WINDHAM — Residents will soon be able to use credit cards to pay lacrosse fees. By the new year, they will be able to use the cards to pay for all recreation programs, although only in person.

Selectmen approved the payment method Monday.

The impetus was a request from the lacrosse program. Program officials wanted parents to have the opportunity to register and pay for their children online, said Dana Call, the town's finance director.

Starting Nov. 6, they will have that opportunity, via their own Web site, said Cheryl Haas, director of recreation. About 300 young people participate in lacrosse. Unlike baseball and softball programs, which are private organizations, lacrosse is a town recreation program.

In the future, no timetable has been set, Haas will create a policy to allow the users of other recreation programs to register and pay for themselves or their children online with a credit card.

By early next year, participants in all recreation programs will be able to use credit cards to hold a spot for a program or to pay for participation, when they register in person.

"I'm excited for it to start and to be able to use it for swimming lessons and summer programs," Haas said.

Selectmen's Vice Chairman Bruce Breton said the credit card program is a good idea, simply because it makes registration easier for people.

In the future, if all goes well with the use of credit cards for recreation programs, the use of credit card payment may be expanded to other departments' fees or charges, Breton said.

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