Town to ban smoking in public parks and recreation areas
BY JENNIFER DOME
Staff Writer

MILLSTONE — The Township Committee may vote on a proposed smoking policy once the recreation commission reviews a draft ordinance.

The proposed ordinance would prohibit smoking in all municipal buildings, parks and recreation areas, except for designated areas. Four Allentown High School students, who all live in the township, asked the committee in August to make those who would smoke in public parks subject to punishment.

At a Sept. 17 public meeting, Township Committee members decided that office managers would designate an area where municipal employees can smoke outside of the municipal buildings, if the ordinance is approved.

However, committee members said they wanted to hear recommendations from the recreation commission about how and where to designate smoking areas in parks or recreation areas.

Township Attorney Duane Davison said it might be difficult to prohibit smoking within 25 feet of, for example, playground equip­ment or sports field bleachers, as the current draft of the ordinance states. Davison said people might argue whether someone is 25 feet from a given area, causing an enforce­ment issue.

"The biggest problem with this ordinance is enforcement," Committeeman Cory Wingerter said.

Designating a specific area where smok­ing would be allowed in parks or recreation areas could also be difficult to enforce, Wingerter said. However, he said that many municipalities prohibit smoking on beaches and do not provide designated smoking areas.

"We’re the kings here; we can designate an area, and that’s it," Wingerter said.

The committee discussed how large a designated smoking area should be at a park or recreation area. The proper way to label smoking and nonsmoking areas was also dis­cussed.

Committeeman John Pfeffer­korn suggested that the recreation commis­sion look over the draft ordinance and make suggestions to the committee before a vote on the issue was taken.

Mayor William Nurko said that the town­ship would need to provide trash receptacles in the designated smoking areas if the ordi­nance is approved.

Ashley Toms, the first of the four high school students to address the committee in August, cited statistics about the number of adults and children adversely affected by second-hand smoke. The girls were accom­panied by their parents, who also spoke in support of a smoking ban, but met some op­position from other residents in the crowd.

Pullen Drive resident James Andrew Connelly, who opposed a ban, said he felt the need to "stand in recognition of personal freedom."