After hearing from concerned citizens on both sides of the issue, the City Council voted unanimously Monday to pass a comprehensive smoking ban covering all public buildings and businesses.
Council passes smoking ban
By Chris Norwood
05-22-2007
05-22-2007
TALLADEGA — After hearing from concerned citizens on both sides of the issue, the City Council voted unanimously Monday to pass a comprehensive smoking ban covering all public buildings and businesses.
Effective Sept. 1, it will be against the law to smoke indoors and within 10 feet of virtually every structure other than private residences in the corporate limits of the city. There are other exemptions in the law for designated hotel and motel rooms, retail tobacco facilities, restaurants and conference rooms reserved for private functions, private clubs with no employees and private or semi-private nursing homes and long-term care facilities when all people in the room request in writing permission to smoke.
Fire and Health Department inspectors will be charged with making sure the ordinance is enforced, and complaints may be made to the city’s Police or Fire departments.
A first offense under this ordinance carries a maximum fine of $100, with a second offense within one year carrying a maximum $200 penalty, and third and subsequent violations within one year carrying maximum fines of $500 each. All fine revenue is to be applied toward enforcement. The same fines apply to business owners failing to enforce the ordinance.
The ordinance also requires “No Smoking” signs in all relevant businesses and charges business owners or operators to remove all ashtrays and smoking paraphernalia from prohibited areas.
Much of Monday’s meeting was dedicated to discussing the status of a $2 million bond issue that would be used to meet an old commitment to Honda, for which the city is expected to be reimbursed dollar for dollar by the state Department of Transportation in the form of paving projects.
The issue came up when Councilman Eddie Tucker made a motion to add $700,000 to the bond issue to finance a family life center in the Knoxville Community.
Councilman Dr. Horace Patterson seconded Tucker’s motion, but Councilman James Armstrong and council President Charles Pope both raised questions about whether or not the bond issue would happen at all.
“We don’t know for sure if those funds are coming, so we might want to wait and address that issue when the time comes,” Pope said.
“My understanding is that we’re not going to get the money, or if we do it will only be about $600,000,” Armstrong added.
City manager Sue Horn said she was confident the money and the paving would happen, but she would have to wait until she can meet with DOT officials next week before she could say anything for certain.
“I did mention that the county got $8 million or $9 million in paving for their contribution, but they (state officials) are saying they got a letter in May 2005 from the former city manager announcing the city was pulling out of the project.”
Patterson said, “My understanding is, we were in this for $2 million.”
Councilman William Clark said he would have the issue resolved by today, saying “two people put all this together, and I’ll be talking to both of them.”
Horn said she felt the money would still be available, “but it may be a smaller amount than what we’re expecting.”
“Whatever we get will be dollar for dollar or there’s no deal,” Clark said.
Horn pointed out the “dollar for dollar issue was one reason this didn’t get done in 2002 and 2003.”
Patterson emphasized several times that he was “shocked that this body was not informed” of the letter pulling out of the agreement, and no one could seem to answer why that might be.
Tucker pointed out his motion would only be relevant if the bond issue did go through.
Horn said the bond paperwork states specifically what the money will be used for, and would have to be amended to include a capital improvement project.
The final vote on Tucker’s motion was 2-2, with Armstrong abstaining and Clark and Pope voting against it.
“I also have concerns, but I have supported this vision for the Knoxville Community for 12 years now,” Patterson said of his affirmative vote.
“Every year, this council votes to approve this project, sometimes twice per year,” Tucker said. “We vote to build it, but we never appropriate any money for it. If we didn’t get the money, then it’s not a problem. But I vote overwhelmingly for projects in other wards, I never turned down the McMillan Street project, Heritage Hall, the Brecon Recreation Center, the library, I’ve supported them all. We spend gobs of money over in Bemiston all the time. But we hardly get anything for Knoxville. I know it will cost some money, but we put more into the library and Heritage Hall. I haven’t said anything because I keep expecting this project to come through.”
Armstrong pointed out improvements at Heritage Hall were paid for through the state Oil and Gas Trust Fund, and the library was financed through the county’s 2 cent sales and use tax, so neither project cost the city any money at all. Clark said the Bemiston Recreation Center renovations had been paid for primarily with grant funds.
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