Smoking ban planned for city facilities

Where there’s smoke, there’s fire. But if Berea Mayor Steve Connelly has anything to say about it, smoke in city owned facilities won’t be from cigarettes or cigars much longer.

In his remarks at Berea College last week, Connelly said legislation has been drafted to ban smoking in municipally owned public facilities, reversing the city’s long tradition of allowing smokers to light up in public buildings.

“You will see the city take up a proposed ordinance on prohibiting smoking in city owned buildings and vehicles,” Connelly said. “There would be no designated smoking areas. Absolute prohibition.”

Connelly’s predecessor, Mayor Clifford Kerby, opposed a smoking ban or the creation of designated smoking areas, asserting that smokers had the right to inhabit the same space as non-smokers. The city’s proposed measure goes against that informal policy, however, citing second-hand smoke as a health risk that must be prevented.

“It would take the step to say that because of the city’s concern for worker safety, our employees, and because of our concern for public access to public buildings, that we do not recognize any alleged right of someone to smoke,” Connelly said. “Unless there’s a rebellion among the city council, I believe we will be passing a smoke-free ordinance for our buildings and vehicles.”

Since Connelly took office last year, the city has initiated smoking cessation plans to assist municipal employees to quit smoking. While some employees have found it difficult to quit, others have succeeded.

“It’s a tough thing. I guess you really can’t appreciate it unless you’ve gone through it,” said Connelly. “Both our police and fire chief have done that and they are very proud that they have quit, but they say even today ‘I’d love to have one.’ I guess it’s just a constant fight not to do that.”

Once the ordinance is passed, Connelly said the city will offer more smoking cessation classes to help employees buck their addiction to nicotine. He also added that citizens will still be able to smoke wherever it is permitted in town, as long as it isn’t on city property.

“We won’t be radical like maybe John G. Fee would have been if he were here,” Connelly quipped. “We won’t make Berea smoke free from limit to limit. But in terms of public buildings and vehicles, that’s my goal.”

Written by Andy McDonald - BereaOnline.com Contributing Editor