UPPER FREEHOLD — Residents who use Upper Freehold’s recreation fields may see an increase in participant fees in the near future.
At the Jan. 6 Township Committee meeting, an ordinance was introduced that, if adopted, will amend fees for the use of recreation facilities in the township.
The issue was initially brought to the attention of the committee at its Dec. 4 meeting.
According to Township Attorney Dennis Collins, the participant fees that the township currently charges residents and nonresidents are not in compliance with the state’s regulation on access fees.
“The current fees the township has in place are in violation of particular Green Acres funding laws and must be adjusted,” Collins informed members of the governing body.
The existing fees of $10 for resident participants and $40 for nonresident participants are based on the number of participants registered for a particular organization at the time of use, according to the ordinance.
The new fees being proposed in the amended ordinance are $13 for resident participants and $26 for nonresident participants.
The introduced fees will be charged to the Upper Freehold-Allentown Little League; Upper Freehold-Allentown Softball; the Upper Freehold-Allentown Soccer Association; Central Redbirds Pop Warner; Allentown-Upper Freehold Athletic Association Lacrosse; travel teams; and other organized groups that regularly schedule games and practices on the township’s recreation fields, including to sites known as the Byron Johnson Recreation Area, the Mark Harbourt Soccer Fields and the Reed Property.
Mayor Stanley Moslowski Jr. said what should be of importance in this issue is the residents who use the recreation fields.
“If the fields are not being used due to the fees we are charging, then no one is benefiting, so we need to make it easier for residents and nonresidents to participate in our recreational programs,” Moslowski said.
A public hearing on the recreation ordinance has been scheduled for 7 p.m. Feb. 5. The committee may vote to adopt the ordinance after the public hearing.
In other business, the committee appointed James Rosenbauer to the part-time position of emergency management coordinator. Rosenbauer will receive an annual salary of $6,242 for three years.