Lewiston council grants day-care center license
October 24th, 2009 Posted in OpinionBy Kate Clark
LEWISTON–David and Angela Wiser happily received the business license they had been hoping for at Tuesday’s City Council meeting.
The couple, who live at 298 W. Center in Lewiston, wanted to start a day-care in their home but the city felt there were matters the council needed to discuss before a formal business license was issued.
“Nobody has similar guidelines,” said David Wiser of the day-care licensing regulations and laws they have followed from state-to-state, part of the reason for their confusion.
Utah has several requirements for starting a residential day care that deal with cleanliness, emergency preparedness, discipline and staff-to-child ratios. The state also requires that a fence must be built around a property if five or more children are being housed.
“So four kids don’t need a fence, but five do?” asked Councilman Matt Curry.
“If the state doesn’t require it, than neither can we,” said Councilman Jeff Hall. “It’s all we’re requiring of anyone else.”
The council was also concerned about the small space the home provides.
“We are required to provide 35 square feet of space per child, which we have,” said Angela Wiser. “There is plenty of space for the kids to play and we can pull out mattresses for the kids to sleep on in the living room. We also have a crib.”
Permission for a home business license was granted for the day-care, restricting the Wisers to house four children at the day-care until a proper fence is built.
Tags: day-care center, Lewiston, Wisers
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