Birdsall House recoup money stolen from us.

My name is Kelly Raines and in 2015 I started Birdsall House Early Childhood Discovery Center. Birdsall House is a non-profit that provides high quality care. Birdsall House's curriculum is inspired by the Reggio Emilio approach and the teachings of Magda Gerber, along with the wisdom of my grandmother, Nadine Birdsall.

Birdsall House is a play-based center, and the majority of the time is spent outside in nature. The green space that the children play in is one of a kind and hard to find in Midtown KC.

In March of 2022, Birdsall House signed a contract with Devin Reitinger at Reitinger Design to convert an existing building on my property into a childcare center. This expansion was going to serve several families on our waiting list as well as allow us to grow our school age program. The quote for the job was $240,000. A 50% down payment was given to them when the contract and scope of work was signed.

Throughout 2022 there was no work happening. They said they were having trouble getting the permits and needed an architect. Despite the contract stating that they would handle all permits, I connected them with an architect in Nov of 2022. Unfortunately, they never gave him any information despite numerous emails asking for it.

In Jan 2023 Devin said they wanted to start work and the framing on the inside of the building was started. In February they asked for the next payment. I pointed out that they were nowhere near the agreed upon point of work completion to receive the second payment. I also pointed out that there were still no permits and asked for a breakdown of what money had been spent already. He refused to give me a list of the spending, saying it was not required. He also said that they did not need to follow the scope of work that was given to me and signed by him at the same time the contract was given and signed.

At this point I got an attorney involved. On April 6th Devin said he would have info on the permits by April 12th. Neither the attorney nor I have heard anything from him since and there are no permits listed on the city page.

The attorney advised us to move forward and consider the money we gave Reitinger Design a loss. He feels that we will have a hard time collecting from Reitinger Design and that a legal case will just cost us more money.

We are asking for your help; in any way you are able. A donation would be amazing, but please share this story so that others can learn from this experience. We have some amazing employees, and the new center will be a nice upgrade for them. The kids will still mostly play outside, but there are all kinds of cool features for them too! Not to mention extra space for Big Kids to return during breaks. We will find a way to move forward, and we would love your support.

Quality childcare is difficult to find across the country, and Midtown Kansas City, MO is no different. To learn more about our current center and the Birdsall House philosophy, please visit us at www.birdsallhouse.org and please consider a donation. Thank you for your time and we are so grateful for your support.

All funds raised will go towards recouping money from Reitinger Design or completing the new center.