North Augusta delays smoking ban decision
7/8/2008 1:35 AM


By BILL BENGTSON

North Augusta bureau

NORTH AUGUSTA -- Cigarettes, cigars and pipes dominated the agenda and a clear resolution remained elusive at Monday's North Augusta City Council meeting, in the midst of debate over a proposed antismoking ordinance.

More than an hour of discussion led to a "second amended vote," with unanimous approval of an updated ordinance, instead of a third and final vote that had been originally scheduled. Another vote - potentially the last one - is to be held in the weeks ahead.

Among those addressing the issue was Aiken County Councilman Chuck Smith, a North Augusta resident who has been dealing with the issue of where smoking will be allowed at the county level.

Smith expressed general support for North Augusta's measures, which have been prepared largely in alignment with a measure that was put into effect in Greenville County and approved by the S.C. Supreme Court.

"We have met again, and it is the intention of this council to bring this issue back to the table one more time for the uniformity and consistent ordinance we hope will be created throughout the county, so that the enforcement and regulatory authority will be the same for everybody," Smith said.

Monday's discussion touched on an assortment of smoking-related concerns, including whether such organizations as the American Legion should be allowed to have smoking in their facilities; the potential establishment of "cigar bars" as a means of skirting the ordinance; and also how high the fine(s) should be for smokers who break the law (the current plan is for a range of $10 to $25, but a suggestion was made to raise the upper limit to $250).

Councilman Carolyn Baggott noted that one of the proposed changes was the elimination of exemptions in a section of the ordinance dealing with private clubs, particularly "a post or organization of past or present members of the armed forces of the United States."

She added, "The other major amendment was the elimination of separate air-handling systems for smoking within buildings, and those smoking areas were to have been set up for the employees of a business, but since there are no sufficient air-handling systems that could totally separate the air from the other areas, then it would be incumbent on us to not have any employees exposed to second-hand smoke."

Baggott gave an upbeat assessment to Monday's decisions and noted that hopes are to have North Augusta's regulations in line with those of Aiken County.

"We're going for consistency, and I'm pleased to see us strengthen our ordinance," she said.

Mayor Lark Jones made similar comments about the proposed changes.

"I think they're positive and they're making it more consistent. I mean, if you're going to say you're not going to allow smoking, you shouldn't have exceptions, and that's basically what we did. We've eliminated most of the exceptions and made it more in line with the Greenville ordinance and with what the county and also what Aiken is wanting to do."

The mayor added, "More than anything, I think the state should pass something so we can have the same rules throughout the whole state of South Carolina ... The bottom line, as far as the City is concerned, is that you're not going to be able to smoke in public places and in work places. If you want to smoke, you'll have to go outside and smoke."

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