County commissioners:

In other business
By Scott Nicholson
nicholson@wataugademocrat.com

April has been designated “The Month of the Young Child,” but more childcare is still needed, especially for toddlers.

Jennifer Wilson-Kearse, executive director of the Watauga County Children’s Council, presented the draft of a proclamation, which supports early learning opportunities for youth and providing high-quality child care in the county, to the Watauga County commissioners.

Wilson-Kearse said despite the progress in adding more family childcare homes, there’s still a shortage of providers.

“About 70 percent of our referrals are for infants and toddlers,” she told the commissioners. “But we have only about three slots at any given time.”

Last year, Watauga County had 1,883 children age 5 or under, with 36 percent in licensed child care.
That was about 10 percent higher than the statewide average. The Children’s Council received 359 requests for child care last year.

Kearse said there were difficulties in locating childcare facilities outside Boone town limits because of septic-tank permitting and well-water requirements. High land and development costs inhibit the addition of new childcare centers, and Kearse said the need for more childcare slots for infants will continue.

That need has partly been met through family childcare homes, in which stay-at-home parents keep a small number of children who aren’t family members.

Despite the shortage, Kearse said the quality of childcare was improving, as more workers continue to get training and improve the overall “star rating” of daycare facilities.

Star ratings have risen steadily as more childcare providers raise their educational levels or get special training or certification.

The average star rating in the county has gone from 2.36 to 3.9 over the past five years, with a rating of 5 being the maximum rating.

The county employs 209 childcare workers, and they earn an average of $8 per hour. The industry generates gross receipts of $5.3 million a year.

• The commissioners held a required public hearing to apply for a Community Development Block Grant of $1.1 million to be used for a new Hospitality House facility. No one spoke at the hearing, and the money, if approved, would help construct a homeless shelter on land donated by the county in the Bamboo area. The Hospitality House plans to sell three downtown facilities to help pay for the new building, which will also include a commercial kitchen.

• A grant application for $168,000 was approved, with the money to be used for stream bank restoration along 1,500 feet of Watauga River headwaters.

The project has already received $84,000 in matching funds from the N.C. Division of Water Resources and will be administered by the Watauga Soil and Water Conservation District board. The project will limit erosion and preserve trout habitat near the base of Grandfather Mountain.

• The commissioners also approved a bid for $100,714 to conduct stream bank restoration along the South Fork of the New River along Brookshire Park in Boone.

The bids all came in higher than the grant amount awarded by the N.C. Division of Water Resources, so the county negotiated with the low bidder to reduce the project from 517 feet to 317 feet of restoration, with spot repairs made to other sections. Blue Ridge Grading and Trucking was the winning bidder.

• The commissioners also approved a grant application for $5,000 to fund a hazardous materials drill. The grants are awarded annually by the N.C. Department of Crime Control and Public Safety for emergency planning and training activities.

• The commissioners approved a bid of $32,834 for Southern Paint and Waterproofing Company to conduct repairs on the 1983-era portion of the courthouse. Work will begin in April. David Koppenhaver was appointed as a town of Boone representative to the Watauga County Recreation Commission.