No more waiting on long lines to register for coveted Southold Recreation Department programs. Beginning with this spring’s roster of varied program offerings, residents will be able to register online.
Southold Town has just launched an online portal for recreation program registration and payment.
“Online registration is something that is much desired by residents,” recreation supervisor Ken Reeves told Southold Town Board members during yesterday’s work session.
“We’ve had a line out the door at 8 a.m. to sign up for programs people know get sold out,” Reeves said. Online signup is something that’s constantly being requested, he said. The new portal will allow them to sign up at their convenience, 24/7, from wherever they are.
Reeves, recreation department staffer Judy McCleery and Southold network and systems administrator Lloyd Reisenberg walked board members through the new portal setup.
An online account is required in order to use the online portal, Reisenberg said. Once a user creates an account, he or she can register and pay for programs — or be added to a waiting list if a program is already full.
Registration is not complete without payment, he said. Payment by credit card will be securely processed by the same third-party vendor that already handles other online payments for the town, he said.
“Every summer we process 700 or 800 applications,” McCleery told the board. “This will make it much easier on recreation department staff.”
People will be able to browse through program offerings online, wherever they are, Reeves said.
“In the past, the first time they’d see [the brochure] is when it came out in the Suffolk Times or in town offices,” he said.
The portal is now live and may be reached by a link on the town’s website.
People should create an account now so they can sign up for programs as soon as registration opens on March 3, Reisenberg said.
“Southold Town, welcome to the ‘90s,” Supervisor Scott Russell quipped.
“There are people who are uncomfortable with computers and others who don’t want to use a credit card — they want to pay in cash,” McCleery said yesterday.
People can still sign up the old-fashioned way — in person — at the Southold 970 Peconic Lane in Peconic, from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., Monday through Friday.
