The City Commission voted 4-1 Monday night to repeal part of a city ordinance that would have ended all indoor public smoking in Pratt this month.
The repeal will leave in place a transitional provision in the ordinance that has allowed smokers to light up after 10:30 p.m. in bars, clubs and restaurants for the last seven months. Public smoking at any other time or place is still prohibited.
Commissioner Willy Peltier voted against the motion.
“The problem that I have is that servers are still subjected to that smoking environment,” he said. “I’ve talked to several servers ... and they think the city should protect their health.”
City Attorney Ken VanBlaricum noted that employers cannot require their servers to work in smoking areas, but Peltier countered that employers could find other reasons to fire a server who refused.
The other commissioners defended the late-night smoking provision as a compromise to appease smokers who feel their rights have been trampled.
“It’s something that’s been working for seven months,” Mayor Jeff Taylor said.
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