The plan for the new Community Concepts day care to be built on route 2 in Bethel. Submitted photo
BETHEL — Community Concepts will build a sorely needed day care on Route 2 in Bethel. The property is a half mile west of West Bethel Auto Sales, just before the peak of the hill.
Three classrooms, each with two bathrooms; and a fenced-in playground, will staff 12 people and serve approximately 44 children between the ages of 2 and 5. There will be no infant care.
About 14 toddlers currently learning at Crescent Park School are guaranteed space when the day care opens.
“We are inundated with calls already … We’re not accepting applications yet,” said Community Concepts Director of Property Management John Fitzmorris, who said applications will likely be accepted after the Spring groundbreaking and once funding is secured.
The Lewiston based non-profit, Community Concepts, purchased the 3.90 acres from Bethel Farmer Ed Swain in 2023.
The 3,300-square-foot head start daycare building will be custom fabricated, architect approved, and will sit on a full foundation.
Besides the classrooms, there will be an office and a kitchen. The building will be charcoal in color with white trim, and black doors.
Fitzmorris and Shane Howley of Main-Land Development Consultants, Inc. presented their drawing to planning board members and CEO Courtney McPherson on March 13 during a planning board meeting.
“I have concerns about a landscape plan and a lighting plan,” said Cheryl Thurston, planning board chair. Howley and Fitzmorris said they would update the plan before they meet again.
“The intent is to keep everything as natural as possible … ” said Howley about the landscape.
In a discussion of why there is no toddler room, Fitzmorris said the classroom for infants and toddlers will come later. “Staffing has been a challenge… two [rooms] we know we can fill right now, the third spot will depend on staffing.”
Acknowledging the need in Bethel, he said, “We probably could have filled a center twice the size.”
He said they looked at other locations that didn’t work out. “There is no space to lease in town … [at the location they chose] there is a nice view across the river,” said Fitzmorris.
The Board scheduled a site plan walk of the property for March 27 at 5:15 p.m. just prior to its next meeting.
Fitzmorris broke down the funding they had obtained for the project. They have unused federal day care monies of around $700,000 in carry-over funding; they are awaiting approval of $500,000 in federal funding; and they have a $200,000 state funded grant. “We are pretty optimistic,” he said [of all the monies coming through]. Another private funding source is coming from an owner of Sunday River, said Fitzmorris.
Bethel Residences
Earlier in the meeting the Board approved a site plan for Bethel Residences on Walkers Mills Road/Route 26. Following confusion between the Board and the applicant over an ordinance detailing height allowances, the Board approved the site plan, that had been returned to them by the Appeals Board in February.
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