Ongoing discussion surrounding issues of the Madison smoking ban, which will take effect July 1, continued Monday when officials met to discuss upcoming policies regarding the new ordinance.
The Smoking Ordinance Implementation Team, including city officials, the Public Health Department, the Madison Police Department and local businesses, discussed how the city and establishments will deal with the citywide change.
Owner of the Nitty Gritty Mark Shapiro, who directed the meeting, highlighted questions from establishment owners.
One of the more contentious issues with the smoking ban is where customers are allowed to smoke. Under the new ordinance, customers will have the option to smoke in outdoor patio areas, provided the business is not in violation of the city’s fire code.
Representatives of the Madison Fire Department, including Chief Debra Amesqua, said the department has a “great desire to work with businesses.”
According to the department, within outdoor structures including tents and canopies, as well as other comparable edifices composed of pliable material, smoking will not be allowed due to their potential for fire hazard.
“My commitment to the community is to make sure the fire department is business-friendly,” Amesqua said.
In addition to complying with the fire code, businesses will also be required to post signs prohibiting smoking. These signs will include a hotline number, which can be used by patrons to call in anonymous complaints.
In handling the upcoming citywide ban, the committee will help to increase awareness among the business community by distributing an informative newsletter by mid-April. The newsletter will be distributed to every business in possession of a food and drink license.
Despite controversy, committee members said they are aware of the possibility of local business opposition but do not expect many challengers to the ordinance.
“There might be a few mavericks who think [the ordinance] is killing their business, but 90 to 95 percent of them are going to be in compliance,” Shapiro said. “It’s a no-brainer. They don’t have a choice.”
In order to assure little resistance from owners and customers, the committee scheduled the promotion of a public campaign, which is expected to utilize all aspects of the media, including newspapers, radio and television. Fundraising possibilities are being reviewed, including a grant promised by the American Cancer Society.
The smoking ban will be campaigned most aggressively in mid-June and again in mid-August as students return to Madison for the 2005-06 school year.
“Our intent here is not to trip anybody up, but to facilitate the process,” Mayoral Chief of Staff Janet Piraino said.
Additionally, the committee is also considering the use of public-service announcements on local TV stations, radio ads and press conferences to get out the word. The public-service announcements are modeled after promotional strategies used in areas already practicing smoking bans, including Boston and Minneapolis.
Other Wisconsin cities have concurrently been considering smoking bans, including Stevens Point and Appleton. Appleton passed ordinances during Tuesday’s election that will go into effect July 1.
The committee is scheduled to meet again May 12 to continue the public-outreach and educational-programming discussions.
Shapiro said he hopes the committee will “go out of business” as soon as the ordinance goes into affect in July.
Owner of Wiggie’s, David Wiganowsky, dryly responded, “Hopefully this committee rather than businesses.”
