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City will discourage ballfield smoking

First, officials will ask nicely by posting signs at city ballfields. Then they'll see whether they can pass an ordinance banning it.

By CURTIS KRUEGER
Published May 29, 2005

ST. PETERSBURG - City workers will soon put up signs asking people not to light up cigarettes at local ballfields, so kids playing Little League baseball or other sports won't have clouds of smoke wafting in their direction.

In addition to asking the public to voluntarily put their cigarettes away, the city's legal staff will research whether the City Council could pass a law banning smoking at ballfields in local parks.

If so, it's possible the council could discuss a ballfield smoking ban as early as next month. At this point, council members are only discussing whether to ban smoking from athletic fields, not from other areas of city parks.

The issue came up for discussion Thursday at a meeting of a three-member City Council committee that discusses public services and infrastructure. The two council members who attended, Jay Lasita and Richard Kriseman, might run against each other in a legislative race next year, but they didn't debate Thursday. Both see good reasons to ban smoking from the ballfields.

They agreed that most soccer moms and baseball dads already are respectful of others, and generally walk away from the crowd when they want to light up.

But Kriseman said he knew of one case in which an adult was smoking at a ballfield and the smoke wafted into a dugout, disturbing the baseball players inside.

Kriseman said this is a matter of concern because "the kids are the ones who are most at risk," because their lungs are still developing.

Lasita said action by the city "sends a message that smoking in certain ... situations is inappropriate."

Lasita acknowledged after the meeting that he smokes, and that he's not proud of the habit. Nonetheless, he said he believes in making sure those who smoke don't affect the health of children and adults who participate in athletic activities.

City Parks Director Clarence Scott said his staff would soon put up signs that politely ask people not to smoke. The signs would go up near such places as the backstops and dugouts of baseball fields. They would not say that smoking is outlawed.

But Kriseman and Lasita voted to have the legal staff study the possibility of outlawing smoking at the ballfields, and to possibly draft an ordinance that the full council could debate further. Specifically, they want to know if the council has the authority to pass such a law or if the Florida Legislature would be required to do so.

The council's Public Safety, Public Services and Infrastructure Committee plans to discuss the matter again at a June 9 meeting.

[Last modified May 29, 2005, 01:05:19]