BROOKINGS — City councilors will hear about ambitious plans to bring hundreds of new childcare openings to Brookings in the near future at a study session today at 5:30 p.m.

The session, which is open to the public, will be in the Council Chambers on the third floor of the Brookings City & County Government Center, 520 Third St.

The Brookings Child Care Collaborative is seeking a resolution to transfer $580,000 from the Brookings Economic Develop Corp. to help the Boys & Girls Club of Brookings prepare its personnel and facilities for the development of 130 new childcare slots for infants to 3-year-olds.

No action will be taken on the resolution at today’s meeting. Councilors and the public will hear and respond to a presentation from Tim Reed, the CEO of the development corporation; Summer Schultz, Brookings School District superintendent; and Jody Hernandez, who is the CEO of the Boys & Girls Club of the Northern Plains. Action on the resolution is expected to take place at the City Council’s meeting on June 25.

The 130-slot BGC effort is part of an overall $2,023,305 plan — which also involves the school district initiating a pre-kindergarten program for up to 230 4- and 5-year-olds — to bring a total of 360 new childcare options to the city no later than summer 2025.

The money in question at today’s study session originated as American Rescue Plan Act funds, of which the city received $2.2 million. The transfer plan is just that, a transfer: It involves no new spending of the federal dollars that were disbursed as part of the nation’s economic response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

— Contact Mondell Keck at mkeck@brookingsregister.com.