PANDORA — A public/private partnership between the village of Pandora, the Putnam County Community Improvement Corporation and two local businessmen will allow preschool and childcare services to continue at the site of the former Hilty Memorial Home in Pandora.
The board of Mennonite Home Communities of Ohio announced earlier this month that the child care facility would close on Jan. 31. The Hilty Memorial Home closed in December 2022 but child care services continued in the building. MHCO had attempted to find purchasers for the building and the childcare, but was unsuccessful.
Board Chair Elizabeth Kelly, in a press release issued Tuesday, said the announcement was greeted with a “groundswell” of local effort to continue the operation of a child care facility in Pandora.
Kelly said parents reported frustration and inability to locate alternative childcare openings in Putnam County and long waiting lists at other facilities, including surrounding towns.
The matter also captured the attention of the Pandora Village Council which — along with the Putnam County CIC — committed to finding a workable solution to keep the site open. In collaboration with local businessmen Zachary Buckland and Evan Schroeder, the partners agreed to the purchase of the child care operation, which will remain at 304 Hilty Drive, Pandora, and operate as Hilty’s Faithful Foundations Preschool and Childcare.
Plans call for the expansion of the child care space into the adjacent space of the former Hilty Home. In collaboration with MHCO, current operations will continue through March 31, 2024, by which time they expect to have the legal transactions and licensing processes completed, according to Holly Hill, vice president and chief marketing officer for Brethren Management Services.
The Village of Pandora reportedly has submitted a purchase proposal to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, the loan holder for the empty facility.
“We believe that by attempting to purchase the building, Pandora will have the Hilty day care remain in place and opportunities for other businesses to grow within our community,” Pandora Mayor Jeremy Liechty said in the prepared statement. “We appreciate how MCHO continued to maintain the Hilty facility and we are hopeful that an offer for the building is accepted by HUD to keep moving forward in 2024.”
Amanda Dettrow will continue as the director of the facility, according to the announcement.
