Butt out at Omischl's place

There will soon be one less place to smoke in the City of North Bay if Councillor's have their way.

During Tuesday Night's Committee Meeting, a resolution was passed that would ban smoking anywhere on the grounds of the Steve Omischl Sports Complex including all fields, buildings, parking lots and all other passive recreational areas within the park boundaries.

Staff undertook training regarding maintenance and upkeep of the new synthetic turf for the Omischl Complex. They were advised that no smoking should be undertaken in proximity to the synthetic field surfaces.

At the first public meeting regarding field user fees, the topic of smoking of the Omischl Complex was raised. It was unanimously expressed by the user groups in attendance that the Steve Omischl Sports Complex should be smoke free.

For the purposes of maintenance of the synthetic fields and its successful implementation of keeping any smoking activity away from the fields, it is necessary to prohibit within the park boundaries entirely. Otherwise enforcement will be very difficult.

The matter of smoking at sports fields anywhere in the city was raised at the meeting as well. Again, there was unanimous support for a City wide ban of smoking in all parks. Staff advised those in attendance that the matter would be brought to council for discussion.

During the meeting, council also recommended that staff be directed to undertake a review of smoking at all City facilities in consultation with The Health Unit and to report to council regarding their findings.

Councillor Dave Mendocino says that council is expecting opposition from some smokers who feel that it's their right to light up anywhere, as long as it's outdoors

However, Mendocino says that banning smoking in certain areas are always well received after an "adjustment period."

In his opinion, Mendocino says that it would be hypocritical for the City to pump and promote healthy, active living and still allow smoking in outdoor recreational facilities, especially when there's children involved.

"It's pretty tough not to move in this direction," he says.

The Steve Omischl Sports Complex will officially open on August 20th, 2011.

Despite the slack that the City has taken with regards to the cost and overruns for the new, state-of-the-art sports facility, Mendocino says that he believes that it's been a worthwhile project .

"I remember, as Chair of Committee of Community Services, talking to Jerry Knox about possibly going forward in this direction in the winter of 2004," he says. "In September of 2005, when council endorsed the Sports Complex, that was something that, as Chair, I was proud of."

Mendocino says that it took the City a few years to find a spot and to get going but once they managed to find the sight and get the proper funding, it came together all at once.

The councillor says that he's proud to have played a small part in the project and is happy to see it come to fruition.

"I'm proud that I was involved in the council that got it done."

While user fees still need to be hammered out before it opens in less than 18 days, Mendocino says that after having public meetings, staff are now compiling information.

He says that the next step is to come out with the actual rates for the user fees. It appears that rate for children will most likely be lower than the cost for adults. Other rates will be established to attract tournaments, which he says will be good for economic development.

Mendocino hopes that all user fee issues will be resolved in front of council in the next two weeks.