By NEAL WAGNER / City Editor

Participants in Alabaster’s city sports leagues soon will be able to register and pay online after the Alabaster City Council approved a new software system for the department during its Dec. 3 meeting.

During the meeting, the council voted to implement the new software, which will help cut down on the long registration lines at the Parks and Recreation’s “Depot” office off Thompson Road.

“We are excited about it. It will be a lot better for the department and for the people,” Alabaster Parks and Recreation Director Tim Hamm said, noting participants currently have to register in person at the Depot. “I know people don’t want to stand in line in a small space on a Friday afternoon to register.”

During a Nov. 28 City Council work session, Hamm said thousands of kids participate in the city’s sports leagues every year. He said the department recently registered more than 350 kids for the city’s basketball league.

Once the new software is installed, parents will be able to register their kids and pay registration fees online through the city’s website. Those without Internet access will still be able to register in person at the Depot.

“Top to bottom, it’s going to make us run more efficiently,” Hamm said.

“I think it’s going to make a lot of parents happy,” said Ward 1 Councilwoman Sophie Martin.

Hamm said the department is going to attempt to have the new software system in place before spring sport registrations begin in mid-January.

The Parks and Recreation Department will also develop a new iPad application to use at the Alabaster Senior Center, which will allow Senior Center attendees to check in and check out at the center. The application will hold important items, such as prescription and contact information, on each senior.

Once the software system is installed, the city could use it in other departments as well, said Alabaster City Administrator George Henry.