04-26-05 PTRC Minutes - Laserfiche WebLink

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------- PARKS, TRAILS AND RECREA nON COMMITTEE MEETING APRIL 26, 2005 Page 5 of 10 . 6. Park Tobacco Policy - Suzanne Florey, Christina Florey and Nicole Holm Suzanne Florey, Christina Florey and Nicole Holm provided the Committee with a brief presentation on a proposal for a Park Tobacco Policy. Ms. Suzarme Florey stated that they are members of PACT-Peers Acting to Challenge Tobacco and are present this evening to ask for the Park Committee's support in proposing a Park Tobacco Policy that would ban all tobacco use from City Parks and public areas. She stated that many of the youth in Arden Hills are concerned about the quality of the air in the City Parks and public areas. She stated that the parks are supposed to be available to use for healthy activities such as sports, skating, picnicking and swimming and the parks should be known for their fresh beauty not for the smell of smoke or the litter from cigarette butts. She explained that they believe that no person should be allowed to use tobacco products in a park facility, open facility or joint School/City facility. She stated that many of the metro Cities including New Brighton, Shoreview, Maplewood and St. Paul have passed similar policies addressing this issue. She urged the Committee to consider supporting a recommendation to City Council stating that it would send a very strong message to the Community that the City does care about their time and enjoyment of the parks. She stated that allowing tobacco use in the parks has caused a number of problems including excessive littering, the possibility of small children swallowing a used cigarette; and potential for being a fire hazard, not to mention the extra cleanup involved. She stated that she and her friends spent fifteen minutes picking up various types of litter in the park and presented the Committee with three full baggies of butts and matches, along with a variety of other items. She expressed concerns stating . that there is a lot of tobacco use in the parks and through her own experience she has observed preteens and middle school children pick up and re-light a used cigarette. She stated that she is concerned about the potential for young people to develop a very bad habit. She noted that by establishing a no tobacco policy in the parks the litter would be reduced considerably and it would no longer provide teens with a place to go and smoke. Ms. Christina Florey stated that there are several reasons to consider implementing this policy including the effects of second-hand smoke in addition to role modeling for teens. She stated that young people are influenced by their parents, coaches and older teens. She stated that there are always people sitting at the tables smoking while children are playing nearby and it puts a picture in their heads, at a very young age, that smoking is ok or cool and that this is something they are supposed to do once they become adults. Ms. Nicole Holm stated that all three of them are very active in sports. She indicated that her mother has not been able to attend very many of her sports activities because the smoke causes chronic migraines and bad allergic reactions. She stated that it is unfortunate that people carmot enjoy a sports activity or the nature of the park because of the poor air quality. Ms. Florey stated that they have created brochures to help educate the community on this proposal and also have several petitions that they would like to provide in support of their request. She stated that they received a very good response to the petitions noting that the . petition includes signatures from their peers to neighbors, teachers, business owners and residents of Arden Hills in genera1. She stated tlJat they also have letters, written by residents -------