PRESENTER: Presenter
Mike Crowley, VP, Greater New Braunfels Chamber of Commerce
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SUBJECT: Title
Discuss and consider the approval of a resolution authorizing the city manager to execute a Ch. 380 Agreement with Early Matters - New Braunfels, and containing necessary findings pursuant to the Ch. 380 Economic Development Program Policy.
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DEPARTMENT: Economic and Community Development
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COUNCIL DISTRICTS IMPACTED: Citywide
BACKGROUND INFORMATION:
The City’s Chapter 380 Economic Development Program Policies and Procedures outlines the requirements and process for proposed 380 Agreements. The proposed Chapter 380 Economic Development Agreement with Early Matters - New Braunfels will bring benefit and support to the greater New Braunfels community by addressing childcare and early education needs on multiple fronts. More specifically, this project addresses the following 2024-2029 City Strategic Plan Objective:
Economic Mobility:
7. Look for opportunities to incentivize child development centers to increase the supply of high-quality childcare in the community that supports the local workforce.
Project Background
In February 2024, the Greater New Braunfels Economic Development Foundation (EDF) funded and launched an assessment of the New Braunfels early childhood learning and childcare ecosystem. The EDF partnered with Early Matters, which is a statewide collaborative of business, civic, education, nonprofit and philanthropic leaders advocating for strategic investments in policy and practices that support children from birth through age eight. Investing in quality early childhood is identified as one of the best ways to support existing families in the workforce and ensure a more qualified, higher skilled workforce in the future. Early Matters San Antonio leadership led the engagement and study process, which convened New Braunfels leaders in business, school districts, government, nonprofits, churches, and individuals seeking care in the community. As a community-based response to the issue, the stakeholders worked to:
- Create a shared early education and childcare vision for New Braunfels’ future
- Create a citywide Early Care and Education Final Report with recommended actions
- Assemble an Early Matters New Braunfels Steering Committee comprised of thirteen (13) community leaders
- Establish a three-year budget that will launch the initiative
- Create a full-time Director job description
- Secure grants totaling $325,000 from the Kronkosky Charitable Foundation and the McKenna Foundation
The Early Care and Education Final Report determined that addressing early childhood education and childcare needs is critical to long-term economic and community vitality and has emerged as local business and economic issue. High childcare costs and limited availability influences families’ decisions to work - increasing turnover and reducing the local labor pool. At the facility level, staffing shortages, financial constraints, and quality improvement barriers limit providers’ abilities to meet demands and improve their services.
The proposed Early Matters New Braunfels initiative will work to address early childhood education and childcare needs throughout the New Braunfels community in accordance with the recommendations in the Final Report. The report presents a unified vision of the early education ecosystem that stakeholders in the process hope to create. The new organization- Early Matters New Braunfels - will hire an executive director charged with implementing the recommendations, which are to:
1. Build a shared service alliance; and
2. Adopt a Tri-Share model to support childcare affordability and access; and
3. Implement the Teachers for Toddlers (T4T) program
ISSUE:
Early childhood education and childcare is an economic issue impacting businesses and families throughout New Braunfels. Early Matters New Braunfels will work to address and improve conditions in the greater New Braunfels community and a Chapter 380 Agreement will help support this endeavor.
STRATEGIC PLAN REFERENCE:
☒Economic Mobility ☐Enhanced Connectivity ☐Community Identity
☐Organizational Excellence ☒Community Well-Being ☐N/A
FISCAL IMPACT:
A total of $300,000 - dispersed in $100,000 amounts over three (3) years will be provided to Early Matters San Antonio for the work and completion of Performance Conditions outlined in Section 1 of the 380 Agreement. This amount is in addition to grants provided by the McKenna Foundation and Kronkosky Foundation for the initial startup and implementation of recommendations outlined in the ECE Final Report.
Funding for this Agreement has been provided by way of the NBEDC through the absorption of $300,000 of Operations & Maintenance funds for the Zipp Family Sports Park. The supplanted funding previously dedicated to the ZFSP can be reallocated to the Chapter 380 Agreement.
Recommendation
RECOMMENDATION:
Staff recommends approval of the supporting resolution and the Chapter 380 Economic Development Agreement with Early Matters - New Braunfels.