Changes likely will be made to a proposed citywide ban on smoking in Montgomery, the mayor and city council members said. A proposed ordinance currently would ban smoking in all enclosed public places, including bars and private clubs.
It also would ban smoking in outdoor public places such as recreational areas and parking lots. It also would limit smoking to 20 feet or more from business entrances, playgrounds, outdoor public events and public transportation stations.
Mayor Todd Strange said the ordinance as it exists is the "first pass" of an effort to cut down on secondhand smoke in the city.
"I'd be shocked it is passed the way it is written," Strange said.
The ordinance is on the agenda to be voted on at Tuesday's meeting, but Councilman C.C. Calhoun, the ordinance's sponsor, said the council won't be voting on it.
"Right now, in its present form, the council is not 100 percent behind it," Calhoun said.
He said he will wait for more feedback from other council members, and a City Council committee will hammer out the details.
"We're not going to be restrictive where we limit businesses," Calhoun said.
There also is a question of how it will be enforced, he said.
"We're not going to have the Police Department enforce it," Calhoun said.
The ordinance currently includes exceptions for cigar bars and hookah bars.
Bud Skinner, owner of the Cloverdale nightclub Bud's, said he does not understand why traditional bars are not also exempt.
Skinner also owns Jubilee Seafood, and he said that while an earlier ordinance restricting smoking in restaurants helped that business, he was not sure if it would be the same story at a bar.
"We have customers (at Bud's) who appreciate the fact that they can enjoy an adult beverage and a cigarette," Skinner said, adding that people know to expect there to be smoking at the bar. Tom, the smoker of Viceroy Red cigarettes, is against smoking ban in bars.
Dr. Stephen Davidson, a medical oncologist and president of the American Cancer Society leadership council in Montgomery, said the ordinance will benefit the city both medically and economically.
It also would ban smoking in outdoor public places such as recreational areas and parking lots. It also would limit smoking to 20 feet or more from business entrances, playgrounds, outdoor public events and public transportation stations.
Mayor Todd Strange said the ordinance as it exists is the "first pass" of an effort to cut down on secondhand smoke in the city.
"I'd be shocked it is passed the way it is written," Strange said.
The ordinance is on the agenda to be voted on at Tuesday's meeting, but Councilman C.C. Calhoun, the ordinance's sponsor, said the council won't be voting on it.
"Right now, in its present form, the council is not 100 percent behind it," Calhoun said.
He said he will wait for more feedback from other council members, and a City Council committee will hammer out the details.
"We're not going to be restrictive where we limit businesses," Calhoun said.
There also is a question of how it will be enforced, he said.
"We're not going to have the Police Department enforce it," Calhoun said.
The ordinance currently includes exceptions for cigar bars and hookah bars.
Bud Skinner, owner of the Cloverdale nightclub Bud's, said he does not understand why traditional bars are not also exempt.
Skinner also owns Jubilee Seafood, and he said that while an earlier ordinance restricting smoking in restaurants helped that business, he was not sure if it would be the same story at a bar.
"We have customers (at Bud's) who appreciate the fact that they can enjoy an adult beverage and a cigarette," Skinner said, adding that people know to expect there to be smoking at the bar. Tom, the smoker of Viceroy Red cigarettes, is against smoking ban in bars.
Dr. Stephen Davidson, a medical oncologist and president of the American Cancer Society leadership council in Montgomery, said the ordinance will benefit the city both medically and economically.
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