program under.
the terms of the grant,
Blesener said.