Child cares told city seeking ‘middle ground’|[11/3/06]

Published 12:00 am Friday, November 3, 2006

Operators of child care facilities already in operation before Vicksburg building inspection officials began looking at tightening regulations for such safety features as sprinkler systems and exit doors said Thursday they were satisfied with what was termed as &#8220trade-offs” on minimum requirements.

Owners of one new day care, however, said they still felt out of the loop.

About 25 managers of day care facilities inside the city of Vicksburg met with building inspections chief Victor Gray-Lewis Thursday to pore over a list of compromises. Some form of a vote is expected on the list when the group meets again Nov. 16 at 6 p.m.

Email newsletter signup

Sign up for The Vicksburg Post's free newsletters

Check which newsletters you would like to receive
  • Vicksburg News: Sent daily at 5 am
  • Vicksburg Sports: Sent daily at 10 am
  • Vicksburg Living: Sent on 15th of each month

&#8220We’re trying to find middle ground that will work,” Gray-Lewis said.

A point of contention between the owners and the city – one that would have forced day cares to install automatic fire suppression systems or exit doors in every room – was shelved in favor of having smoke detectors in multiple rooms wired to the building’s existing electrical system.

If a nine-member ad hoc commitee approves Gray-Lewis’ recommendations, buildings housing day cares that are older, wood-framed structures would be deemed &#8220combustible” and will have to install the smoke detectors, plus emergency lighting and upgrade existing doors with either crash bars or simple turn-latches.

Those that operate 24 hours are still to have an exterior door approved by the city. Facilities the city deems &#8220noncombustible” would be subject to the same regulations.

As for stove hood systems, an existing day care would only have to install a commercial-style hood if meals are prepared from scratch with stoves and deep fryers.

&#8220I can deal with this,” said Lovie Bailey, owner of Lovie’s Day Care Center on Wisconsin Avenue.

Gray-Lewis said time frames for compliance would be decided by the committee.

&#8220It could be one year for some, it could be longer,” said Rev. Tommy Miller of Good Shepherd Community Center on Cherry Street, chairman of the committee.

Though the compromised list was seen as progress in the city’s drive to bring day cares in line with city building codes, the one new city child care facility is still faced with the new, more stringent codes.

&#8220We’re very upset,” said Cassandra Kelly, who owns Cradle to Crayons, 2713 Drummond St. with her husband, William Kelly.

In addition to the $32 fee for a privilege license from the city, the Kellys spent about $16,000 installing a sprinkler system, vent hoods, four exit doors and other improvements to comply with city building codes, adopted in 2003 when efforts began to bring all structures in Vicksburg up to higher safety standards.

During the hour-long meeting, the Kellys told Gray-Lewis it was unfair to hold existing day cares harmless from the tighter restrictions.

&#8220You should have had a committee before the regulations came out,” William Kelly said.

After the meeting, Gray-Lewis said the business has Institutional classification because it handles more than five children aged 2 1/2 or younger.

Under the city code for child care facilities, a new day care can have its classification changed to Educational if doors are installed at the rear of each classroom.

The Mississippi Department of Health issues licenses to day cares statewide and conducts inspections yearly for operators to renew them. Licensing fees are based on enrollment, ranging from $50 for those with 12 or fewer children up to $200 for those with 76 or more children.

The department lists 38 licensed in Warren County, with 32 within city limits. Six operate outside city limits and are unaffected by the effort, as Warren County has no building inspection code or zoning in place.

According to MDAH, 2,519 children are enrolled in Warren County as a whole, under capacity for licensed facilities by more than 500. The department does not keep a separate enrollment count for municipalities.

Vicksburg Fire Department inspects city businesses for working smoke detectors, carbon monoxide detectors, feasible evacuation routes and building exit doors. The code adopted in 2003 asks those doors to be in each room where there are children.