City, local daycare come to terms

It appears that Mindy's Clubhouse and the City of New Rockford have found a compromise that will allow the daycare to continue using the Brown Memorial Auditorium.

During the city commission's regular meeting on Monday, Dec. 2, Commission President Stu Richter said he recently met with the daycare's owner, Mindy Dockter, and negotiated a potential agreement.

That discussion came after the city's previous regular commission meeting, where the daycare's owner Mindy Dockter and manager Savanna Nystrom laid out a number of concerns with a proposed lease for 2025.

The Brown Memorial in New Rockford is publicly owned by the city, leased to the New Rockford Area Betterment Corporation (NRABC) and sublet to Mindy's Clubhouse, and the daycare has had to share the building – in particular its gymnasium – with various community groups.

However, Mindy's Clubhouse has recently been vying for full access to the gymnasium, which would allow them to address their waiting list and care for more children.

But the lease for 2025 proposed by the city and NRABC, in addition to other concerns, had Dockter looking at potential alternatives to the Brown Memorial long term.

That lease included a $300 per month rent hike, designated public walking hours between 7-9 a.m., and gym access for youth sports in the afternoons beginning at 3:15 p.m.

During those times when the gymnasium is off limits, the daycare is limited in how many children they can accept. Dockter has said full-time gym access would also allow them to hire more staff.

Regarding the rent increase, NRABC director Amanda Hegland said it accounted for additional utility costs for water usage and electricity, as well as a reassessment of what the going rates are for commercial space rent.

Following the meeting between Richter and Dockter on Friday, Nov. 29, Richter said Monday that a $200 per month rent increase would be acceptable to both parties.

That would increase the overall rent for Mindy's Clubhouse to $1,100 per month. Meanwhile the rest of the proposed lease would remain unchanged, including 7-9 a.m. walking hours, youth sports in the afternoon and full-time use of the auditorium's stage.

The commission seemed pleased that an apparent resolution was reached, and a motion to approve increasing rent to $1,100 was carried unanimously.

"By having them there we're filling a huge void for our city," said Richter about the importance of having a local daycare like Mindy's Clubhouse.

Afterwards, regarding another concern expressed by Dockter and Nystrom, commissioners also carried a motion to create a $50 clean-up deposit for any parties that rent the Brown Memorial in the future.

Commissioners had previously been told that, on several occasions, parties have rented the Brown Memorial for events and did not clean up after themselves, leaving the space messy when it came time to open daycare the next day or after the weekend.

In those instances daycare staff have had to clean up the public building themselves, which is a responsibility of the city.

In response, commissioners on Monday agreed to require a $50 clean-up deposit for future renters, which will only be returned if they clean up after their event. They also discussed how to ensure the daycare won't have to clean up after renters moving forward.

Dockter told the Transcript that the idea of a $50 clean-up deposit is positive, and that she hopes it works in practice. She also stated that she believes her concerns have now been discussed and that she intends to sign the new lease once paperwork is ready.

"I understand that the cost of everything and the cost of daily living has gone up, so I understand the price increase for rent," said Dockter, who added that parents won't be seeing any tuition increases as a result of the rent hike.

Meanwhile, Dockter said she's still looking for her own building to house her daycare long term – somewhere with room to grow without interrupting a public space.

"I would like nothing more than to have our own building," she said.

With all parties seemingly agreeable to the compromise, the new 1-year lease is expected to be signed and approved at the city commission's next regular meeting on January 6.