By Lea Kahn
It’s going to cost a few dollars more to take part in some of the Lawrence Township Recreation Department programs, under an ordinance introduced by Township Council on Tuesday night.
Increases in the fees some of which have not been raised in several years range from $10 to $20. The fees are being raised “to keep pace with the cost of the programs,” Municipal Manager Richard Krawczun said.
”It only covers the cost of the program,” Mr. Krawczun told Township Council.
A public hearing on the ordinance is set for Township Council’s Feb. 1 meeting, which starts at 7 p.m. The meeting is held in the Township Council chambers at the Municipal Building.
The fee for children to attend the full-day camps art/theater, playgrounds and sports camp will increase by $15, from $225 to $240.The half-day programs of those camps will cost $180, up from the 2010 fee of $160. Before-camp care will cost $45 and after-camp care will cost $55. The increases are $15 each.
The fee for the T-ball program for children will go up to $40, from its present $30.
The teen Travel Camp fee for residents who participate on a daily basis will be $75 per day, and $90 per day for nonresidents. The increase is $10 for residents and $15 for nonresidents. The weekly teen Travel Camp fee will go up by $15 for residents and nonresidents $265 for residents and $340 for nonresidents.
To rent a garden plot at the Community Gardens on Route 206 will cost $35 for residents, up from $20. The fee for nonresidents is increasing by $20 from $65 to $85.
Fees for permits to rent township parks for picnics will increase from $25 to $40. Renting an athletic field for three hours also will cost more. To rent a field with lights will cost $135, or $35 more than the present fee of $100. An athletic field without lights also will cost more $75 for 2011, up by $25 over the 2010 fee of $50.
The ordinance also raises the fee to use the indoor swimming pool at Lawrence High School. A family membership for the school year will increase from $135 to $150, and for the summer it will go up from $90 to $105.
An individual membership will cost $80 for the school year and for the summer, it will be $60. The fees represent $10 increases over the present fees of $70 and $50, respectively.
However, there will not be any increases in the senior membership or daily fees. The fees will remain at $20 for seniors for the school year and the summer, and $4 per day for nonresidents.

