Erika Leckie has been working towards opening a childcare center in Crookston since October of 2017 and on Tuesday she described her vision for a childcare center at the former Glenmore Recovery Center, which is her leading candidate for the future site of a childcare center. “I’ve been here before and this is a perfect spot for a daycare center,” said Leckie. “Working at centers before, this building, space, everything would be perfect for a childcare center.”
There is no set timeline to open a childcare center in Crookston, but Leckie says it’s all dependent on how long permitting takes from the State. “If the building gets done and all that gets done with construction work if this is the building it could be a year to a year and a half, maybe sooner,” said Leckie. “Really its all how long it takes the State to come back. I can have my part done in a couple weeks and then once the building is complete the licensures from St. Paul come out and they will tell you when you can open if it meets the rules and regulations. When you start from the beginning, they say it usually takes six to twelve months.”
Leckie and the group she has been working with have created a board and are filing for non-profit status with the hopes of opening a childcare center under the name Regal Academy Childcare Center. As a non-profit, the hope is the center would not compete with local family childcare already being provided in Crookston although the center could serve many infants and toddlers. “Jeff [Evers] has offered numerous spaces for us so we can definitely expand here,” said Leckie. “We can start off small and if the need gets more, we absolutely can expand. I’d say 60 to 85 might be the starter number. Maybe start off at the lower end with 60 or lower and if the need progress we have the opportunity to get licensed for higher numbers.”
Leckie and her group are hoping to quantify the need for a childcare center in Crookston during the next time they get together near the end of the month. Whether there is support for a large childcare center may be dependent on how big of a crisis the data shows there is in town.
