Dick Huber of Greenwood holds a large cardboard cigarette as a prop when he addresses the Franklin City Council on Monday night. The council voted to table discussion of a citywide smoking ban until April 10 and will not vote on the issue until April 24 at the earliest. PHOTO BY SCOTT ROBERSON
At a glance
What happened: Franklin City Council members postponed a vote on a citywide smoking ordinance after almost two hours of public comment.
What’s next: Council members will discuss possible amendments to the proposal on April 10 but will not vote at that meeting. If amendments are added, there will be another public hearing on April 24. Council members plan to vote on the smoking ban on April 24.
By PAIGE E. WASSEL, Daily Journal of Johnson County staff writer
Franklin City Council members postponed a vote on where they would ban public smoking after hearing almost two hours of public comments on the subject.
The council voted 6-1 to postpone a vote on the smoking ban until April 24 to give them time to review the ordinance and process what they heard.
They will discuss possible amendments April 10, but no vote will be taken. If amendments are approved, another public hearing will be conducted April 24.
About 50 people crammed into the city council chambers and lingered outside the door and into the lobby. About 20 minutes before the meeting started, there was standing room only in the room.
People wearing blue stickers that said “Yes! Smoke-free Franklin” filled most of the front-row seats.
A parade of props and petitions circulated through the room as business owners, health-care professionals and concerned individuals approached the lectern to speak for three minutes each.
One speaker wore a red-white-and-blue star hat as she talked about personal liberties, and a doctor carried a large model of a cigarette as he spoke on the health hazards of secondhand smoke.
Speakers quoted presidents, philosophers and poets. Some brought handouts for the council that included newspaper articles on restaurants that gained business by going smoke-free, a petition against the ban put together by Franklin residents and lists of health-care facts and figures.
Health-care professionals shared testimonials about family members who had suffered poor health effects from living with smokers or working in restaurants where smoking was allowed.
They rattled off statistics about diseases linked to secondhand smoke, such as lung cancer and heart disease, and health-care savings gained.
Business owners complained about the loss of freedom to choose how they wanted to run their business and said they would lose customers if they were forced to go smoke-free. Some bar owners argued that the measure should be adjusted to allow smoking in places where only those who were older than 21 could enter.
Some area lawyers noted that, the way the ban is written, it would prohibit churches from lighting candles or incense in their services.
Some council members felt the ban was so far-reaching that they needed time to discuss it before voting.
The ban would prohibit smoking in more locations than other bans introduced in the county, allowing people to smoke only in private homes, some hotel rooms, tobacco stores and most areas outdoors.
Council members agreed they needed to discuss several points of the ordinance for possible amendments.
The way the ban is written, residents could not smoke while riding in a car that belongs to the company they work for. Council member Phil Barrow wondered if this provision was really necessary.
The members also agreed they needed to rework the definition of what kinds of smoking would be prohibited, so that it would not ban church activities.
Council members also want to discuss the definition of a reasonable distance under the ban, which permits smoking beyond a reasonable distance away from where smoking is banned.
They also will debate how the ban should be enforced, which would be the responsibility of the mayor’s office under the current proposal.
Mayor Brenda Jones-Matthews said she did not feel comfortable taking over that duty and would prefer that the council have time to look at what other cities and towns are doing.
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