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There will be no charge to rent Oak Creek's Four Seasons Arena for public events this summer. Private functions will require a $50 fee.

The Oak Creek Town Board decided on the fee for private events at its meeting Thursday night. It also voted to require a $200 refundable damage deposit for each event. That full amount will be returned if the arena is left in good condition.

Initially, Mayor Kathy "Cargo" Rodeman asked the Town Board to consider only a $50 damage deposit and no use fee.

"The whole community built it, the whole community should be able to use it," Rodeman said about the new roof on the ice rink.

The new roof was built with a $200,000 Great Outdoors Colorado Grant, $40,000 from the town and about $450,000 in private donations of time, materials and cash.

Town Trustee Mike Kien said that when a private event was being held at the arena, the rest of the public would be excluded.

"If (there's) a wedding and you're not invited, you wouldn't go to the wedding," Kien said.

Rodeman later suggested that residents not invited to the event still could use the rink while the event was taking place. Later, she agreed with other trustees that a small fee should be charged for private events.

Oak Creek resident David Harper said a fee should be charged so the town could afford to maintain the arena. He also said there were piles of trash at the ice rink leftover from construction that needed to be cleaned up and other aesthetic improvements that needed to be made.

"If more people are using it, it's going to be more of a mess," Harper said. "Where's the money coming from?"

Trustee Karen Halterman suggested the town close the arena until the site is clean and safe. Local youths will help clean the site April 15.

The question of whether the new roof is covered by the town's insurance also came up, and Rodeman said she was not sure whether the roof was insured.

In other business:
The Oak Creek Town Board agreed to waive sewer and water charges for the South Routt Medical Center for the next 10 months. The charges total $78 a month. Chuck Wisecup, who is now serving on the South Routt Medical Center Board of Directors, told the Town Board that there were continuing problems with retaining doctors and medical professionals at the medical center, as they lose about $1,000 a month because of low patient turnout. The center is considering funding sources, including a special district tax that could be on the November ballot, Wisecup said.
The Town Board approved a health insurance plan from PacifiCare. It has similar benefits but costs $76,700 a year compared with the $84,500 a year charged by the current provider, Anthem. The board decided to research other options in the coming year, including self-insuring or joining with local municipalities and groups to get a larger employee base.
The Town Board agreed to provide grading and gravel-laying services to help improve Grand View Avenue. The road will provide access for the five homes and the duplex the Yampa Valley Housing Authority is proposing to build for affordable housing. The Housing Authority will buy and bring the gravel.
The Town Board tabled the ordinance correcting the James Addition Annexation to notify the four landowners involved in the annexation that it will cost $7,500 for a new electric line. That cost could be spread throughout 10 years, with a small amount charged to each homeowner's electric bill each month. That way the homeowners will pay usual town rates for electricity, instead of the doubled rates they pay now because they are not annexed.

-- To reach Susan Cunningham, call 871-4203 or e-mail sbacon@steamboatpilot.com