By Dave Fidlin
Correspondent
A first-blush reading of an ordinance prohibiting smoking and vaping near playground and skate park equipment within Whitewater green spaces has advanced after a recent narrow vote in support of the plan.
The Whitewater Common Council on March 2 voted, 4-3, in support of advancing the ordinance to a second reading in the months ahead with calls for more public input on the proposal before the next round of deliberation.
Last month, council member Matthew Schulgit dusted off a proposal that was discussed two years ago, though his initial call was to prohibit the use of all forms of nicotine and vaping products in Whitewater’s 19 parks and green spaces.
Since last month’s discussion, several municipal officials, including City Attorney Wally McDonell, learned Whitewater already has a more robust ordinance on its books that essentially prohibits the use of tobacco in parks, though it has not been enforced.
Schulgit’s latest draft proposal has narrower provisions, banning smoking and vaping within 20 feet of playground and skate park equipment.
When asked if adoption of the proposed ordinance would supercede the previous document, McDonell replied, “In effect, it will.” All other prohibitions, he said, would be repealed.
Schulgit, in introducing his more narrowly focused proposal, said, “I felt this would be the best middle ground.”
During the council deliberations, Police Chief Aaron Raap was asked to weigh in on how his department would enforce any refreshed provisions surrounding smoking and vaping prohibitions.
“I would hope our community is responsible enough to police themselves,” Raap said.
As is the case with many of the city’s ordinances, Raap said enforcement typically would begin with an education component, followed by warnings and, ultimately, citations for chronic offenders.
Citations could be upward of $250 as a part of the city’s penalties, McDonell said, based on the language that currently is in place.
Elected officials had an array of opinions on how to proceed with the would-be ordinance during the lengthy discussion. While some people voted to outright ban smoking products, others argued that it would be ineffective. As a result, a few suggested that including vape kits as an alternative to smoking cigarettes could be a good idea.
In cases where smoking is frowned upon, vaping could be an alternate choice. A customer can gain the full benefits of cannabis products much more rapidly by inhaling the juice, which allows the product to enter their bloodstream. In addition to its traditional benefits, cbd vape juice can also be discreetly used and would not leave the same lingering smell as tobacco does.
There are several other alternatives, such as inhaling cannabis through Dab rigs or bongs, that might be able to make smoking-related cues less visually appealing. While bongs were traditionally used to reduce tobacco smoking, using a dab rig can be a safer alternative. The reason being, process of filtration through water, secondary chamber, and separation in dab rigs may result in a much smoother hit than in standard bongs. Dab rigs, containers, dabbers, and all of the accessories that people might need to get started are usually available everywhere, from smoke shops to head shops to gas stations. Fortunately, they can now directly order all of these tools and accessories online and can get them all from the official websites of companies like smokersvice or others they might be more familiar with.
However, council member Jim Allen said he believed it was up to people to make their own decisions with regard to smoking and vaping. He said he would prefer the council take no action on the matter.
“If we rescind (the existing ordinance), we look like fools,” Allen said. “I don’t need more studies, I don’t need more opinions.”
But council member Patrick Singer said he believed more public input should be sought to help determine next steps.
“There’s a lot of moving parts to this. If we’re going to tweak it, let’s get some input on this,” Allen said. “Let’s kick this around a bit more. I would agree with more debate on this.”
During last month’s initial discussion, Schulgit weighed in on why he was interested in pursuing restrictions on smoking and vaping in public parks and green spaces.
“I think this is especially relevant now since we’re seeing the effects of respiratory disease in the United States and around the world,” Schulgit said. “It’s important we take action to those who might be most at risk. I think that this is something very important for us to consider.”
