If you live in Lennox and Addington County, you will soon have to pay a bit more to enroll in recreational programs in the City of Kingston.
Kingston City Council passed a motion during their meeting Tuesday that would see non-residents be subject to a 15 percent surcharge.
Cllr. Paul Chaves explains the rationale behind his motion.
Loyalist Township currently levies a surcharge for non-residents who use their recreational facilities.
The motion also called for non-residents to go through a 72-hour waiting period for registration. This is to ensure Kingston residents are able to sign up for popular programs that fill up quickly.
This was prompted after many swimming lessons and other acquatics programs were being filled by non-residents.
Mayor Bryan Paterson sees charging non-residents more for programs in Kingston as a way of leveling the playing field.
But Cllr. Conny Glenn wonders if charging non-residents extra would deter them from registering in the first place?
Cllr. Lisa Osanic also can’t understand why the 15 percent surcharge is being applied to parking permits.
She says most of the out-of-town residents who use the parking spaces in Kingston work in the city.
Most of Council agreed with Osanic and that part of the motion was defeated in a seperate vote.
Story by Ken Hashizume
