[November 12, 2008] City leaders studying possible smoking ban: E-mail this story to a friend Tweet PRATT, Nov 12, 2008 (The Hutchinson News - McClatchy-Tribune Information Services via COMTEX) -- An ordinance to prohibit smoking in restaurants in this county seat of 6,500 residents is expected to be on the discussion agenda Monday at the city commission meeting. Mayor Eric Nystrom said the idea of banning smoking wasn't on the city's radar until it surfaced at an Oct. 6 joint meeting of city and county commissioners and was later mentioned in a news article. The idea of an ordinance that some believe infringes on their rights has the potential to create a ruckus. "This is an interesting situation," Nystrom said, noting that city commissioners passed a $27 million budget that attracted much less attention. Kenneth Van Blaricum, who serves as Pratt city and Pratt County attorney, has been asked to present information from other towns that have adopted a non-smoking ordinance, including Hutchinson, about 70 miles northeast of Pratt, and Lawrence. While there aren't many restaurants in the county outside the city of Pratt, county commissioners have indicated they would support the city's decision, city clerk Lou Kramer said.The health community has sent letters solidly supporting a ban, city commissioner Bill Hlavachick said. He has heard from the Pratt Regional Medical Center and the doctors' clinic and has been contacted by telephone and on the street by individuals on both sides of the issue. The Kansas Department of Health and Environment also supports the ban, Nystrom said. Opponents argue that there're already enough intrusive ordinances, without the addition of a smoking ban in restaurants and bars. If a business doesn't want smoking, all the owner needs to do is put up a sign, Hlavachick said. Nystrom estimated that an ordinance against smoking would involve about four businesses in the city. Some of those are circulating petitions among their clientele, he said. He has met with one restaurant owner who serves alcohol with food and could be adversely affected. He has plans to contact other business owners. He expects that a straw vote of commissioners taken today would be 5-0 in favor of a ban. While there has been some effort to move forward with adopting an ordinance before the end of the year, the mayor said he's not personally in favor of pushing something through that quickly. "We'll listen and then proceed," Nystrom said. To see more of The Hutchinson News or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.hutchnews.com. Copyright (c) 2008, The Hutchinson News, Kan. Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services. For reprints, email [email protected], call 800-374-7985 or 847-635-6550, send a fax to 847-635-6968, or write to The Permissions Group Inc., 1247 Milwaukee Ave., Suite 303, Glenview, IL 60025, USA. [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]