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Posted on 06/24/2002 1:59:34 PM PDT by SheLion

Voters in Oak Bluffs went on a public health rampage this week. Not only did they reinstate the ban on smoking in town bars, but they also cut back on the number of mopeds that may be rented in town and made sure to put a halt to the presence of bicycles, Frisbees and hacky-sack playing on downtown streets.

Town officials ranging from selectmen to the police chief convinced voters at the special town meeting that their backing of such measures would improve the safety and health of both residents and visitors.

There was little argument from the 163 voters who turned out for the meeting in the school cafeteria, except when it came to smoking, debate on which ranged over familiar turf.

It was just over two weeks ago that the board of health lifted the year-old smoking ban by a two-to-one vote and immediately allowed smokers back into the town's three bars that do not serve food. All are clustered on the lower stretch of Circuit avenue.

Health board chairman Joe Alosso stood up to argue that the town's decision to ban smoking in bars was a failed experiment. "The ban sent people to the sidewalks to smoke," he said, reading from a prepared statement. The results, he added, threatened to ruin the family character of downtown.

"The majority of people thought the street was filthy with cigarette butts," he continued. "People felt intimidated to walk through the groups of people smoking. I saw parents with strollers forced into the street."

Mr. Alosso's plea to voters to use common sense and protect families and children from a bar scene on the sidewalks drew a round of loud applause.

Then Tim Dobel, owner of Mocha Mott's coffee shop on Circuit avenue, picked up the same line of thinking. The ban, he said, had simply transplanted the barroom atmosphere out onto the sidewalk.

"I'd much rather see people smoking in the bars," he said, "so my kids can go to Giordano's and the Gameroom."

Back in April at annual town meeting, voters had endorsed a referendum that instructed the board of health to maintain the ban on smoking in bars. It was a voice vote, loud enough to convince moderator David Richardson that voters had sent a clear message.

But on another proposal, voters decided - 105 to 65 - to exempt private clubs from the ban. For the last three weeks, Mr. Alosso has argued that the split over private clubs really showed that voters approved of smoking in bars.

But Tuesday night, voters reaffirmed their April action, raising their yellow cards to tell smokers their welcome mat in bars would soon be gone.

Herbert Combra, the former board of health member who last year recommended letting voters express their opinions on the smoking issue, told the town meeting this week: "Stand your ground, and say ‘No smoking in bars.'"

Bill White, the dissenting health board member who voted against lifting the ban earlier this month, said his job was to protect the public health and to follow the mandate of the citizens of Oak Bluffs.

"Secondhand smoke is a deadly substance," he said. "The clear majority of the people said they did not want smoking in bars. It's not my official right to act unilaterally."

Another woman rose up to say that Oak Bluffs had become a "laughingstock" in the eyes of the state and the nation after its board of health opened bar doors to smokers.

Ken Rusczyk, the selectman who moved quickly to propose the smoking ban as a town bylaw, urged voters to support the article. "Smoking is legal, but this is secondhand smoke," he said. "Think of college students who work [in bars] eight hours a day. They have no choice."

Mr. Rusczyk said yesterday he felt vindicated by Tuesday's vote to reverse the board of health action. "It was embarrassing to have the board of health make such an outrageously bad decision," he said.

It could take as long as three or four months, however, for the new ban to go into effect. The state attorney general must review the bylaw and approve it before the town can put it on the books and begin enforcement.

Meanwhile, Peter Martell, owner of the Lampost and the Rare Duck, plans to keep the ashtrays out and the "Smoking Allowed" signs up at his bar and nightclub.

"We were a little dismayed at the vote," he said yesterday. "The point about smokers in the street was totally ignored. The people who voted don't go downtown and don't go into bars. It was most unfortunate."

But as Mr. Martell gears up for what could be the last summer of smoking in bars, he said his customers will be happy at least in the short term.

Five years ago, boards of health across the Vineyard banned smoking in restaurants, but let bars remain the last bastion for smokers. Last year, both Edgartown and Oak Bluffs extended the ban to bars, creating what tobacco prevention officials called an "even playing field" between the only two Island towns where alcohol is served.

Originally published in The Vineyard Gazette edition of Friday, June 21st 2002

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