BY JIMMY LAWTONNorth Country This Week

OGDENSBURG — The Ogdensburg City Council is revisiting the possibility of banning smoking and tobacco use at city-owned recreational spaces.

The discussion occurred after the city received a letter from Sarah Barr, community engagement coordinator for the Advancing Tobacco-Free Communities program.

The program operates through the Seaway Valley Prevention Council and is funded by taxpayers through the New York State Department of Health.

Barr’s letter, read during the council’s Sept. 14 meeting, asked the city to consider adopting a smoke- and tobacco-free policy covering city recreational properties, including parks, playgrounds, athletic fields, trails, facilities, spectator areas and associated parking areas.

Barr wrote that a tobacco-free policy would reduce exposure to secondhand smoke and aerosol, particularly for children and families, while reducing tobacco-related litter and providing positive role modeling for youth.

Barr said the program has partnered with the villages of Massena and Canton to support the development and implementation of similar policies, providing guidance, educational resources and signage.

She also offered to meet with city officials or the Recreation Department to discuss the proposal, answer questions and provide examples of policies adopted by other North Country communities.

Deputy Mayor Jennifer Stevenson said she thinks the issue should be addressed.

“I would think that we should have the Rec Commission look at the smoke-free policy in our parks,” Stevenson said. 

“I've had complaints from many parents over the years that their children are playing in the parks and that people are sitting next to them smoking, vaping, doing things.”

Stevenson said the issue had been considered by the city in the past but should be revisited.

“Times change, and that doesn't mean that because it didn't work before... that it couldn't be revisited,” she said.

Stevenson asked whether the council would agree to have the Recreation Commission review the issue and make a recommendation. 

City Councilor Dan Skamperle said he had also planned to raise the matter during the meeting, noting that the city had previously taken steps toward a tobacco-free policy.

“It seems to me we brought that up several meetings in a row,” Skamperle said. 

Skamperle also said that the Seaway Valley Prevention Council had offered to provide signs for the city.

City Manager Fonda Chronis said he was not aware of the earlier action, which took place around 2016 or 2017, according to Skamperle.

Chronis said city officials would research what action had previously been taken.

“We'll dig into it and we'll find out where that process holds,” Chronis said. 

Chronis said the information would then be passed along to the Recreation Commission, with the matter placed on its agenda for review and a recommendation.

The earlier discussions also raised the question of enforcement.

“The problem, of course, is enforcing it,” Skamperle said. “But if you had the signs there for visibility, maybe most people would expect it.”