Proposal would ban tobacco use at new Government Center.

No one will be able to smoke or otherwise use tobacco anywhere on the 40-plus acre Leelanau County Government Center campus in Suttons Bay Township once the county seat moves there next year.

At least, that’s what a county “Employee Wellness Group” has recommended to the county board.

The county board appears willing to go along with the group.

During its executive committee meeting Tuesday morning, the Leelanau County Board of Commissioners voted 6-1, with District No. 3 commissioner Will Bunek opposed, to recommend adoption of “an ordinance establishing county owned public facility campuses as tobacco free.”

The ordinance will exclude county parks, but will include the entire Government Center campus and “any county owned/leased facility where business is conducted,” according to a draft ordinance. “This includes the interior and exterior of Leelanau County buildings including, but not limited to, the Law Enforcement Center and the Government Center and as to the exterior of buildings from the edge of the building to the public sidewalk including parking lots and on the rights-of-way of East Government Center Drive.”

Leelanau County deputy clerk Laurel Send, a member of the “Employee Wellness Group,” presented the proposed ordinance to county commissioners. She noted that the draft still needed review by the county’s attorney, but that the group’s intent was to prohibit smoking anywhere on the new government center campus.

Send noted that Leelanau County boards have adopted a number of “no smoking” policies over the years, the first one in the early 1980’s. The current county no-smoking policy went into effect just last year, she said.

“Unfortunately, very few seem to be following this policy of utilizing ash receptacles located 50 feet from county buildings,” Send told commissioners. “Employees might be following this policy, but the public continues to disregard the posted warnings.”

Send provided commissioners with a photo showing how many cigarette butts had been deposited in the bushes near the main entrance to the courthouse in Leland rather than in available ashtrays.

She said more extensive signage denoting the “Tobacco Free Campus” in Suttons Bay Township would need to be posted around the new government center, including near the entrance off M-204. The draft ordinance could subject violators to a $100 fine or up to $500 for second or subsequent violations.

“If employees or the public wanted to use tobacco products, they would have to drive off campus to do so,” Send said.

“The process of creating a tobacco-free zone would involve educating employees and offering tobacco cessation materials as soon as possible,” Send added. “Some smoking cessation drugs may be available through the various insurance policies that are currently offered through the county. The amount of resources available to implement this ordinance are vast,” she said.

County administrator David Gill said he believed that only a handful of county employees – five or fewer – are still smokers.

County accounting clerk Jennifer Zywicki is not one of them.

“I think the new ordinance is a great idea,” Zywicki said. “Hopefully, we won’t have people standing around the doors of the new courthouse or out in the parking lot smoking as they do now,” she said. “It will be better for everybody.”

Send pointed out that, as of last month, some 19 Michigan counties had enacted more stringent anti-smoking ordinances similar to the one proposed for Leelanau.

“If the county board approves this ordinance,” she said, “it is not only protecting the health of its employees and the public who visit the new governmental campus, they are also protecting their investment.”

District No. 5 commissioner David “Chauncey” Shiflett noted that it would be easier to keep the new government center clean if tobacco products were prohibited there. In addition, Shiflett said, they might stand to save money on health insurance for employees if fewer of them are suffering from health problems related to tobacco use.

The county board is expected to take final action on the proposed “Tobacco Free Zone Ordinance” at its regular monthly meeting Tuesday evening.