Expression of Interest to Operate Lillian Park Child Care

Location

This centre is located, in the Yonge-Eglinton neighbourhood, close to Eglinton subway station. The single storey centre is on the ground floor of one of two apartment towers.

Site Plans

Operating Capacity

The centre will have space for 52 children:

• 10 infants
• 10 toddlers
• 32 preschoolers

Facility

The main entrance is accessible from an interior courtyard and it has intercom and security access and it opens into a large lobby.

The child care drop off/pickup area is adjacent to the main entrance with three dedicated parking spaces for families to safely drop off and pickup children. There will also be a few parking spaces for staff.

The Supervisor’s office is located adjacent to the lobby with direct visibility to the main entrance.

All program rooms have large windows that provide lots of natural light. Additional features include:

• Cubbies conveniently located in the corridors outside of each program room.
• A large stroller storage room with direct access from the main entrance.
• Indoor gross motor area with plenty of storage.

• A laundry and janitorial room is outfitted with a laundry sink, washer and two dryers, triple sink, and a slop sink with plenty of space for storage and folding laundry.

• A universal washroom conveniently located near the corridor for use by staff and visitors.
• Overhead, full height and under counter millwork for secure storage spaces throughout the child care.

Infant Playroom includes

• Cubbies for 10 Infants located in the corridor and including a dressing table.
• A servery that includes an adult height sink, a child height sink, ample cabinet storage, microwave, and a full fridge.
• Self-contained washroom outfitted with child height handwashing sink, child-sized toilet and change table with upper cubbies for diaper storage.
• Separate sleep room for 10 infants. Staff can observe the playroom from the window in the infant sleep room.

Toddler Playroom includes

• Cubbies for 10 Toddlers are located in the corridor.
• A servery that includes an adult height sink, a child height sink, ample cabinet storage, microwave, and a bar fridge.
• A Self-contained washroom outfitted with child-height toilet, child height sink and change table with upper cubbies for diaper storage.

Preschool Playroom includes

• Cubbies for the preschool children are located in the corridor.

• A servery that includes an adult height sink, a child height sink, ample cabinet storage, microwave and a bar fridge.

• Self-contained shared washroom conveniently located in the between the preschool rooms for easy access from both rooms. The bathroom is outfitted with child-height toilets, sinks and a bench for changing.

Kitchen

There is a good size kitchen for catered food and snacks located at the end of the corridor. At the entrance, there is room to store four food carts.

It is equipped with a triple sink, prep sink, handwashing sink and major appliances including a commercial dishwasher, stove with range hood, full size refrigerator and freezer. Storage is provided through base cabinets and upper cabinets with ample countertop space.

Staff Room

The staff room is enclosed, private and includes:

• 9 x 3 tiers of lockers for staff use
• a kitchenette with a fridge, microwave, and sink
• A washroom

Playgrounds

Exterior fenced playground spaces are conveniently located adjacent to the interior space with weather protection, equipped and landscaped to facilitate year-round use and storage adjacent to each playground space. All playgrounds are specifically designed for the developmental needs of each age group and are accessible through the individual playrooms. There is a dedicated preschool playground and the infants and toddlers share a playground. The playgrounds are formed with curves, circles and wavy lines. Each playground also has:

• A secure shed to store outdoor toys and equipment.
• Naturalized theme is evident
• A variety of surfacing materials are used such as hardscape and rubber surfacing.
• Feature elements such as sand play, water play and areas designed for gross motor and riding trikes.
• Seating allowing for staff and children to engage in small group activities.
• Shade is provided by large building canopies all around the playground.

Approvals

Public Health approval and Ministry of Education pre-approval in principle have already been completed for the new Child Care Centre.

Start-up Costs

A cash contribution in the amount of $203,000 will be provided to fully equip the interior and outdoor child care facility. This contribution will include the purchase of play based toys and equipment for the program rooms, kitchen furnishings and small appliances, as well as furniture and equipment for the office and staff room. The Child Care Operator will have the opportunity to review and procure equipment and furnishings based on the proposed equipment list developed by the City.

A one-time cash contribution of $152,111 will also be contributed to the Child Care Facility’s start-up costs for the defrayment of operation deficits during the first year of operation.

Additionally, $182,533 in a one-time cash contribution to the City’s reserve fund to replace the child care facility’s appliances and larger equipment due to wear and tear.

Lease Agreement

The Child Care Operator will enter into a lease agreement with the City of Toronto.

The child care facility will be rent free for 99 years with no additional costs to the operator as a benefit under Section 37 of the Planning Act.

The landlord will be responsible for any and all costs associated with the child care premises including the cost of all utilities and municipal services, including water, gas and hydro, garbage and recycling collection supplied to the child care facility.

Caretaking and janitorial services will be covered by the landlord.

Property damage, liability insurance, realty taxes, local improvement charges, building permits fees and development charges, compliance with all applicable laws for the Child Care facility as they relate to the physical building, and any damage to the Child Care Facility, however caused will be covered by the landlord.

Any repairs, maintenance, alternations and replacement costs of the Child Care Facility and building systems, including appropriate sized heating and ventilation, plumbing systems, provided that the cost of any alterations and replacements requested or undertaken by the Child Care Operator to enhance, improve or reconfigure the Child Care Facility will be paid by the Child Care Operator.

Not-for-profit child care operators or public institutions with a current service agreement for fee subsidy are eligible to apply.

The City is looking for operators that are committed to providing integrated services to families through collaboration with school boards and other learning and care services in the community ensuring accessibility to local needs.

Compliance with the following items is required.

1. Applicant holds a current Service Agreement for the provision of fee subsidy.
2. Applicant meets the requirements of a not-for-profit agency (public institutions will submit documentation to support the public institution status)
3. Applicant meets or exceeds the Assessment for Quality Improvement (AQI) for each site operated by the applicant over the last two year period.
4. Applicant’s service agreement has been in good standing for a minimum of the last two years.  Note: Good standing will be assessed by the City through a review of Stop Admissions compliance with contract requirements.
5. Applicant currently meets Financial and Administration Criteria.

To request a copy of the application package including the financial viability package, please email Maureen.Bailey@toronto.ca

You must submit three (3) original copies of the EOI application by 3 p.m. on Tuesday October 15, 2019 to:

Attention: Maureen Bailey
Toronto Children’s Services
10th floor Metro Hall
55 John St
Toronto ON  M5V 3C6

All Expression of Interest applications will be screened and evaluated and interviews will be conducted by a Review Panel.

Application Evaluation

The Expression of Interest process consists of three stages.

• Stage 1: Agencies must submit their complete Expression of Interest packages by the deadline.
  • Mandatory Agency, Program and Document requirements must be met. Agency must submit the signed Mandatory Program Requirement document.
• Stage 2: Submitted Expression of Interest packages will be evaluated the for completeness and will be scored on their submission.
• Stage 3: Organizations that are successful in Stage 2 will be invited to a Review Panel Interview.

Decision

The applicant’s Expression of Interest that best meets the requirements of the City, in the absolute discretion of the City, in consultation with the Review Panel, will be designated as the preferred agency.

No obligation will arise until an agreement, based on the accepted Expression of Interest application, has been authorized and executed by the appropriate City authority.

After receipt of Expression of Interest applications and at any time prior to the execution of an agreement, the City may request clarification on any items related to the Expression of Interest and conduct negotiations with the preferred agency. The City, at its sole discretion, may adjust the evaluation score or ranking of an applicant as an outcome of the clarification process.

Notes

Where the school board is involved, the process will be adapted to include other procedures related to the school boards selection process.

Expression of Interest evaluation results shall be the absolute property of the City. The City does not disclose Expression of Interest evaluation results, before, during or after he evaluation process. However, applicants must be aware that such information may become public as a result of the need for transparency and accountability in decisions made by the City.

If the City does not receive an adequate number of satisfactory proposals, we reserve the right to negotiate with any Operator deemed suitable, where necessary.

Service Agreement for Fee Subsidy

The Toronto Child Care Service Plan sets out priorities for Toronto’s child care system. This includes setting geographic and age equity targets that ensure funding for child care fee subsidy is equitably distributed.

There is a waiting list for fee subsidy and eligible applicants will have to access fee subsidy on a first come first served basis, subject to ward and age equity targets. However, new child care operators may be prioritized for placement for the first six months of operation or until they achieve full enrolment, whichever occurs first.

Clients already receiving fee subsidy are able to transfer to a new centre if there is a physical vacancy. Families not requiring a fee subsidy are able to enrol their children in child care with a licensed physical vacancy and pay full fee.

Families may contact 311 or 416-338-8888 for more information on how to apply.

Scoring

Any questions regarding this EOI must be emailed to Maureen.Bailey@toronto.ca by September 16.

Answers to all questions received will be posted here by September 20*.

*The Questions and Answers will not be posted until the week of September 23.

The City of Toronto undertakes an Expression of Interest process when selecting an operator for a newly built or renovated child care space funded by the City.