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Town Board adopts revised codes

Alexis DeLaCruz

The Town Board continued the tavern license hearing for Paradigm Theater owner Barbi Bonfiglio to allow more time for her to settle plumbing issues and to allow time for community members to give feedback about Bonfiglio's application for a liquor license.

Approved the town's December accounts payable.

Decided to include an item on the electric bills of resident who haven't paid their electric meter deposits. Those people will be informed to set up a payment plan or start paying on the deposit. If residents do not make arrangements or pay the deposit, the town will terminate their electric service.

Agreed to sample software that would integrate the town's computers.

Agreed to pay town treasurer Karri Littman $1,200 in vacation pay and allow her to carry over earned sick days.

— The Oak Creek Town Board adopted five amended municipal codes during its meeting Thursday night.

At issue were several municipal codes that Oak Creek Mayor Kathy “Cargo” Rodeman said needed to be eliminated or modified.

The codes prohibited clairvoyance, fortunetelling and “noise-making devices that attracted children;” required residents’ trash cans to be cleaned once a week; required alcohol servers to attend tri-annual liquor classes; and required the town to enforce noise levels with a decibel meter.



The Town Board had discussed at its December meeting repealing or rewording some of the codes. At its meeting Thursday, the Town Board voted unanimously to adopt revised versions of some of the codes and to get rid of others.

Town Board members determined that clairvoyance and fortunetelling should not be illegal because it is one’s right to decide whether to patronize a clairvoyant or fortuneteller.



Town Board members agreed that because the town has never owned and has no plans to purchase a decibel meter, excessive noise can be determined by the judgment of police officers or by a written complaint from a resident.

Residents no longer will be required to clean their trash cans once a week. Instead, the code states that people need to keep trash cans in “sound condition and clean so that they will no attract flies or be filthy or ill-smelling.”

The Town Board decided that future boards should have the right to discuss on a case-by-case basis any application from a vendor wanting to bring an ice cream truck to Oak Creek and to not make them illegal.

Lastly, the Town Board decided it was the business owner’s responsibility, not the town’s, to ensure their employees are trained properly.

Before the meeting adjourned, Town Board member Karen Hal–terman brought up a concern she had found while reviewing employee time sheets.

Halterman told the board that she discovered that town treasurer Karrie Littman and Public Works Director Jim Photos were counting Town Board meetings as overtime on their time sheets, which Halterman thought was not right. She asked for opinions on the matter from other board members.

“Basically, (Littman) and (Photos) are making more money to attend a meeting than any of the board members,” Halterman said.

After some deliberation, board member Mike Kien said he didn’t think Littman or Photos should consider the meetings overtime and that they should cut down on hours during the week so that Town Board meetings become part of a typical 40-hour work week.

Littman’s position recently became part-time, and she assured the board that she no longer would need to count the overtime. She said that when she was hired, that was what she was told to do.

Littman also told the board that she was required to attend only one board meeting a month and that Photos’ presence was invaluable because of the questions he can answer.

“In defense of (Photos), he gives insight you need to make your decisions. It would be wrongdoing in your thinking to not have him here,” she said.

Kien suggested Photos work his schedule to make the meetings part of his typical work week, which Photos agreed to.

“If I could work it out, I would prefer not to be at these meetings,” he said jokingly.

The next Town Board meeting is at 7 p.m. Jan. 26.


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