Lawrence Association gets fee waiver from village board

The Village of Lawrence Board of Trustees granted the Lawrence Association's second fee waiver request for the use of the Village Country Club for meetings until June at their March 11 public meeting.

The $200 fee to use the club caused a lockout back in December when Lawrence Association President Rochelle Kevelson refused to pay.

The fee can be waived for not-for-profit organizations, but Lawrence lawmakers did not approve the civic group's request at its Dec. 16 meeting when village trustees Joel Mael and Michael Fragin abstained from voting and Ed Klar was not present for the vote.

The implementation of a fee and denial of a waiver to use the upstairs room at the Country Club was previously labeled by the 80-year-old association as “politically motivated.”

The Lawrence Association had traditionally held their hour and a half meetings at the Club and the demand for a fee for four hours outraged members of the association.

Trustee Joel Mael stated that his decision to enforce the fee was based on the need to pay an employee to unlock and lock the clubhouse as well as the belief that all clubs should be paying to use the room. Trustee Michael Fragin concurred with this reasoning, denying any vindictive motivations.

At the March 11 meeting, the village trustees could not agree on a permanent fee waiver, but made the step of granting a waiver until June.