07-12-2010 Council Minutes - Laserfiche WebLink

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MINUTES OF THE ORONO CITY COUNCIL MEETING Monday, July 12, 2010 7:00 o'clock p.m. (3. TOBACCO -FREE FOUTHRECREATION, ORONO FOUTHINACTION, Continued) butts were collected internationally that if they were stacked end to end, they would go to the moon and back twice. The students of Orono have collected over 260 petitions and letters of support from concerned citizens. The petitions and letters not only demonstrate community support for the policy but also awareness throughout the community. The students have also met with the Orono Police Chief to educate themselves about the use of tobacco within the community. Melgo stated there are currently 115 tobacco free park policies throughout the Minneapolis /St. Paul area. Youth in Action would like Orono to be a trend setter in the western suburbs. Other surrounding cities who have adopted this policy include the cities of Plymouth, Edina, Eden Prairie, Golden Valley and Maple Grove. Plymouth's superintendent of recreation has found their policies to be successful and has found that peer pressure and signage provides enough incentives to keep the parks tobacco free. In 2004, the University of Minnesota conducted a study that found that 90 percent of the park and recreational directors surveyed would recommend adopting this type of policy to other cities. Fifty -eight percent of those directors also reported less litter in the parks after the adoption of the policies. Youth in Action believes it would be a positive step in Orono to adopt a tobacco free policy. • Jay Peppin stated the policy would also help stop people from breathing in second -hand smoke. Parks are intended to allow people a place to relax, entertain, and play. Allowing tobacco in those areas would defeat those purposes. • Elizabeth Fossen stated cigarettes are the number one littered item in the world and they contain a number of lethal chemicals. A 10 -pound dog only needs to eat two to four cigarette butts to show signs of toxicity. These materials take anywhere from 1.5 to 10 years to decompose. In addition, these chemicals seep into the ecosystem. On April 260, the Youth in Action students collected litter at Hackberry Park and Summit Beach. Within an hour and a half, approximately a gallon and a half of litter was collected. This litter demonstrates that Orono does have a significant amount of tobacco use and litter in the parks currently. A policy like this would help to reduce the amount of money spent on keeping the parks clean'. Another chief concern is the impact that adults have as role models. Adults have a great amount of influence on the surrounding children, and the less children are exposed to tobacco smoke, the more positive impact it will have on their children. Tobacco use is currently not allowed on school grounds and in public buildings, and adopting a policy restricting tobacco use in public parks will help create a more consistent message. Elizabeth Macko stated second -hand smoke is the leading cause of preventable death in the United States and is classified as a known human carcinogenic by the Environmental Protection Agency. In outdoor public areas, second hand smoke can reach the same level as indoor facilities where smoking is allowed. More than 4,000 chemicals are released into the air from one cigarette and many of these chemicals are toxic to others who are not smoking. In the United States, there are approximately 46,000 nonsmokers who live with smokers that die annually from heart disease as a result of second -hand smoke. In addition, there are also 3,400 lung cancer deaths annually in nonsmoking adults. By eliminating tobacco use in our outdoor areas, such as public parks, people would be protected from the negative health consequences of • second -hand smoke. Page 2 of 16