LAWRENCE: Recreation Department moving to online sign-ups

By Lea Kahn, Staff Writer
   Registering for the Lawrence Township Recreation Department’s adult volleyball league or renewing a swimming pool membership is only a mouse click away, according to Steven Groeger, the township’s superintendent of recreation.
   Beginning this week, township residents can sign up for those activities online and avoid a trip to the mailbox or the Recreation Department office — and more online program sign-ups are on the way, Mr. Groeger said.
   Township residents who have been enrolled in the two Recreation Department programs — and for whom the department has an email address — were notified of the online registration process this week, he said. There is a link in the email for them to sign up online.
   Additional program sign-ups will be added online in the next few weeks, he said. Residents should go to the Recreation Department’s page on the Lawrence Township website at www.lawrencetwp.com. to check on the status of online sign-ups.
   ”The hope is to get people conditioned to register online,” Mr. Groeger said. “It will reduce the amount of mailings and paper that we use. It’s also a better way to communicate. It’s more efficient and economical.”
   It is also more convenient — for the resident and for the Recreation Department staff, he said. A resident can sign up online any time and use a credit card to pay for it on the township’s website, which is secure. It means a resident won’t have to look around for a checkbook and stamps, he said.
   Mr. Groeger pointed out the recreation departments in surrounding towns, including Princeton, West Windsor, Robbinsville, South Brunswick and Montgomery townships, had already switched to online registrations.
   ”We get people all the time asking, ‘Can we register online,’” he said. “This is meeting a bunch of needs. It’s an efficient way to continue to do business. More and more people are buying things on-line and paying their bills online.”
   Nevertheless, township residents can still stop at the Lawrence Township Recreation Department to sign up in person or they can mail in their program registrations, Mr. Groeger said. Online registration is not for everyone, he acknowledged.
   For more information, check the Lawrence Township website at www.lawrencetwp.com, or call the Recreation Department at 609-844-7067 weekdays between 8:30 a.m. and 4:30 p.m.