By David J. Hill
The Tonawanda News
TOWN OF TONAWANDA —
The town’s Youth, Parks and Recreation Department was able to hold the line on fees for the upcoming fall and winter program season, Councilman Dan Crangle said during Monday night’s brief town board meeting.
Crangle said it wasn’t easy to do, but the town’s recreation fees committee wanted to maintain rates as best it could. “We’re holding the line on all those fees. I’m sure the public will be glad to hear that, especially in these hard times,” he said.
A $5 hike in the hourly ice rental rate is among the few fee increases included in the fee schedule the town board approved during its meeting. It will now cost $195 per hour for new users to rent one of the town’s ice rinks. However, existing users will continue to pay $190 an hour under the loyalty rate.
The late-night rental fee, after 11 p.m., will be $175.
Recreation skating fees are set to remain the same as last year — $3 for youths, adults and senior citizens who have a town access card, and $5 for those who don’t have one.
Two hockey participation fees are set to increase for the coming fall and winter season. The resident youth fee for 2010-11 will be $195, up $5 from the previous two seasons, while the non-resident youth fee will be $285, an increase of $10 over the previous seasons.
All of the rates will remain the same as last year at the Paddock Chevrolet Golf Dome. A small bucket of balls will be $6 and a large will cost $9. For senior citizens, the “early bird” rates between 8 and 11 a.m. will continue to be $5 for a small bucket and $8 for a large.
With increased competition coming from neighboring Amherst, the town wanted to maintain its current customer base at the golf dome, Crangle said.
“We wanted to keep the same customers who were coming from outside of the town,” he said. “The seniors especially will enjoy it. They’re the ones on the fixed incomes, and we tried to keep them in mind when setting these rates.”
Fees at the Kenmore and Sheridan youth centers will hold steady. A KYC monthly membership will cost $75 with an access card, or $80 without, while an SYC annual fee with access card is free, or $10 without a card.
The town’s adult basketball program fee will remain at $400, while the youth resident ($45) and youth non-resident ($80) also are the same as last year.
The fee schedule will run from September through August.
In other business Monday, the town board authorized the Police Department to purchase a new Ford Crown Victoria police interceptor from Towne Ford.
The vehicle’s list price is $24,738.92, but the town will pay only $3,473 due to money received as part of an insurance settlement, Town Supervisor Anthony Caruana said.
