Plans for a huge extension and renovation of the Yass Early Childhood Centre Association (YECCA) building are now before Yass Valley Council.
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YECCA's secretary of the board Sally Butt and Director Fiona Nolan, met with Labor's candidate for Goulburn Ursula Stephens to discuss the plans earlier this week.
The YECCA board has enough money to complete the first stage of the renovation, which will mean three new offices and a new entrance, but is looking for additional funding to properly complete the revamp.
The second stage will involve the construction of a new room, which will mean more kids can enrol.
Stage three will involve the building of a new roof but Ms Butt said because it is such a big job, that stage is still several years off.
"This is a long-term project, it's not going to happen in one term of government, we're going to be doing this for the next six to eight years ... so we need a good relationship with the new member."
Ms Butt and Ms Nolan said Ms Stephens was receptive, interested and had realistic feedback to offer, but they couldn't say the same for current member for Goulburn Pru Goward.
"Her comment, on more than one occasion, was that we need to go long day care because that is federally-funded, but we don't want to be a long day care centre because we are a traditional pre-school," Ms Butt said.
According to Ms Butt and Ms Nolan, Ms Goward told the board that another option could be to sell the Banjo Paterson Park site.
"It's not financially viable and you'd be mad to leave here, why would you leave this amazing site?" Ms Nolan said.
"We've got the best site in Yass, we've got heaps of outdoor space and we just wouldn't be able to replace what we've got here," Ms Butt added.
Ms Goward told the Tribune that she only had a "speculative" discussion with YECCA representatives and that she simply recommended they write to her in regards to funding.
"My recollection is that I certainly said it's going to be very difficult to get grants for this much money and that they could think about turning it into long day care because I knew that was much better funded," she said.
"But I wanted them to write to me so I could get advice from the Minister (for Education)."
She added that there was no way she would have given the advice to sell up and go somewhere else.
"My advice would not have been sell and go somewhere cheaper, even though I probably asked how much the site was worth and are there other options, but that wouldn't have been my advice, my advice was; please write to me and we'll find out what the department's position is," she said.
Still, Ms Butt and Ms Nolan told the Tribune that it was "extremely dissapointing" that Ms Goward didn't offer more constructive advice.
YECCA has been part of the community since 1963 and Ms Nolan said it's essential that the centre's renovation gets done.
"We are a not-for-profit, community pre-school that has been part of the community for more than 60 years and we deserve funding and deserve this renovation."