City panel says no to day care
Meg Alexander — Staff WriterFAIRMONT - A request to change City Code to allow day cares to operate in light industrial zones was denied Tuesday by Fairmont's planning commission.
The decision followed city staff's recommendations: "We've been fairly consistent ... in what we've allowed and not allowed for code amendments," said Mike Humpal, community development director.
However, the 4-1 vote went against public support shown for Stepping Stones Learning Center. The day care wants to move into an empty building, formerly a juvenile detention center, in a light industrial district off State Street.
Stepping Stones' search for a new location began in November, according to Nick Graham, when the day care learned of a remodeling project planned this summer by its current landlord - Fairmont Area Schools. The school system asked Stepping Stones to vacate Lincoln School for three months, starting in June, while the project is under way.
Unable to afford two moves in a short period of time, Stepping Stones started looking for a new facility and found what Graham, chairman of the board of directors, has described as the perfect - and only - functional and affordable building for the day care in Fairmont.
"I'm here representing 20 hardworking employees, the parents of 100 children, 80 families and various employers in Fairmont," Graham told the planning commission. "We are the only childcare center in Martin County. If we close it will have a huge negative effect on everybody."
The request for the code amendment came from the property's owner, Gerard, a Nexus Family Member.
"We will appeal the decision to the City Council," Graham said, following the meeting. Gerard will actually be the one to file for the appeal.
Gerard wants to sell the building, which has been empty since 2002, as well as the nine acres on which it sits, to Stepping Stones.
Gerard's attorney, Mark Mandersfeld, argued the operation of a day care in an industrial district makes sense and is compatible with the current land use - one of the reasons city staff said the commission should deny the request.
"Kids don't belong in factories, but that's not what we're talking about here," Mandersfeld said.
He noted the facility is approved for the care of young people, and he defended a day care as a reasonable extension of that use.
From a public safety standpoint, Mandersfeld said the site is on the edge of town, bordered on one side by farm fields, with less traffic than other areas of Fairmont where day cares are permitted.
"With a tremendous amount of space, the property is self-buffering," he said.
Parents and other people associated with the day care stood and voiced their opinions on why the planning commission should change the code.
"Stepping Stones was the only place in town willing to take infants," said one mother, who described the proposed facility as amazing, with a safer drop-off area than the existing one at Lincoln School.
When the time for public input ended, commissioners voiced their own support for Stepping Stones before the vote was held.
"I'm sure everybody here has agonized over this decision," said commissioner Reed Gethmann. He went on to clarify that regardless of how the vote went, everyone on the board "realizes Stepping Stones is a valuable asset in this community.
"A vote 'no' does not mean we are not supporting Stepping Stones," he said.
He also noted that none of the current commissioners were on the board when the juvenile detention center was approved for the light industrial district in the 1990s, so none of them necessarily agree with the original decision.
"We have to separate those two issues," he said.
David Krusemark was the only commissioner to vote for the code change: "Stepping Stones is such an asset. ... If we can help them out in any way, I'm really for them using the building."
Commissioner Tom Hawkins had a lot to say on the topic, before and after the meeting. During the public hearing, Hawkins said he was "strongly against the proposal to change the code."
For explanation, he gave the history of his personal experience working on Fairmont's comprehensive land use plan.
"I learned a lot about why the city zoning is done the way it's done," he told the audience. "... This is a normal response without understanding zoning code. I would have been on the same side of the fence as all of you two years ago."
In short, setting precedent was his concern. He feared the code change would give leverage to other business owners seeking to move into parts of town where their operations aren't compatible with existing business.
"I agree it's a great building and perfect for what you're doing," Hawkins said. "But it's perfect for a lot of things."
Following the meeting, Hawkins got into a heated debate with Graham and other supporters of the code change.
"It is unconscionable you would accuse me of being against kids," Hawkins said to Graham, stating his history of donating money to non-profits in Fairmont, including Stepping Stones.
"... If we change the rule for one private business, we would have to do it for everybody."
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ellanmarie
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04-08-09 1:44 PM
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Please feel free to stop down to the Stepping Stones office and fill out a petition form. Thanks for all that have showed their support
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ellanmarie
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04-03-09 7:48 PM
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I was actually at the meeting and I actually spoke at the meeting. At the time I was going back to work after my daughter was born I call "most" of the in home day cares. They did not have any openings. The one's I didn't call I choose not to because of a horrifying reputation. But as far as every one else who has something to say, maybe you should have showed up and said it. If you feel strongly one way or the other, I encourage you to get involved with the Council and show up at the meeting. If your for it, call Stepping Stones and ask how you can help, sign a petition. If your against it, form a group, form a petition. Do something but don't just blog on websites and complain about how the City does or does not do anything when you didn't get involved in the decision making process. What happened after the meeting would not have posted in a honorable, honest newspaper. The last two comments written in this article show the true disappointing integrity of this newspa
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ellanmarie
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04-03-09 7:39 PM
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momof3kids
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04-02-09 4:01 PM
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For those of you out there who are in favor of Stepping Stones...Thank You! Stepping Stones continues to grow and prosper as time passes, just as all things do! Thanks for your support! For those who are not in favor of Stepping Stones please put into consideration of those around you who may not even have a direct contact with Stepping Stones, but there may be a ripple effect. The closing of a daycare center effects everyone! There are not enough "in-home" daycare providers in the surrounding Martin County area to "absorb" the amount of children that will be displaced by the loss of our only Daycare Center! I agree with the comment made by a parent who said that Stepping Stones is one of the few who are able accept infants...have you ever had to call around looking for an infant opening in a "in-home" daycare...not a very easy job if you expect to find one on the first phone call!
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lostkahuna
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04-02-09 10:11 AM
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gimme a break, mccitizen, i read the article and i know how the local government works. these guys are all golf buddies, they're not going to rub each other the wrong way.
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mccitizen
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04-01-09 1:34 PM
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If lostkahuna and voteno would have read the article they would realize that it wasn't the City Council that turned down the request. Stepping Stones is planning to appeal to the City Council - then they will have their chance. Planning Commissions are appointed (not elected) to investigate and uphold code. Therefore they look at things in a different light than perhaps an elected council member would, as they should. The Council will have the option to uphold the planning commission's decision or to approve the appeal. So you should save your council bashing at least until they have had their shot at the issue.
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FarFromHome
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04-01-09 12:45 PM
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I was wondering if anyone considered the option of rezoning the area where the building is? I'm not familiar with that location, but that may be an option at this point.
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lostkahuna
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04-01-09 10:51 AM
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obviously, stepping stones doesn't have enough money to have the city council in their pocket. which is business as usual, it doesn't matter what the voters want unless it's election time. if i remember correctly, no one wanted the aquatic park either, they wanted the money to improve the parks and the existing beaches...now we have an aquatic park anyways, and they don't have any money to improve or maintain the parks...go figure!
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Voteno
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04-01-09 2:21 AM
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So, precedent takes priority, even when it works against the best interests of the community; and we are one step closer to losing one more employer and a needed child care facility as Stepping Stones' name is pencilled in on that list along with KFC, Starbuck, Wendy's, K Mart ... all because only one person in five could think outside the box and remember that rules do not exist for their own sake but to serve a larger purpose. Memo for the City Council: "...when government becomes destructive of these rights, it is the right of the people to alter or abolish it." (Jefferson et. al.) What does N - E - X - T - E - L - E - C - T - I - O - N spell? For you?
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