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The town of Oak Creek raised $2,200 toward the creation of a new Boys and Girls Club branch in town, under the guidance of former Police Chief Russ Caterinicchio. That amount, however, didn't come close to the $40,000 required to start a club, and the town is now in the process of repaying the money to all 13 donors.

The process to create a club is long and often difficult, said Dana Duran, executive director of the Boys and Girls Club of Craig. The club in Oak Creek was to be an extension of the Craig club, much like the club opening in Steamboat Springs this weekend.

The club in Steamboat has no relation to the aborted club in Oak Creek and was created independently of the Oak Creek process.

Duran said she hadn't heard any news from Caterinicchio, about fundraising efforts or progress toward an Oak Creek branch, for about a year.

"We have talked to a number of communities over the years. Some people get really excited about it and take the initiative right away, and some people put it away in their bag," she said.

Caterinicchio and Sgt. Erik Foster resigned from the Oak Creek Police Department in September 2008, along with the town's community service officer. Officer Eileen Rossi worked her last shift a month later.

The Boys and Girls Club of America suggests that clubs have a year's worth of operating expense in the bank before the club starts, Duran said.

Oak Creek Town Clerk Karen Halterman agreed it didn't seem reasonable to start the club based on the small number of individual donations.

"These little personal donations we received weren't anywhere near the money it would take for the Boys and Girls Club to take us seriously and put a club here," she said.

Town Treasurer Sandy Jacobs will be returning all the donations, she wrote in an e-mail. The Town Board had said that any donations that could not be returned to the donors would be remitted to the state, but Halterman said none of the donations were anonymous and that the town has a record of the contributions, so the town should be able to return the money.