HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes.KFAB.20220805.RegularKids First Mission: Promote the availability of quality, affordable early childhood care &
education, and provide access to early childhood information and resources.
Kids First Advisory Board Meeting Minutes
Friday, August 5th, 2022
In attendance: Stefan Reveal, Chad Schmit, Mimi Hauenstein, Michaela Idhammar-Ketpura, Sue Way, Logan
Hood, Shirley Ritter, Nancy Nichols Guest: Kate Kalstein and 3 public visitors.
➢ Approved minutes from July 8th, 2022: Chad moved to approve, Sue seconded, MPU.
DESIRED OUTCOMES:
● Understand Capacity goal next steps -
Yellow Brick – Kids First is continuing to work with the qualified bidder to operate in the yellow brick
classrooms to understand budgeting, staffing, startup requirements and to move towards opening
classrooms at the Yellow Brick.
CMC – Continuing to work with the potential childcare operator. Kids First staff has assisted with
getting documentation and course plans submitted to Colorado Shines for a credential level. A Colorado
Shines credential is required for the operator. Kids First staff has also talked with licensing and is
working to qualify this individual so that the infant room can be opened.
Burlingame – The design process continues to move forward with a presentation scheduled for the Aug
16th city council work session. (This work session changed to 8-22-22). The group continues to think
about ways to include housing in the long term.
Funding update – Sara Ott recently went to Washington DC to advocate for funding from our elected
officials, for the new childcare project at Burlingame. We will not receive these funds, but we plan to
develop a capital campaign to have additional funding.
• Understanding the Burlingame Early Childhood Center Report –
Kate Kalstein presented her draft report to a group of stakeholders on Wed., Aug 3rd and reviewed her
findings and the information collected at the presentation to the Kids First Advisory Board meeting.
Report out:
The Burlingame Ranch Early Childhood Center should provide affordable, inclusive, high quality, early
childhood learning and development experiences to meet the needs of working families in the City of
Aspen. This especially includes offerings for infant and toddler care. Support for the youngest children
as well as support for home based informal childcare providers will help ensure each child in care within
the City of Aspen has access to a developmentally appropriate high quality learning experience and
social emotional support for both children and caregivers.
Her work focused on information to assist in moving forward with the Burlingame project and
understanding the next steps. The report and work session broke down three remaining areas to focus
which include: Role Clarification, Funding Development/Execution and More Data finding across the
region.
She asked that each Kids First Advisory Board member take some time to read through the report and to
discuss with each other and share additional thoughts. She would like to have Kids First Advisory Board
members feedback so she can add to the report and insure to the final report in inclusive of thoughts and
ideas of the childcare stakeholders.
• Understand and agree on the next steps to support early childhood work force and retention
Shirley has been working with the Finance Dept, CMO, and HR to provide additional information for a
financial model that would support childcare staff recruitment and retention. This information includes
examples of how the childcare programs could work with Kids First and develop a plan for the childcare
programs to receive the full funding in first year and then begin to reduce the funding from The City of
Aspen and collect the funding by increasing tuition thus shifting the funding to becoming part of the
programs compensation and not granted funds from The City of Aspen. This plan would be over the
next 7 years and would include some additional coaching and budget training for childcare directors.
The Kids First Advisory Board members discussed this model and agreed that grant funding to the
programs would be a big help. The discussion also included concerns about having the childcare
programs become responsible for these funds. Kids First staff will work more on the program – the
funding for this program needs city council budget approval. No decision was made at this time.
Next meetings: - Kids First Advisory Board
City Council Work session, critical goal updates August 2, 2022, 4 pm
City Council Work session, Burlingame design direction, August 16, 2022, 4 pm
City Council Work session, childcare capacity critical goal update, Sept 19, 4 pm
Friday, September 9 – New Date
Friday, October 7
Friday, November 4
Friday, December 2