Council approves day care study

After 20 minutes of some intense discussions and a few pointed comments and questions, the Humboldt City Council agreed Monday night to move forward with plans to look into the development of the former Humboldt Fire Station area north of Humboldt City Hall, as the location for a future community day care center. Humboldt City Administrator Aaron Burnett told the Council that an engineer’s estimate to have the building remodeled to convert the current garage space into a day care center would be in the neighborhood of $350,000. He said work would include exterior and interior construction, removal of the existing overhead bay doors, a new roof and some concrete removed in the present driveway to allow for a secure and separate entrance for a day care center. Burnett explained a possible funding scenario to pay for the project. He said $200,000 of the project cost could come from tax increment financing in the city’s central business district. The city just retired some debt in the area through bond refinancing. He said the other $150,000 could come from the city’s revolving loan fund, which would be repaid. To read about City Council and mayoral reaction to the proposal read this week's Humboldt Independent. Subscribe today by clicking on the link at the top of this page.