Van Wert City Council votes down proposed smoking ban

SCOTT TRUXELL/independent editor

By a 6-1 vote, Van Wert City Council has officially rejected a proposed smoking ban in city parks.

The legislation was proposed earlier this summer by Councilman At-Large Hall Block, who was the only member to vote yes on the ordinance’s third and final reading during Monday night’s meeting.

At a previous meeting, there were questions about how practical such a law would be in terms of enforceability.

Before the vote, Van Wert County General Healh District Medical Director Dr. Paul Kalogerou gave a brief presentation on the dangers and consequences of smoking and secondhand smoke. Despite citing several sources, including research from the American Lung Association and the American Cancer Society, a handful of people in the audience who said they are smokers disagreed with the information he shared.

Also prior to the vote, Block suggested that if council were to reject his proposed ordinance, members may want to reconsider a ban on smoking marijuana in city-owned parks. 

“I feel like we’ve got a little bit of a juxtaposition here when we have the ban on marijuana use in parks, which is also a legal but harmful drug,” he stated. “If we don’t ban cigarettes, should we unban marijuana? I think we should really consider that before we take any action.”

“I would rather have our parks be free from smoking and marijuana use but I think we should be consistent across our laws – if we’re banning marijuana from the parks, we should ban smoking in parks,” he added. “If we’re not banning smoking, we shouldn’t ban marijuana – that would be my argument.”

Law Director John Hatcher quickly responded and noted that state law prohibits smoking or consuming marijuana in public places, including parks and playgrounds, sidewalks and other outdoor public areas. In Ohio, smoking marijuana is only permitted on private residential property. 

There was other business conducted during the meeting, which lasted exactly 90 minutes. A handful of ordinances were approved, including one for various supplemental appropriations, another amending a previous salary ordinance for city service workers, auditor’s office, income tax office and administration, and another approving a 10-year franchise agreement with Ohio Power, also known as AEP.

As expected, an ordinance that would have repealed the city’s long dormant tree commission went down on its third and final reading, meaning the tree commission will stay on the books. The next step is to consider revisions and appointments to the revived commission.

During his report, Mayor Ken Markward said work on pickleball courts at Smiley Park continues, but he added the timetable for completion is unclear. The pickleball courts are replacing the tennis courts at the park.

Safety-Service Director Jay Fleming informed council that bids to fix the THM problem in the city’s drinking water supply will be opened on September 17. Work is expected to begin in October (see previous story here).

The next meeting of Van Wert City Council will be held on Monday, August 24. At the request of Fourth Ward Councilman Eric Hurless, who chairs council’s Judiciary and Annexation Committee, a Council of the Whole meeting will be held at 5:45 p.m. to discuss three items that have been tabled – the city’s junk and rubbish laws, a ban on private wells and revised requirements for door-to-door solicitors. The regular meeting will follow at 6:30 p.m. Both meetings will be held in Council Chambers on the second floor of the Municipal Building, 515 E. Main St.