With temperatures heading below the freezing mark in the next few days, plans for the Village of Blasdell’s latest project —a community ice rink—seem off to a smooth start.

At Wednesday’s Village Board meeting, trustees approved the creation of the first municipal rink in the village in more than a decade.

Trustee David Adrian called it a “re-creation” of the old ice rink that he and other residents remember skating on as kids.

Adrian said the Fire Department will flood the tennis courts at the JFK Playground to create the rink. No opening date has been set. The board is still in the process of determining what insurance the village needs to carry, if any.

The new rink — to be located in the same place as the original— will be 80 feet by 80 feet. Plans call for the ice surface to be divided into equal halves, one for hockey, the other for general skating. In addition to the volunteer fire department, the Blasdell Recreation Department will be involved, as well as volunteers, Adrian said.

The village is considering a fence and lock to maintain control over the rink’s use and benches nearby.

In other news, the board tabled a resolution to increase water rates in the village by 5 percent effective April 1.

Trustee Jeffrey Adrian said the board considered the increase in response to the Erie County Water Authority’s recently announced rate hike.

“This is why we are getting out of the water business,” Adrian said. “It’s hard for a small community to absorb these costs.”

He agreed that the motion should be tabled until the board can justify that every penny of the proposed increase for Blasdell water users is necessary.