City Council approved our permit!

Photograph courtesy of West St. Paul Reader

The West St. Paul City Council approved Clover Montessori School's conditional use permit at yesterday's council meeting. The city's warm welcome has been really wonderful!

Throughout the process, city planner Melissa Houtsma was extremely helpful. Melissa patiently answered questions from us and gave us helpful advice. She was as excited as we were when the application cleared the internal staff review!

After internal staff review, the Planning Commission heard the application. The commission responded enthusiastically to the idea of a new licensed child care center in West St. Paul. Their kind words were encouraging. The commissioners asked thoughtful questions about how we might respond to future changes to the Smith/Dodd intersection. After the discussion, the commission voted unanimously to approve the permit.

Last night's city council meeting was the final step in gaining approval. Mayor Dave Napier invited Ben Boike, the Community Development Director, to present the Planning Commission's recommendation to approve the conditional use permit. The council members asked questions and offered their support for future needs, such as crosswalks for families who want to walk their children to school.

After the West St. Paul City Council unanimously approved our permit, the mayor and council broke into spontaneous applause. That moment was the highlight of the entire experience. The warm welcome felt great! Thank you, West St. Paul!

With every step, we get closer to the Grand Opening celebration!