Overton County officials are seeking a $250,000 Three-Star grant to help bring a new affordable childcare facility to the community.
Livingston-Overton County Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Zach Stephens proposed the idea to the county commission Monday night. Stephens proposed a plan to repurpose the current Health Department building into a childcare center that could house up to 100 kids.
“The county would lease an independent operator, so there would not be any new county employees, but in return, the county’s employees would receive priority enrollment to this facility,” Stephens said.
Stephens said he learned about the county’s need for affordable child care after speaking with many community stakeholders. Stephens said stakeholders like the hospital and Overton County Health and Rehab are very supportive of the proposal.
“I have spoken with the CEO of the hospital, they are interested in buying slots in this facility because many of their workers, I think they employ about 325 people, and many of their workers really have an issue with finding childcare,” Stephens said. “The same is true for many of our manufacturers and other large businesses.”
Stephens said the $250,000 would be used to have TCAT Livingston do the renovation. Stephens said he communicated with the Director of the Tennessee Small Business Development Center and the Upper Cumberland Development District to ensure the plan is viable.
“You are going to see that we believe it is,” Stephens said. “We can create new jobs through this, we can offer, you know, 100 slot childcare at a truly affordable rate compared to other counties in the Upper Cumberland.”
Stephens said he will also pursue additional grants to purchase equipment for the facility and expressed confidence that those applications will be successful. Empower UC Resource Coordinator Jody Sliger also outlined the process that would follow if the county is awarded the Three-Star grant.
“It has to be approved by DHS, it would have to be approved by Fire Marshal, there’s other Tennessee Human Services, that all of those things have to be done, recognized as officially, like you’ve been certified, and then a certified childcare provider can submit bids or however that is determined to come in and do the actual delivery of the service,” Sliger said.
The county commission approved applying for the Three-Star grant. Stephens said the plan is not final and could very well be adjusted.