UNITY — Sullivan County officials are planning a feasibility study about building a child care center at the county complex that would serve county employees and perhaps others in the community.

The study would include an evaluation of the need, types of services to be offered and preliminary architectural design and associated costs.

Sullivan County Manager Derek Ferland said the county, like many employers across the state, is challenged by the chronic lack of affordable child care in the region, and it affects the ability to recruit and retain workers.

Prospective hires have turned down job offers due to a lack of child care options, and existing employees often have to juggle work responsibilities to pick up a child.

“We have seen that this could be a big recruitment and retention tool if we are able to do it,” Ferland said. “But can we balance that with everything it takes to successfully manage a child care facility? That is why we want to have a feasibility study done.”

Ferland emphasized that if the county moves forward with a center, it would be more than a year before construction would start.

The county had “kicked around the idea of child care” for a few years, Ferland said, but it wasn’t until they learned of grant opportunities through the Northern Borders Regional Commission earlier this year that officials decided to prioritize the project.

The commission is a federal and state partnership that provides funding for economic and community projects in “distressed counties” in Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont and New York. Its Catalyst Program includes investment in infrastructure for eligible communities.

Ferland said the county initially met with NBRC officials to seek additional funding for the nursing home renovation project now underway.

While that request was not accepted, Ferland said the county was told child care centers are included in the definition of infrastructure and the commission would fund 80%, with the rest paid for by the county.

The feasibility study is due by Jan. 31. If it is favorable, the county would submit a letter of interest to the commission. A full application would be submitted in early summer, and the county would learn if its grant application is approved next August. The final piece — a “notice to proceed” — would be issued in October.

Money already set aside for the Ahern building, which will no longer be used once the current renovation project is finished in 2025, could also be put toward a child care center.

Ferland said the money is designated for demolition or repurposing of the building.

“If we are approved for the 80/20 grant plus the money assigned for Ahern, we won’t need much more,” Ferland said.

The delegation of state representatives would have to approve using the money set aside for Ahern for another purpose, he added.

“We think Ahern could be an ideal location (for a child care center),” Ferland said. “The feasibility study is not just looking at Ahern but also building new.”

Regarding the capacity of the center, the age groups of the children, the number of employees and many other considerations including construction costs will be laid out in the feasibility study, Ferland said.

The center would be available for county employees first, but Ferland said he could envision Unity residents or people working in Unity also using it if there is enough capacity.

“That will be answered in the study,” Ferland said

The deadline for firms to submit requests for qualifications/proposal to conduct the child care facility feasibility study is Aug. 30.

Meanwhile, Lebanon is considering building a city-owned day care center near the municipal airport that would serve as many as 200 children.

City officials have said construction will be funded using grants and donations, and the Boys & Girls Clubs of Central New Hampshire, a nonprofit based in Concord, would be contracted to manage the child care services.

However, some Upper Valley child care providers — who already maintain adequate staffing — have questioned whether the region has enough early childhood educators to staff the city’s proposed facility.

Patrick O’Grady can be reached at pogclmt@gmail.com.