Smoke-Free in Bismarck Bars
A proposal to go smoke-free in Bismarck bars might light up some controversy at an Aug. 24 public hearing before the city commission. Commissioners said its quiet introduction through the city’s consent agenda is standard policy for introducing new code.
“No particular commissioner introduced it,” City Administrator Bill Wocken said Wednesday. “It was introduced by the group of city commissioners on the consent agenda.”
He said city attorney Charlie Whitman drafted it.
Most city commissioners were taking a wait-and-see attitude Wednesday before they take an official stance.
“What I’ve been hearing is that businesses in other cities that did it, businessinitially went down a little bit, but then it went up above what it was before the ban,” said Bismarck City
Commissioner Brenda Smith. “There are people who don’t like to go to bars if they are smoky.”
She doesn’t fear a ban will cause a drop in sales tax revenue.
“Not if historically, it shows that sales do go up,” she said.
Smith said she wanted to wait until the public hearing so both sides could air concerns.
Personally, she said, “I am very concerned about people who work in an area where there is smoke from Marlboro and other cigarettes. Secondhand smoke has been known to increase your chances of cancer and heart problems and there are studies out there that shows it alters your genetic make-up.”
Bismarck City Commissioner Josh Askvig expects a lot of comment at the hearing.
“I think if it passes, it will be a positive thing. Every study I’ve seen is in the long-term it didn’t hurt business,” he said. “Workers won’t have to choose between their health and their jobs. I’ve talked to smokers who said they wished they were smoke-free.”
Commissioner Mike Seminary said it is standard to introduce a new ordinance in the consent agenda.
“We will have a very open meeting at the public hearing,” he said.
“I do not have enough information to provide an educated answer,” Seminary said of the smoking ban’s impact. “One side thinks the public has a right to go in an area that is smoke-free. The other side will say, ‘It’s my right to run my business as I see fit.’”
Bismarck City Commissioner Parrell Grossman said he will hear all concerns, including those from bar owners.
“I will consider the health risks and if a majority of citizens support going smoke-free, that will be a significant factor,” Grossman said.
Bismarck Mayor John Warford could not be reached for comment at his orthodontics office or at the City/County Building.
Mandan City Administrator Jim Neubauer said there have been no formal proposals for a smoking ban brought to city officials from citizens or from any anti-smoking groups.
Mandan city commissioners say considering a blanket smoking ban now is speculative.
“I haven’t heard a public outcry,” said Mandan City Commissioner Dennis Rohr.
He said as a non-smoker, he can choose to stay away from the bar or stay home. “If there is not a public outcry, and it’s just a few squeaky wheels, I’m not sure we need to make public policy on it.”
“I haven’t had any feedback,” said Mandan City Commissioner Thomas Jackson. “The tobacco coalition has not contacted me. At this time, I have not heard of a movement from the tobacco coalition to ban smoking in bars.”
He said if there were such a proposal, he would first want to hear from the bar owners and residents before taking action.
“My inclination is that it should be market-driven. If a bar wants to be smoke-free, it can be. Unless I am approached, I would let it be market-driven,” Jackson said.
Mandan City Commissioner Dot Frank said she would like to see how the Bismarck ordinance plays out.
“It’s something that would have to be explored if residents requested it,” she said.
Smoking is now banned in Fargo, West Fargo and Napoleon.
“At first it was a little rough, but most businesses seem to be doing just fine,” said Fargo City Auditor Steve Sprague. “In some cases, (bars) are seeing people they have not seen before. Many businesses have built smoking huts.”
Fargo Mayor Dennis Walaker likened the smoking ban in his city,
which took effect two years ago, to the helmet laws.
“As long as there is a health risk, a smoking ban is the answer,” Walaker said. “People resist change, someone telling them what they can and can’t do. Once a law is enacted, it takes a period of time to adjust.”
He said to prevent nearby cities from facing off against one another, “the state Legislature should take a stand and eliminate smoking.”
Napoleon Mayor Kyle Haas said making bars smoke-free was overwhelmingly favored there by 65 percent of the voters.
In the 10 days that the smoking ban has been in effect, he has not witnessed any serious impact.
“From what I’ve seen, there has not been much change,” Haas said. “There are just as many people in the bars as before the ban.”
West Fargo Mayor Rich Mattern said it helped that Fargo, West Fargo and Moorhead, Minn., all started the smoking ban about the same time.
“It’s going OK. There was a little bit of a learning curve. People had to learn what do to with the (smoke)huts. They have to be 25 percent open,” he said.
“It really got contentious. I had never seen so many people at the meetings. I hit the gavel a few times,” he said of the debate three years ago. “Everything seems to have settled down.”
Mattern said he is glad it went to a vote of the people instead of the commission.
“It didn’t increase business, but it didn’t hurt business either,” he said. “It’s one of those things people need to get used to.”
Bars will go smoke-free in Grand Forks starting Sunday.
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