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The Oak Creek Town Board aims to finalize an operating agreement with the Oak Creek Hockey Association at tonight's meeting.

The Town Board and the Oak Creek Hockey Association's board have been working to finalize an operating agreement for winter operations and management of the Oak Creek Ice Rink. The hockey association long has acted as the de facto operator of the town-owned facility during winter.

The Town Board held off on approving a proposed agreement last month, in part because of criticisms that the public skating times scheduled at the rink were insufficient. Regularly scheduled public skating is from 3:45 to 4:45 p.m. Monday through Friday, 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Tuesday and Thursday and 2 to 3:30 p.m. Saturday and Sunday.

Regularly scheduled hockey practices take up the ice time from 4:45 to about 9 p.m. Monday through Friday.

"The public pays for it, and the board asked (the hockey association) to try to stick a few session of public skating in at night," Trustee Gerry Greenwood said.

"Even just a few hours, so people can take their kids after work," Trustee Wendy Gustafson added.

Also tonight, the Town Board will continue to discuss the proposed installation of water meters for all Oak Creek utility customers.

At a November work session partially dedicated to the issue, the board budgeted $5,000 for introductory consulting costs for the project and to search for non-matching grant funds to pay for the undertaking.

No timeline or cost for water meter installation has been established. Wholesale prices discussed at the work session ranged from $337 for a typical residential unit to as much as $700 for some of the commercial customers on a larger water line. Installation costs may vary depending on whether the meter was installed indoors or buried in a pit.

- To reach Melinda Dudley, call 871-4203

or e-mail mdudley@steamboatpilot.com