BANGOR, Maine — After a lengthy discussion, members of the City Council’s government operations committee decided Monday night to continue work on a ban on smoking in city parks but directed staff to focus the ban on parks with playgrounds, ball fields and other city property where children gather.
As a starting point, they reviewed a draft proposal developed by City Solicitor Norman Hietmann that would have banned smoking in the city’s roughly 40 public parks but that would have allowed smoking in West Market Square, which is surrounded by restaurants and bars, and at Bangor Municipal Golf Course.
Councilors, however, were divided on how far the smoking ban should go and to which park spaces it should apply. They directed staff to come up with a new draft that would limit the ban to places frequented by children.
Also on Monday, the committee decided to hold off on a proposed ordinance for stray shopping carts.
Instead, members agreed to continue to monitor the situation and revisit the matter in the next six months to a year.
City councilors began discussing the problem of shopping carts that are stolen from store parking lots and then ditched around Bangor in May in response to complaints from residents.
Councilor Gibran Graham said in May and again on Monday that he favored an ordinance “to keep from having shopping cart blight” on city sidewalks, in streams and in other places where they are dumped.
Councilor Joe Perry, however, said that in his discussions with store owners, the owners have said they are the victims when carts are stolen and as such, did not think it was fair to be penalized.
The committee also voted to continue with plans to relocate the skate park from Maine Avenue to the lot behind the city’s Parks and Recreation building on Main Street.
City Manager Cathy Conlow said the city wants to move the skate park because it may have a buyer for the land on which it now sits.
Councilors asked Parks and Recreation Director Tracy Willette to work closely with the park’s users so they will feel some ownership in the venture.