Kosciusko Chamber of Commerce CEO Rob Parker, left, and YMCA of Kosciusko County CEO Jim Swanson, right, speak to the Warsaw Common Council Monday about a play café going into the YMCA’s main campus. Photo by David Slone, Times-Union.

By David Slone,
Times-Union

WARSAW — Space at Parkview YMCA will be renovated to become a Play Café with some of the city of Warsaw’s American Rescue Plan Act dollars helping out.

At the Warsaw Common Council meeting Monday night, Aug. 19, Kosciusko Chamber of Commerce President and CEO Rob Parker, speaking on behalf of LaunchPad — an early learning and childcare coalition of the chamber — requested a change to the ARPA memorandum of understanding between the city and LaunchPad.

“So what we’re asking is very minimal changes to the ARPA dollars that allow us to still continue to advance childcare in our community by bringing on a partner with the Y and creating what we’re calling a Play Café for parents with children from the ages of 0 to 3, maybe a little bit above that as well, to come in and allow their child to be watched by a childcare provider while they are continuing to do work and making conference calls and engaging in business that is good for our community,” Parker said.

He said the idea is to take the city’s ARPA dollars that were allocated to help businesses create childcares for their employees and instead use them for the Play Café so remote workers can access childcare more readily and easily. Other people, who may not be working, can use the Play Café as well, but the intent is to have quiet rooms, quiet space, conference calls and get work done while young children 0-3 are being watched.

Parker said they’ve already received funding from the Lilly Foundation through the Kosciusko County Community Foundation to help fund the project, but the city’s ARPA dollars will help fund it to fruition.

He read the proposed changes to the MOU, which include adding the words “furniture and equipment” so they can be purchased and changing “state licensing” to “license-exemption status,” which the YMCA would have.

Councilwoman Diane Quance asked if all the ARPA money would go toward that, and Parker said he anticipated that it would.

“We want to use that money, we don’t want to give it back (to the federal government),” she said.

Parker said construction costs continue to rise, but there’s enough dollars in ARPA to cover those costs.

Councilman Mike Klondaris said it was his understanding a person didn’t need to be a member of the YMCA to take advantage of the program, and Parker said that was correct.

Jim Swanson, YMCA CEO, said the buildout would include some sort of concept of a play café in renovated space of the Y’s lobby space. The cost would be about $750,000.

“The space that we will renovate was given to us by Parkview Health. So if you’ve come into our building before, you look to the right, there’s the Parkview Health Center that will be renovated into the play café,” Swanson said.

Parker said that’s where the kids will be, and then outside of that is where the café concept comes in. There will be a separation but still viewable to the kids inside.

Council President Jack Wilhite, “It’s my understanding that, as the MOU was written initially, it was more focused on helping businesses come up with childcare for their employees. And this kind of pivots to a point where someone like the Y can help the entire community.”

Parker said that was correct.

Wilhite said he liked the idea that it was helping people who work from home but they have to have a meeting from time to time.

He said it seems like something that is more needed than what the first vision of the ARPA dollars was.

The caregivers have to stay on the YMCA’s premises while they’re child is being watched.

Swanson said there will be a fee to rent a spot by the hour, which is customary to all concepts like this. He said it will be a modest fee, but they’re not sure what it will be yet. A person can buy blocks of hour.

Councilman Josh Finch asked what the maximum capacity will be for adults and children. Parker said it’ll depend on the size and how many adults are in there, but potentially 12-14 at any given time. With infants, it’s one adult for every four children.

As not everyone had an amended and dated MOU, no action was taken Monday. It will be put on the Sept. 3 council agenda.