Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, July 22, 1994 TAG: 9407220104
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: NRV-1 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
SOURCE: By PAUL DELLINGER STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: PULASKI LENGTH: Medium
The governing body voted several months ago to ban smoking in buildings and vehicles, following complaints from employees about second-hand smoke.
But while the administrative staff has been trying to draw up a policy implementing that decision, the council membership has changed and town employees who do smoke - including several department heads - have expressed displeasure over the decision.
``I'd like to see us take a softer approach to this thing,'' said John Stone, one of the new council members seated this month.
Meanwhile, the town's new police chief has indicated that he will act on his own to end smoking in the Police Department.
Town Manager Tom Combiths told council's Personnel Committee that Chief Herb Cooley, who took office Monday, had told his officers that there would be no smoking in police cars or offices. Combiths said no immediate objections were expressed.
But the Police Department is where some of the smoking complaints originated. Some smokers who work as dispatchers and cannot leave their posts during their shifts were upset about how the original council vote would affect them.
The Personnel Committee is charged with deciding the general policy before it goes to the Ordinance Committee. It has studied ordinances from other communities, from Wytheville to Blacksburg.
Now, council seems to be leaning toward the Blacksburg ordinance, which leaves much of it to the town administration to handle. Town Attorney Frank Terwilliger will draw up a proposed policy based largely on Blacksburg's as a starting point.
Alma Holston, who voted against the ban, said at a recent committee meeting that she has heard from dispatchers, police and Fire Department members who also oppose it. She noted that Fire Department members work 24 hours shifts.
``They wanted to be able to have a place where they could smoke,'' she said.
The town staff suggested four possible smoking areas to the committee this week.
Two are in the municipal building. One is a room used by police investigators which could be available once the Pulaski County Chamber of Commerce moves out to the town's train station building. The other is in the dispatch area.
Other suggestions were a recreation room at the Fire Department and in the Street and Water Department at the town shops. The cost to ventilate those four locations was estimated at $200 each.
Councilman Roy D'Ardenne said that would affect nonsmokers who might want to use the recreation room, or who had to work in the dispatch area.
``If you are trying to allow smoking in a work area, that defeats the whole purpose of it,'' he said of the ordinance voted by council. ``We're not talking about majority. You're protecting people who don't smoke.''
Most current council members seem ready to reverse the idea of banning smoking in vehicles, especially those usually assigned to the same employee. Another problem is that employees such as fire fighters often drive their own cars to respond to an emergency, and the vehicular smoking ban - if enacted - would apply to those private cars being driven by employees on town business.
``You've got to enforce the ordinance, and I don't see that we've got the personnel to enforce it,'' Mayor Andy Graham said.
``You have the right to control your own buildings,'' Terwilliger said. ``You have the right to control the conduct of your employees.''
Previously, employees were supposed to set smoking policy for their own work areas and complain to their department heads if necessary.
by CNB