First Lawrence meeting scheduled for 8 p.m. Tuesday.
By: Lea Kahn
Township Council plans to introduce two ordinances one that raises some township Recreation Department fees and another one that eliminates a "paper" street Tuesday night.
Township Council, which also plans to fill vacancies on 19 advisory boards and committees Tuesday, will meet at 8 p.m. in the Lower Level Conference Room at the Municipal Building.
A public hearing and final action on the two proposed ordinances would be held at the council’s Jan. 20 meeting.
The Recreation Department is seeking to raise fees on some programs in order to recoup rising costs, according to township officials.
For example, the summer teen basketball fee is proposed to increase from $25 per person to $30. The youth basketball fee may go up from $35 to $40 per person.
The full-day summer playground camp fee would be $175 for a child who signs up before May 16, and $200 if the child signs up after that date. The present fee is $150 for sign-ups before May 16 and $175 after that date.
The half-day summer playground fee would increase to $100 for a child who signs up before May 16 and $125 after that date. The present fee is $85 for those sign up before May 16, and $100 after May 16.
Adult programs also would be affected by the ordinance. The fee for the men’s softball team would be $475, up from $450.
The second ordinance set for introduction would allow for the elimination of a paper street known as Grove Street. A paper street is a proposed road that exists only on township planning maps, though has never been constructed. Grove Street is located off Oaklyn Terrace, between Birchwood Knoll and Veterans Park.
The neighbors have asked to have it eliminated, Municipal Engineer Christopher Budzinski said. The neighbors have been maintaining the grassy area, and there are no plans to pave it so that it may become a street, he said.
If the ordinance is ultimately adopted, the two neighbors would acquire the property, Mr. Budzinski said. They would reimburse the township for the costs associated with the elimination of that street, estimated at $1,000 to $1,500 for his time and the municipal attorney’s time, he said.