The council voted unanimously to approve a loan of up to $750,000 for the Linking Families and Communities project. That money will come from an economic development revolving fund, not the general fund that pays for police and fire protection.

Linking Families and Communities announced late last year that it purchased the former Becker Florist shop at 407 Kenyon Road. It plans to convert the building into a child care center that could accommodate 103 children.

Child care has long been identified as a need in Fort Dodge, with the number of children needing care far outnumbering the available spaces in existing child care centers.

The project is expected to cost $2 million.

In other business, the council approved the sale of a city-owned vacant lot in the 800 block of Eighth Avenue North. Paul Behrens, who lives one block away on Home Avenue, is buying the property for $300.