ROCHELLE — A board established to work to bring a daycare back to town after Kishwaukee Family YMCA Child Care Center at 1010 N. 15th St. closed in 2020 held its first meeting on Wednesday. 

The board includes Mayor John Bearrows (chairman), Jenny Thompson, Jillian Condon, Jessica Rogers, Edgar Lopez, Rosie Arteaga, Kevin Crandall, Brittany Boardman, Kim Montgomery, Becky Huntley, Will McLachlan and Jessica Morris. 

The board will be a 501c3 nonprofit in charge of raising funds and making future decisions such as a location and who will manage the potential daycare facility. The City of Rochelle will have no more direct involvement with the project after leading the way in recent months to facilitate a daycare. 

McLachlan said he decided to get involved with the board after seeing how important the issue of a daycare was to the community. 

"There's been a lot of talk in the community about a daycare center,” McLachlan said. “I thought it was a good place to help. Because there are a lot of people that need this and want this. The city has tried and we're all trying to work together here. I wanted to do my share and help. Because there's a lot of passion about the daycare center."

A survey the city put out to residents last year came back with overwhelming results in favor of a daycare with 72 percent of respondents saying they’re in need of a daycare and 71 percent saying their children would be likely to attend a daycare if it opened in town.

Arteaga is a city councilwoman and teaches kindergarten at Lincoln School. She works with kids and families every day and sees parents who don’t have childcare that need it. She’s a mother as well. The project is “very dear” to her. 

“I know people have to work,” Arteaga said. “They need daycare before and after school and during third shift. I think it’s important for a community this size has a daycare for our families to take care of kids while parents work to get ahead in life. We need it for our families. I was a teacher here while the previous daycare was still operating. We have parents now that can’t work because of it. It’s to help out those families.”

Last year, the city recently received a $10,000 grant from the Rochelle Area Community Foundation to start the process of the daycare board and 501c3. At its first meeting, Arteaga said the board worked on establishing bylaws and how it will agree to put things in place. 

Work is ongoing to officially establish the nonprofit and work will be done going forward on fundraising in hopes of buying a building. The board will have different committees including one for fundraising. 

Late last year Rochelle CIty Manager Jeff Fiegenschuh said he was unsure what kind of funds the board would have to raise to open a daycare, but guessed the number could be over $1 million to get a building bought and the facility off the ground and running.

“I’m hoping to be on the fundraising committee to do whatever it takes,” Arteaga said. “That will be an important part.”

McLachlan said he wants to help any way he can in his work on the board. He knows it’s going to be a tall task for the volunteer board and hopes the community as a whole comes together to bring a daycare back to town. 

"We can communicate what the board is trying to do with families that will really need the childcare facility,” McLachlan said. “I think that's somewhere where having that communication open between the board and the community is key and something I hope we do."

Arteaga said the board is “full of good people” and said the establishment of it shows movement in the right direction. 

“I feel very proud as a resident and I know I made the right decision to work and move here,” Arteaga said. “I always felt the city and local people were approachable and wanted to help each other. Things like this board coming together to work on this issue show that.”