Vigo County’s Board of Commissioners did not adopt a proposed public and workplace indoor air pollution ordinance Wednesday as the measure failed to garner a second to bring the issue to a vote.
Among the three commissioners, only Paul Mason wanted the measure passed Wednesday, and Judith Anderson changed her stance to oppose the proposed ordinance.
During their meeting, Mason said the discussion of smoke-free places will “not go away. It could be debated forever and I don’t know what is going to change, if anything, if we wait. I urge us today to vote on this, whether it is a yes or no. Let’s get it over with.”
Mason then moved to accept an ordinance presented to commissioners by the Vigo County Health Department and county Health Board.
Board President Judith Anderson then called for a second.
“We can’t approve the ordinance before it is advertised,” Commissioner Bill Bryan said, saying the ordinance must be advertised, then a vote taken.
Bryan said Mason moved to adopt the ordinance and he could not support that.
Both Anderson and Mason said the motion was to accept the ordinance. “I will not second that,” Bryan responded.
The ordinance failed for a lack of a second and no vote was taken.
Anderson said she was “set to second [a motion on] this ordinance, but after listening to everybody, I would like to see this —and I know [Vigo County Health Officer] Dr. [Enrico] Garcia is going to jump straight over the fence — but I am sorry to say that I am going to have to ask that this be redone.”
Anderson said she did “not like the fact that the small business guy is going to have to do all this stuff,” referring to adding walls to separate smoking areas. “I frequent some of those places, for lunch and Sunday brunch. Those people can’t afford to do this.”
Joni Foulkes, director of operations for the Vigo County Health Department, said the requirements for barriers or enclosures were added at Anderson’s request.
“I realize that,” Anderson said.
Changed position
After the meeting, Anderson explained why she changed her position on the proposed ordinance that she forced into a vote by calling the meeting.
“I think we have just gotten this smoking ordinance out of proportion for what it was intended. It is intended for the better health of the whole county. Any place that someone has to go to employment to do their job every day. It has gotten down to something like the battle of the bands, but it is a battle of the bars and the restaurants,” Anderson said.
“I tend to read into the fact that most work places do not have a problem with this ordinance or they would have been here just like the bars and restaurants. So if we exempt bars and restaurants and make it a work place environment, that is what it was intended to be.”
Foulkes, during the meeting, said, “It isn’t a restaurant issue that minimizes it to ‘it is just a choice of where you want to eat.’ What do you tell a lady who has worked in the same factory for 17 years, that has a GED, and that factory is where her health insurance is from and that is where her retirement is vested, to just go get another job? It’s a choice? It is not her choice. There are many other places out there where employees need to be protected from the dangers of second-hand smoke.”
Norm Loudermilk, a city councilman and city firefighter attending the meeting as a citizen, said the smoking ordinance should be placed on a referendum.
“Instead of elected officials, for some people trying to make decisions for 102,000 people in this county, I think taxpayers here would probably agree to support a cost to place this issue on a referendum and let the county decide,” Loudermilk said.
If a majority favors a smoking ban, then “I think commissioners should endorse [an ordinance] 100 percent,” Loudermilk said.
In Indiana, a referendum can only be put on the ballot if authorized by a state law. It requires the state Legislature to pass a law to allow the referendum. State law lists items that can be placed on a referendum, which does not include a smoking ordinance, according to Terre Haute attorney Chris Gambill.
Garcia responded to Loudermilk’s comments by saying: “You are elected as a public official to make decisions. Councilman Loudermilk … you legislate through the City Council and do not present everything for a referendum. The few of you are deciding things about Terre Haute that affect a large population, but you are elected to do these things and we depend on you” as elected officials.
Poll under way
Carrie Evans, program director for CHANCES for Indiana Youth and a member of Indiana Tobacco Prevention and Cessation, told commissioners a poll to see what people think about smoking already is under way in Vigo County.
Smokefree Indiana is sponsoring a survey in Vigo County, said Robyn Eley, spokeswoman for Smokefree Indiana, conducted by the Survey Research Center at IUPUI. The random digital dial telephone poll is being taken of 300 adults over 18.
The poll started last week and will conclude this week. It is an opinion poll “on the attitudes of people for smoke-free environments,” Eley said such as “should persons be protected from second-hand smoke when working and ask them about their perception of second-hand smoke.”
Discussion before commissioners voted tossed back and forth between support and nonsupport of the proposed ordinance.
Vigo County resident Kathy Sturgeon said she thinks the majority of people in the county do not smoke. Sturgeon said second-hand smoke is dangerous. She knows 13 women who had breast cancer. The women did not smoke, but had spouses who smoked. Also an 18-year-old girl, whose parents both smoked.
“It is like the seat-belt law. It is inconvenient at first, but it saves lives,” she said of the ordinance.
Bill Burdine, manager of Holiday Inn, said about 80 percent of that facility is smoke-free. “I am not sure it is necessary to pass an ordinance. Business will move to non-smoking if that is what people want,” he said. “Let business take care of itself.”
Rod Henry, president of the Terre Haute Chamber of Commerce, said “the free enterprise system is working now in Vigo County” as several businesses have gone smoke-free. Henry favors minimal government regulation that affects business. “Allow the free-market economy to work,” he said.
Bob Wiemuth, president of Wiemuth & Son Co. Inc., said tobacco is a legal substance and the ordinance is in conflict with the use of a legal substance. Wiemuth said an ordinance in Bloomington was changed shortly after passage to include bars and taverns. He recommended Vigo County have a written agreement that such a move would not happen in Vigo County for at least five years.
Jim Jenkins, owner of the Black Angus Restaurant and former mayor of Terre Haute and former Vigo County sheriff, said “if you are going to protect the people of Vigo County, then protect all of the people. Don’t just protect me part of the time in my own restaurant where a legal substance [tobacco] can be used if I allow it in my own restaurant.
“Under this ordinance, you are protecting people in some places and not protecting people in other places,” he said, referring to businesses such as taverns and bars being exempt, yet not all restaurants, which may also have a bar area.
Howard Greninger can be reached at (812) 231-4204 or howard.greninger@tribstar.com.
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