Though the cold can numb and the wind can freeze, for some it isan acceptable sacrifice to scratch the itch of nicotine. but eventhe most dedicated smokers could use some shelter.
“I can’t imagine being that cruel,” said Bismarck bar owner BillHixson on the thought of putting smokers out in the cold after thecity smoking ban goes into effect Nov. 1. “I plan on going back andasking for permission to build some kind of shelter.”
An addition to the city’s architecture could soon be the smokeshack — sometimes known as the butt hut — a small shelter forsmokers from wind and cold weather. it is one of the adjustments tothe smoking ban that bar owners say they will have to make.
“There’s all kinds of logistics we’ve got to look at,” saidHixson, who owns three Bismarck bars that allow smoking.
Brad Erickson, owner of Borrowed Bucks Roadhouse, said that theadjustments will include staff getting used to customers enteringand leaving to smoke, making sure they leave their drinks insideand keeping out anyone trying to get in without showing an ID.
“Like anything else, you get used to it as you do it,” Ericksonsaid. “The largest thing is the unknown — is it going to affectus?”
The issue of the smoking shelter is one that some affectedowners would like the City Commission to address.
According to the ordinance, smoking is prohibited within 10 feetof an entrance or exit of a business.
Some would like to see partially enclosed structures thatare
attached to exits of bars, which Fargo allows under its ban.
“I really suspect that (City Attorney) Charlie Whitman has hadsome calls,” said Commissioner Mike Seminary, who was the onlycommissioner who voted against the smoking ban. “I’m sure therewill be some questions. there may even be some new ordinances.”
Whitman was not available Friday afternoon.
Commissioner Josh Askvig said the Commission would addressconcerns as they arise, but he did not anticipate having to alterthe smoking ordinance.
“My perception is that the Commission wants to implement thisand go forward,” he said. “I don’t think it’s a burden or ahardship.”
City building official Ray Ziegler said that smoking shelterswould be treated as other structures and are subject to thesame
requirements for permanent foundations and the capacity towithstand high winds and heavy snows.
While some bars and restaurants in town have smoking stationsoutside their doors, Dakota Skies Bingo built a smoking shelternear its front door after smoking was banned from bingo halls in2005.
“All it is, basically, is a plastic bus stop,” said John HarrisIII, president of Prairie Public Broadcasting, which operates thebingo business. “It definitely was a smoke-filled room, even thoughwe had a nonsmoking section.”
Prairie Public does not oppose or endorse the ban, Harrissaid.
Harris said that attendance at Dakota Skies fell following theban, but most came back later. A report at the time of the banshowed that receipts for gaming had been falling before the ban,too.
“I think over time, we’ve seen the great majority come back tobingo” despite not being able to smoke inside, Harris said. “Theyhave now accepted that’s the way it is.”
Gary Schumacher, owner of the Stadium Sports Bar, said thattavern owners are still worried that they will lose business toMandan establishments where smoking is permitted. He said pool anddart leagues are dependable money makers, and many will not meetwhere they cannot smoke.
He and other owners plan to return to the Commission to question forguidance on some questions on how they can accommodate smokersafter the ban.
“People are going to smoke, and this isn’t going to stop themfrom doing that,” Schumacher said.
(Reach reporter Christopher Bjorke at 250-8261 or