Athens City Council tabled a tobacco retailer license ordinance.
According to a previous Post report, Councilmember Sarah Grace, D-At Large, said that in Ohio, the sale of tobacco and nicotine products to individuals under the age of 21 is prohibited. Still, little action has been taken to enforce the law. By enacting a licensure process, the city could monitor tobacco sales, fund compliance efforts and create effective penalty and suspension structures for repeated violations.
Grace motioned to suspend the rules and vote on the ordinance because that was the last time the body would meet for the year.
Councilmember Alan Swank, D-4th Ward, said the Council only suspends the rules in case of emergency, and he does not see that ordinance as an emergency.
Swank said he feels it is disingenuous to rush the ordinance through with the number of questions that there still are about it.
One of Swank's problems with the ordinance comes with the section stating the city could shut down private businesses.
According to the ordinance, the business pays a $350 fee for a first violation. For a second violation within a three-year period, the business pays a $500 fee and its TRL is suspended for seven days.
For a third violation within three years, the business pays a $750 fee and its TRL is suspended for 30 days. For a fourth violation within three years, the business pays a $1,000 fee, its TRL is revoked and it is prohibited from selling tobacco products for three years.
For a fifth violation and any subsequent violations within three years, the business pays a fee of $1,000 and is permanently ineligible to apply for or acquire a TRL.
"We often say that Athens is a town that promotes local, private businesses and creates jobs … I am for this ordinance in concept 100%, but when somebody gets to the second violation in a 1,000-day period … their business closes for seven days. That means the people employed don't have a job," Swank said. "And they might make it through that seven days. But they sure as heck aren't going to make it through 30, and that's the next step."
Swank said that starting Jan. 2, he will chair the Council's planning committee, and if the body tables the ordinance, he will bring it back in the first month of the year "in a form that makes sense."
The ordinance was tabled in a 6-1 vote, with Grace voting no.
The Council also discussed an ordinance that was tabled at a previous meeting concerning the punishment for fire safety violations for bar owners in Athens.
Councilmember Micah McCarey, D-At Large, said since the last time the ordinance was discussed in a meeting, there has been an increase in bar violations, likely due to homecoming and Halloween.
McCarey said one major amendment he has suggested would decrease penalties.
The amendment indicates any bar owner whose bar goes over capacity on a first offense would be guilty of a minor misdemeanor and fined no more than $150. A person with a second offense within a two-year period would be guilty of an unclassified misdemeanor and fined $250. A person with a third offense within a two-year period would be guilty of an unclassified misdemeanor and fined $500.
A person with a fourth offense within two years would be guilty of an unclassified misdemeanor and fined $750. A person with a fifth offense and any subsequent offenses within two years would be guilty of an unclassified misdemeanor and fined $1,000.
The amendment removes the possibility of jail time as a punishment within the section.
Councilmember Sam Crowl, D-3rd Ward, said he is concerned with the timetable for the ordinance and does not want to rush to judgment as it seems the city council still has many questions.
Councilmember Ben Ziff, D-At Large, echoed Crowl's concerns and said he is fairly uncomfortable bringing the ordinance back after a month of no discussion, making many big changes and then pushing it through at the meeting.
The ordinance was tabled again to be discussed in January.
