CC Minutes - 09/11/00 Meeting - Laserfiche WebLink

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Mr. Parton said that the council had an opportunity to create a win-win situation by enacting the smoking ordinance and letting businesses attract more nonsmoker business. Suzanne Levinson, 1525 West 13th Avenue, commented that tobacco was a historical accident and that the reason it was so popular was because it had been glamorized by Hollywood. Lucas Mericantante, 2494 Blackburn Street, spoke as a bar owner. He urged the council to let bar owners decide for each individual establishment whether smoking was to be allowed. Clarke Hansen, 2974 Game Farm Road, spoke as a representative for ARC of Oregon. He stressed that the smoking ordinance was not a black and white issue. He also stressed that the decision belonged at the state level. He raised concern that the ban on smoking would cause him to lose enough customers that he would lose his license for his bingo parlor. Lila Adams, 1143 Cinnamon Avenue, related how she had lost her mother to secondhand smoke. She raised concerns over the thousands of employees exposed to secondhand smoke everyday and urged the council to think of statistics as real people. Vicki Chandler, 618 South 34th Street, urged the council to keep an open mind when making the final decision. She raised concern that ARC of Oregon bingo would lose its license if it lost business by banning smoking. Steven Esti, 1802 Lawrence, commented that the ordinance should be put to the voters. He remarked that it was not a complicated issue and that the voters could decided rather than the council alienating pads of the community no matter what its decision was. He reiterated his suggestion of putting the matter to the voters. Toby Hill-Myer, 637 East 39th Avenue, commented that he could not find a place to work since he got sick from breathing secondhand smoke. He urged passage of the ordinance. He opined that businesses would gain nonsmoker business if they banned smoking. Martin Jones, 2300 Parkside Lane, spoke as a physician in favor of the ordinance. He commented that he treated many victims of secondhand smoke. He related how he thought of a list of people in ill health to come and testify against smoking but found out that they were all dead. He commented that no one had the right to expose someone else to poison. Tracey Olsen, 795 Willamette Street, commented that workers had a choice to work in or out of a smoking environment. He also noted that customers made a legal choice to smoke or not. He opined that his business would be hurt by a ban on smoking and that drunk driving would go up in nearby jurisdictions. He suggested trying to get other nearby jurisdictions to also enact the ordinance or to have it done countywide. He submitted a petition with 1,000 signatures against the proposed ordinance. Willie Saleeby, 2793 Powderhorn Drive, related how his business had dropped when he had made it a nonsmoking establishment. He advocated for the idea of separate smoking areas. He commented that loss of business would mean loss of jobs in the area as well. Ward Chase Fairbairn, 550 East 13th Avenue, said that it was his choice to smoke just as it was his choice to run an establishment that allowed smoking. He noted that he had created a MINUTES--Eugene City Council September 11, 2000 Page 9 Regular Meeting