Jennifer Westbrook and her husband, Lee Nolden ,plan to open a second Westbrook Academy daycare center in Arnold over the next few months.
The second location will be at 2210 Morris Drive off Old Lemay Ferry Road.
“We are renovating a building that housed a church but has been vacant many years,” said Nolden, 48.
The couple has operated the original Westbrook Academy at 4045 Jeffco Blvd. for 11 years, said Westbrook, 52.
“We love this community,” she said. “We just felt that calling to try to accommodate more families.”
Westbrook said the two will continue to operate the original Westbrook Academy location, which is licensed to accommodate up to 43 children and has six staff members. The second location, which the couple hopes to open by mid-summer, also will accommodate 43 students and will likely have six staff members, Westbrook said.
Westbrook Academy is licensed to provide daycare and academic instruction for children between the ages of 6 weeks and 6 years. The business also offers before- and after-school care for children up to 12 years old, Westbrook said.
The couple’s second location will be dedicated to the memory of their son, Ben Laux Jr., who died in October 2019 from complications due to brain cancer. He was 25 and had worked at Westbrook Academy for more than four years.
“He loved children, and he was an excellent preschool teacher,” said Westbrook. She and Nolden have three adult children and two teenage children.
Residents have objections
Residents who live along Morris and Grace drives said they have concerns about a daycare opening in the long-vacant building.
To get to the site, vehicles will turn onto Morris Drive from Old Lemay Ferry Road and then turn onto Grace Drive to enter one of the building’s two driveways. The other driveway, which connects to Morris Drive, will only be used as an exit, according to the conditional-use permit the city issued the couple for the project.
The Arnold Planning Commission held a public hearing Feb. 23 via Zoom videoconference about the daycare and voted 6-0 to approve the plan, with seven conditions dealing with issues like outlining how vehicles can enter and exit the parking lot, setting the hours of operation from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m., and setting parameters for fencing, landscaping, water quality and stormwater runoff.
Typically, once the Planning Commission approves a conditional-use permit, it then goes before the City Council, and if there are no objections, the permit is considered approved.
In this case, since some residents had concerns about the plan, Ward 3 Councilman Rodney Mullins made a motion to table the conditional-use permit and discuss the matter more during a council work session. Ward 4 Councilman Butch Cooley seconded the motion, but it failed by a vote of 4-3.
Cooley, Mullins and Ward 2 Councilman Tim Seidenstricker voted to table the conditional-use permit, and councilmen Jason Fulbright of Ward 1, Brian McArthur of Ward 2, Mark Hood of Ward 3 and Gary Plunk of Ward 4 voted against tabling the matter.
Ward 1 Councilman EJ Fleischmann was absent from the meeting.
“It is not something we have ever done,” City Administrator Bryan Richison said of tabling a Planning Commission decision to talk about it at a work session. “I think we would need some really compelling or unusual circumstances to treat that conditional-use permit different than all the others the city has received.”
After the motion to table failed, council members decided not to take action on the Planning Commission’s decision to approve the conditional-use permit, which means Westbrook Academy received permission to operate at the location.
Tammy Florek, who has lived in the neighborhood for 48 years, told the City Council on March 4 that she spoke with at least 18 neighbors who are worried about the amount of traffic the daycare will bring to the area.
“I am glad to see the structure being in use,” said Florek, who had lived on Morris Road and now lives on Grace Road. “However, I am upset for the impact it will have on us with the traffic and safety for our children. I hope they do a separate entrance sooner rather than later.”
City staff said the Missouri Department of Transportation will not allow the daycare to create an entrance on Old Lemay Ferry Road because there is not enough space for another access point.
Westbrook said she understands the residents’ concerns, and says she and her husband will make sure Westbrook Academy does not cause a hardship for those who live near the business.
“I understand people are used to nothing being here for 20 years,” Westbrook said. “We want to make any reasonable accommodations to the neighbors.”
Richison said he does not think the daycare will cause traffic problems for the neighborhood, and if issues arise, the city could help resolve problems.