When the Sheboygan City Plan Commission meets this afternoon it will decide whether or not A Million Dreamz will become reality. A Million Dreamz was organized in 2019 in order to provide 24/7 daycare options for a community that is in dire need of such services. According to Family Connections, a child care resource & referral agency, A Million Dreamz could care for up to 200 children at once, or around 2/3 of the number now on childcare center wait lists in Sheboygan County.
Angel Berry is the Executive Director of the Million Dreamz organization, and says this afternoon’s vote on a conditional use permit is a “go or no-go” vote on their project, or, as she put it, “Absolutely, it’s a do-or-die situation.”
The Planning Commission will judge whether A Million Dreamz is the best use of the Geele Avenue location, and whether it fits with the the direction the community is going. On those points, Berry is confident, telling us that, “I think that we hit all of those bullet-points. It’s the next step in the process, and the last one when it comes to approvals from the City.”
Once the permit is approved, Berry expects things to progress quickly, saying that at that point they’ll be finishing up construction, getting occupancy based upon meeting all the commercial building codes, and then getting licensed by the State.
Initially there were concerns in the neighborhood about traffic noise during dropoffs, especially at night. Berry said that their designers have made changes that take such traffic completely onto the facility grounds and have added plantings and green space that will further reduce the noise.
One last hurdle is something the City can’t really address. “We as an industry, as well as everybody else out there, struggle to find staff,” Berry said, “but I am hoping that this summer we’ll have our doors open.”
A “soft opening” is planned for May for their classrooms, and she hopes the entire facility will be ready for 24/7 care by the end of summer.
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