Cox’s Kids won’t be charged to use the Benoit Recreation Center, but other groups will.
Last week a Free Press news item revealed that Marilyn Cox’s free dance lesson for kids may have to shut down because the city is now charging community groups to use the taxpayer-funded recreation centers.
Cox reported this week that after the Free Press item, she was contacted by city officials who told her that she can continue offering classes to neighborhood girls without paying the $600 a month the city planned to charge her.
The new fee Cox faced was part of the city’s decision to enforce fee increases passed in under Mayo Administration but never enforced. The fee schedule approved by the previous city council set charges of $25.00 per hour, plus a $75 deposit for groups desiring to use centers and city parks. Cox, who has been offering free dance classes for seven years, offers lessons three days a week for two hours each. Her monthly cost would have been $600. She had made plans to shut down her classes, unable to pay the fee.
The city will allow Cox to continue her labor of love in light of the negative feedback her story generated. However, other non-profit…
