Few holidays have us, as a whole, thinking family picnics and get-togethers like Labor Day. And in Roswell Area Park on Monday, one could hear a pin drop.
Brimming Roswell's popular downtown, Area Park should have been busting at the seams with family picnicers on Monday. Its 79 acres boast a pond, a pool, and kids play area as well as an array of baseball, football, and soccer fields. Add to the mix, its many basketball and tennis courts, abundant shade and seating areas; it's the perfect recipe for a family fun day.
Why was it empty?
After overhearing a conversation between a couple of disgruntled residents; their mention of the new no smoking law in Roswell's parks; and the amount of city taxes budgeted for the Parks and Recreation Department as reasons for staying home on Labor Day, a closer look at the issue was in order.
According to an article, written by D. Jefferson Bean, that appeared in The Beacon -- a North Fulton newspaper -- on July 18 of this year, Roswell banned smoking in city parks on July 12.
Bean quotes two Roswellians at the city council meeting: "If I were a tourist, and I got fined $1,000 for smoking, I probably wouldn't come back to this town. Think about what it might do to local businesses." and "I find myself in an uncomfortable of defending smoking. In a hypothetical situation, what about a parent who's there with their kids at a practice for several hours at a time? If this ordinance passes, you're going to force them to get in their car, leave their children unsupervised, drive off the property to smoke a cigarette, and come back. I think this ordinance is going to be much more far-reaching than what you envision."
Were they right? Has it reached in and stolen the sun from Labor Day's fun in the park?
NORTH FULTON'S NANNY CITY
Councilwoman Betty Price, the sole "nay" vote, was the only voice of reason at said meeting (taken from the same article): "There should be plenty of room in those parks for smokers and non-smokers alike...Establishing a smoke-free society may be very a very noble goal, but there are plenty of smokers out there who will resist the attempt to control their actions. I believe everyone enjoys the right to choose between the healthier route of not smoking or the seriously damaging and danger of smoking...Why perpetuate a 'nanny state' in which someone has to tell someone else how to make personal decisions."
Though not substantiated, the word is that the ordinance originated from the complaint of a non-smoker sitting (or standing) next to a smoker at a park function.
If so, what happened to common courtesy? I know residents who ask "will this bother you?" to the person beside them before lighting up, and others who move to another location -- away from the smoke -- without incident. Numerous gatherings meld smokers and non-smokers alike with pleasant experiences had by all.
BEAN COUNTING
Now, then, let's take a look at the money side of this issue. In the city's 2011 budget under expenditures, these figures are listed for the Parks and Recreation Department: General Fund - $10,158,761; Cemetery Care Fund - $23,500; Leita Thompson Fund - $62,500; Recreation Participation and Special Events Fund - $4,933,348; and Capital Project Funds - $291,000, for a whopping total of $15,469,109. This comes in third behind Environmental/Public Works and the Police Department respectively. In the revenue portion of the budget, it appears that the Parks and Recreation Department recoups approximately 5 to 6 million dollars leaving a hefty balance for Roswell's taxpayers.
With such high figures, shouldn't smokers be tax exempt from this amount? Roswell's smoking residents have no problem omitting area parks and functions from their schedules in return.
Better still, shouldn't city parks cater to all residents, as Price said, since all pay taxes? Smokers haven't quite reached leper colony status yet. Smokers have non-smoking friends. Right? Perhaps, a smoker's spot in each park is a little more reasonable.
At any rate, are Roswell's parks purposely avoided by smokers? Judging by attendance, they are. And as we all know, low attendance equals less revenue; less revenue equals higher tax appropriations for the Parks and Recreation department in Roswell's future.
So, what's next? A swear jar on every corner. After all, we don't want our children permanently scarred by road rage, dissatisfied customers, inappropriate behavior, or overzealous celebrating.
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