Published: August 13, 2008 10:31 am      

Foes protest New Albany smoking ban; focus turns to mayor’s opinion

Protesters of a smoking ban for New Albany met at the 40 & 8 Voiture 1250 Society building Tuesday, bolstering efforts to see language in a recently passed ordinance softened, if not eliminated.

The ordinance was approved by the City Council with a 5-4 vote on first reading, and if OK’d next week, would outlaw smoking in all public venues and private clubs including the 40 & 8, which is located at 221 Albany St.

“It’s really about our freedoms,” said 40 & 8 member and business owner George Waldrews. “I think we’re old enough to have the right to choose.”

Council members Steve Price, Diane McCartin-Benedetti and Jack Messer answered questions from the crowd, trying to explain the legislative process that still must be followed before the ban becomes law.

The three council members present, along with Kevin Zurschmiede, voted against the ban on first reading.

“Don’t get too excited right away,” Messer told the protesters.

Even if the ordinance receives two more majority “yes” votes Aug. 21, Mayor Doug England would have the authority to veto it, Messer said.

If the mayor plans to override the smoking ban, he’s not telling. In a recent interview with The Tribune, England said he would not comment on a possible veto of the ban if it is passed by the council.

He will address the issue after the council takes the final two votes, England said.

Messer told the crowd he was confident changes would have to be made to the ordinance before it would pass through the council and mayor’s office.

Six affirmative votes out of nine council members’ would be needed to override a mayor’s veto, and Messer believes that wouldn’t happen.

“You’ve got four council people that are going to stick with this thing,” Messer said at the 40 & 8 club.

Brenda Gresham and her husband, Bobby, own B & B Bar and Grill, located at 1423 Culbertson Ave. She helped organize the protest along with Waldrews and believes a smoking ban would cripple her business.

“(The council) is going to kill New Albany and turn it into a ghost town,” she said.

Nearly 90 percent of B & B customers smoke, Bobby Gresham said. The couple — like Waldrews and several other bar owners — have accumulated dozens of signatures on petitions calling for the ordinance to be reversed.

They plan to drop them off to council members and the mayor before next week’s final votes.

Bobby Gresham said they likely would have opened another business besides a bar if New Albany had a smoking ban when they launched B & B.

Waldrews said 100 people out of 120 at a recent bingo outing he hosted signed a petition against the smoking ban. He said residents of New Albany should have the right to make the decision.

“Nobody’s asking them whether they want smoking or not,” he said.

But state law prohibits an issue such as a smoking ban to be placed on a referendum for consideration by voters. City and town councils along with county commissions are left to make the choice at the local level.

Benedetti said she agreed with bar owners who are so opposed to the ban.

“(The council) should not go in and tell someone how to run their business,” Benedetti said.

Messer said he would be willing to compromise with council members Pat McLaughlin, Jeff Gahan, John Gonder, Bob Caesar and Dan Coffey, who all voted for the ban.

“If bars and private clubs are exempt I will vote for it,” said Messer, who added he had promised to support the ordinance if those exemptions were made.

Jeffersonville’s ban permits smoking in bars and private clubs, but Louisville’s is comprehensive, like the version initially passed on first reading in New Albany.

Caesar — who introduced the ordinance — said he would review some of the language for the ban before it comes back for the final two votes.

Benedetti took exception with banning smoking within 20 feet of an entrance to a public building.

Price told 40 & 8 members he wouldn’t change his mind on the issue regardless of any concessions.

“(A smoking ban) is not an option for me and I’ve always felt that way,” he said. “It’s private property — leave it alone.”



So you know

• The decisive final two votes for the smoking ban will be taken during the Aug. 21 City Council meeting. If the ordinance is passed, smoking in public venues will become illegal after 60 days.



Other cities, other rules

• A 2005 ordinance passed in Jeffersonville bans smoking in public places, but bars and taverns that admit adults 21 and over can allow smoking. Smoking is prohibited in other workplaces, restaurants and government buildings. In 2007, Clark County Sheriff Danny Rodden decided to allow smoking in some parts of the county’s jail.

• Louisville’s smoking ordinance, which took effect July 1, 2007, bans smoking in nearly all public buildings in the city. Hotels and motels can still have private smoking rooms, according to the ordinance. For a time, Churchill Downs was exempt from the smoking ban, but that changed. Many Louisville bars and restaurants have since fashioned outdoor smoking areas, either open-air or semi-enclosed.