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City Events to Go Smoke Free in 2017
By Jason Togyer
The Tube City Almanac
June 08, 2017
Posted in: McKeesport and Region News
McKeesport City Council has banned smoking, except in designated areas, at all organized events on public-owned property.
The measured passed Wednesday night by a 4-1 vote amends a previous ordinance that banned smoking at public playgrounds.
Council President Richard Dellapenna Jr. was absent due to a death in his family, while Councilwoman Jamie Brewster-Filotei was attending McKeesport Area High School's graduation ceremonies. Councilman Tim Brown participated in the meeting by phone.
Mayor Mike Cherepko said there have been complaints at McKeesport's Summer Concert Series about attendees smoking in the audience.
The ordinance stops short of an outright ban, Cherepko said. It provides for "designated smoking areas" at events at Renziehausen Park and elsewhere, and only covers organized events sponsored by the city.
"Someone walking out on the trail who stops to have a cigarette is not going to be affected," the mayor said. "Are we going to go out and try to cause problems for people? No. To be honest, it's going to be more reactive." Police officers will act on a violation if they receive a complaint, Cherepko said.
The amended ordinance is intended to give police "leverage," he said, to ask smokers to move to a designated area, put out their cigarette, or face a fine.
Councilman Jim Barry, who voted against the new rule, said he felt it was "too general" and hard to enforce.
"I hate cigarette smoke and cigar smoke as much as the next guy, but to be honest with you, I don't think you can really call Renzie Park a 'facility.' It's an open-air park. I can understand banning smoking at a playground or an enclosed facility, but not at the park in general."
There have been problems, Barry said, from time to time with people who have attended offends at Renzie and complained about second-hand smoke. They were told, he said, that the police couldn't make them stop smoking.
"I understand someone threw that in their face last year --- 'Well, there's no ordinance against it,'" Barry said. "This does give the police some teeth to do something about it. ... But I think it's darn near unenforcable."
Originally published June 08, 2017.
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