By Joseph Slacian
jslacian@thepaperofwabash.com
An ordinance banning smoking in public parks and at public events in the City of Wabash was approved on first reading by the Wabash City Council on Monday, Nov. 25.
The council passed the measure 5-1, with Council member Doug Adams casting the lone dissenting vote. It will consider the matter again on second reading at its Dec. 9 meeting.
Under the ordinance, the ban will be enforced by the City Code Enforcement Officer, his designee or the Wabash Police Department.
Violators can be fined $50 for the first event and $100 for each subsequent event.
Adams questioned how the matter would be enforced.
Would someone who witnesses someone smoking have to call the Code Enforcement Officer or the police, he asked.
Likewise, he continued, at events such as the Wabash Cannonball Chili for Charity Chili Cook-off, would the Code Enforcement Officer or police be patrolling Paradise Spring Historical Park looking for violators.
Organizers of events such as the Chili Cook-off could seek waivers to allow smoking at the event, Mayor Scott Long and City Attorney Randy Zimmerman Irgang noted. Those waivers would have to come from the Wabash Board of Public Works and Safety.
For more on the matter, see the Dec. 4 issue of The Paper of Wabash County
