LAWRENCE: Township recreation fees hiked

By Lea Kahn
   Aiming to keep pace with the costs of programming, Township Council on Tuesday approved an ordinance amendment that will raise the fees for some Lawrence Township Recreation Department programs.
   Township Council approved the fees unanimously. Mayor Greg Puliti and Councilmen Bob Bostock, Jim Kownacki and Michael Powers voted yes. Councilwoman Pam Mount was absent.
   Increases in the fees — some of which have not been raised in several years — range from $10 to $20. Overall, the Recreation Department fees cover only part of the cost, Municipal Manager Richard Krawczun said.
   The fee for children to attend the full-day summer camps — art/theater, playgrounds and sports camp — will go up by $15, from $225 to $240 for each two-week session.
   The half-day programs for those camps will cost $180, up from the 2010 fee of $160 for each two-week session. Before-camp care will cost $45 and after-camp care will cost $55. The increases are $15 each per two-week session.
   The Teen Travel Camp fee for residents who participate on a daily basis will be $75 per day, and $90 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 for the season at the Community Gardens on Route 206 will cost $35 for residents, up from $20. The fee for nonresidents is going to be $85, which is a $20 increase over the present fee of $65.
   The fee for the T-ball program for children will go up to $40, from its present fee of $30.
   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. An athletic field with lights will cost $135 to rent, which is $35 more than the present fee of $100. An athletic field without lights will cost $25 more. It will cost $75 for 2011, compared to the present $50 fee.
   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 pool membership will cost $80 for the school year, and $60 for the summer. The fees represent $10 increases over the 2010 fees of $70 and $50, respectively.
   But there will not be any increases in the senior pool membership or daily fees. The fees will remain at $20 for senior citizens for the school year and summer, and $4 per day for nonresidents.