A childcare company in Sicamous is gearing up to welcome more kids.
Kids Kingdom Childcare Society, owned by Amar and Kiran Kallu, has been operating in the childcare facility at 502 Cedar St. since being awarded the contract in January.
Before they took over, the facility had been without leadership since late 2022, when Little Bears Child Care Program, operated by the Eagle Valley Community Support Society, declined to renew its lease to operate the childcare program.
The facility is now set to undergo renovations to be able to accept more kids for daycare and before and after school care.
Read more: New operators awarded lease for Sicamous childcare centre
At a welcoming event April 1, the childcare centre was met with excitement and relief from parents who had been struggling to find adequate care for their children in Sicamous.
Read more: PHOTOS: Sicamous childcare facility hosts open house to welcome families
Amar addressed council virtually at the Aug. 23 committee of the whole meeting to go over renovation details, and chief administrative officer Kelly Bennett explained the briefing was to get council’s blessing to navigate renovations on the district-owned building, as a development permit isn’t required, only a building permit.
A 1,700 square-foot area is to be added on to the existing building, said Bennett, which will increase Kids Kingdom’s licensing ability.
The addition will enable the childcare centre to expand its daycare licence to 25 kids, 12 infants/toddlers and an additional 24 spaces for before and after school care. The daycare operation runs from 8 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. and the preschool, which will be labelled a half-day daycare program to allow for more provincial funding, will run from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Both options are available for children that are in school and those that are not yet school-aged, confirmed Amar.
Kids Kingdom will operate from the Sicamous Alliance Bible Church starting Tuesday, Aug. 29, until renovations are complete, once the Kallus finalize licensing.
The Kallus expect construction to start in the first week of September, and work to wrap up in January or February. Re-licensing and registration numbers will be confirmed then.
Amar said he has an office space laid out in current plans but these could still be reworked to allow Kids Kingdom to offer more childcare spaces.
Council expressed excitement for the changes, saying this will stimulate the economy helping free parents up for work, and that childcare is a great asset and investment to the community.
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rebecca.willson@saobserver.net
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