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Oakdale snuffs out park smoking ban idea
On second try, students sent back to the drawing board
Katy Zillmer
staff writer
The Oakdale City Council has once again extinguished a proposal from the Tartan High School Students Against Destructive Decisions (SADD) group to adopt a city-wide ban on smoking in parks.
The group, along with representatives from the Association for Nonsmokers- Minnesota Tobacco-Free Youth Recreation program, presented their ideas to the council during a workshop last Tuesday. No official vote was cast, but each of the council members shared their disdain for a city-wide policy.
In the summer of 2005, a different batch of Tartan SADD members pitched the policy to the council, but the proposal was denied with a 5-0 vote.
But the students worked throughout the current school year to develop a new approach and alternatives to reach a compromise with the City Council, said Brittany McFadden, program director of Tobacco-Free Youth Recreation.
"This issue has really continued to gain momentum; it has not gone away," McFadden said.
'Proactive approach'
During the students' City Council presentation, they said the policy should be enacted because parks are public, outdoor facilities for everybody to enjoy as a healthy environment.
The policy would clean up the parks in Oakdale by eliminating second-hand smoke and litter from cigarette butts, said Tartan senior and SADD co-president Chris Moua.
To illustrate their point, the students collected three gallons of discarded cigarette butts at Tanners Lake Park and Richard Walton Park, which is next to City Hall on 15th Street and Hadley Avenue.
Pets and young children can accidentally ingest cigarette butts on sidewalks and in parks, said SADD member and Tartan junior Tashie Xiong.
If the city passed a policy based on the students' proposal, the Tobacco-Free Youth Recreation program would provide no-smoking signs to post in designated parks.
The students suggested the policy for Oakdale because it would also make the city's practices consistent with those of neighboring areas.
North St. Paul, Maplewood, Woodbury, and Ramsey and Washington counties have passed smoke-free policies for their parks, Xiong said.
Since cities are asked to only pass a policy, not an ordinance, enforcement and awareness is left up to the community and people who smoke, McFadden said.
"A lot of times communities adopt these policies not based on a problem, but as a proactive approach toward a more healthy park system," she said. "Most people who smoke look for signs, and they're going to follow it. And if they don't (or) they don't notice the sign, and if someone is bothered, it gives them the empowerment to point out there is a sign."
Be consistent
The council was concerned, however, that enforcement of the policy wouldn't be effective, and members also said they have not received complaints from residents about smoking in parks.
Mayor Carmen Sarrack said he still disagrees with the proposed policy, just as he did when it was suggested four years ago.
"What's happening in this country is we're passing so many laws ... we're all going to be under house arrest in 10 years because we can't even move," Sarrack contended.
"I see very few adults ever even smoke in the park ... they are courteous," he said, adding that he could not recall receiving a complaint about smoking in city parks during his 18 years on the council.
Council member Stan Karwoski said, after raising four kids who participated in youth sports, that parents are respectful and do not smoke at those activities.
"It hasn't been a problem, and I don't think our city is ready for a widespread policy abolishing smoking (outdoors)," Karwoski said.
"Oakdale should take this action, partially because only 17 percent of residents in Oakdale smoke. I understand that that 17 percent have the right to smoke, however the 83 percent should also receive the right to breathe tobacco-free air in a public area," Xiong said.
OAA policy is a start
But, the Oakdale council felt its parks are too diverse to implement a smoking ban.
Council member Kent Dotas, who is also the president of the Oakdale Athletic Association (OAA), said the city's parks have too many different uses to pass a universal smoking ban.
As long as people do not litter, he said, there are parks where people can smoke and not bother others while using walking paths or attending a family event. "Most of our parks aren't athletic facility parks, but they are more passive parks where people can still smoke," Dotas said.
As a compromise to the students' proposal, the council agreed the issue could be addressed through existing no-smoking policies of the OAA.
The association's current policy requires each team coach to sign a document that states there will be no smoking or drinking during practices or games, Dotas said. Coaches are asked to enforce the policy with parents of the kids involved with the OAA sports, he said.
Signs could be added in areas where OAA games are held to increase the awareness of the association's own policy, Dotas offered.
Overall, McFadden said the council's idea to work on the OAA policy is "a step in the right direction."
The students agreed
"Although I believe that the OAA is already supposed to be tobacco-free, getting something is better than nothing," Moua said. It would be a stepping stone for future students who would like to take on this policy, if the current policy (the one we are proposing now) does not pass."
Dotas said he plans to bring the issue to the next OAA meeting for discussion and that a policy could be adopted in the city to further enforce their existing rules.
"I don't smoke, but (I) have no problem with a resident going to a park, enjoying a park and smoking, as long as you don't leave any litter behind," Dotas said. "... We have laws to enforce that," he said.
Moua said SADD's next step would be proposing the policy at a City Council meeting. "What's really important about this policy for me is that it establishes a cleaner and healthier park system for the community. I will be actively working on this policy to reach an agreeable point with everyone involved."
Katy Zillmer can be reached at kzillmer@lillienews.com or at 651-748-7822.
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