By Pepper Fisher
PORT ANGELES – Olympic Peninsula YMCA is planning to build an 8,000 square-foot childcare facility that would serve up to 92 kids next door to the Port Angeles YMCA.
The project is sorely needed, according to CEO Wendy Bart, who says that even before the pandemic, there were lots of unemployed workers in our community who would return to work if they could find reliable, affordable childcare.
“It was a problem pre-pandemic and it got worse during the pandemic, because many childcare providers actually ended up closing up shop because it was just a really challenging time to be providing childcare. So, this is critical to the economic recovery of our community. People can’t work if they don’t have care for their children.”
The estimated $4.5 million project will be located on property already owned by the YMCA in the heart of town. The Y has allocated over $1 million of its own funds, including the value of the property. They also received $1 million from the Washington State Department of Commerce’s Early Learning Facilities Program, and they’ve requested $500,000 from Clallam County to be applied to the cost of this project.
County Commissioner Mark Ozias told KONP the Board considered the request, along with two similar requests from Peninsula Housing Authority, in a work session earlier this week. He says they’ll have to review the proposals to ensure they would qualify for available federal ARPA funds before any decisions will be made.
As for Bart, she’s clear that there is a lot of fundraising left to be done, but she and her staff are also steadfast in making sure that the YMCA in Port Angeles will have a new, 8,000 square-foot early learning facility in the near future.
“We’re committed. We are all in for this project. We want to get it done as quickly as possible because the need is right now. We anticipate it taking along the lines of 18 months. And yes, when you talk about funding, we have to secure the funding to make it work. So, we are working very hard to secure the funding we need to make this project a reality.”
(Port Angeles YMCA photo from Facebook)