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Arnold City Council Session on Smoking Ban Turns Fiery
St. Louis (MO) Post-Dispatch
4/18/2005
Councilman resigns, stalks out, rejoins council
By Matthew Hathaway
Of the Post-Dispatch
A work session called for the Arnold City Council to consider changes to the city's smoking ban turned raucous and bizarre Thursday night.
Councilman Claude "Butch" Cooley, 4th Ward, announced his resignation and stormed out of the meeting less than two hours after he was sworn into office for his third term. Minutes later, he rejoined the council.
The city's controversial ban on smoking in most restaurants has caused flare-ups before, but nothing quite like last week's work session, a usually relaxed meeting format that allows council members to discuss but not vote on legislation.
Cooley and two other council members want to amend the city's ordinance to allow smoking in walled-off areas of 24-hour restaurants. A Denny's and Steak 'n Shake would be affected by the proposal. Arnold Mayor Mark Powell and three other council members want to hold off on that plan until the city can meet with all the restaurant owners in the city.
Arnold's Smoke-Free Restaurant Act bans smoking in most restaurants and bars that derive less than 70 percent of their sales from alcohol. Restaurants that serve alcohol can allow smoking in bar areas that are walled-off and have separate ventilation, but only if the businesses applied for the variance by last Dec. 31. Only two restaurants qualified for such an exemption.
No vote was taken at Thursday's work session. Council members discussed whether they should amend the ban, to offer restaurants without bars a chance to build special smoking sections. They argued over whether a variance should be given to all restaurants, only all-day establishments or none at all.
Cooley said it was critical for the council to act quickly to allow smoking in Denny's, where the restaurant claims at least one waitress has seen her income from tips cut drop from about $125 per night to less than $70.
A corporate representative from Denny's told the council that the chain could begin work on building a smoking section within days of the council's approval. The company has reported that it might eventually close the restaurant, which is near Interstate 55 and Highway 141, if it cannot allow smoking.
During the meeting, Cooley sparred with Councilman David Venable, 2nd Ward, the author of the ban and primary supporter of leaving it intact. Cooley told Venable that voting to improve the lot of the unnamed Denny's waitress - a mother of three, according to the restaurant - was no different than voting for tax increases to increase salaries in the Fox School District, where Venable teaches.
Venable proposed delaying a decision so the city could study sales figures for restaurants and meet with affected business owners. In an unofficial vote, or poll, the council deadlocked 3-3 whether to delay action. Powell said the council should wait, do more research and possibly consider an amendment that would affect all restaurants, not just 24-hour establishments.
After the poll, Cooley stood up and shouted at council members.
"I can't work with a bunch of people who want to see other people suffer," Cooley told council members before announcing his resignation, about two hours into his third term of office.
Powell told Cooley that resignations must be made in writing, and Cooley rushed out of the council chamber.
"We should have gone over this tonight, and now they want to drag this out for another six months ... This should have been an easy meeting," he said outside the meeting.
Cooley later returned to his seat. When it was his turn to vote in two polls on other issues, he responded, "Whatever you want to do," instead of the customary yes or no. After the meeting, Cooley said he had changed his mind about quitting, but he continued to clash with city officials in the City Hall lobby.
"I can't work with Mr. Venable, and I can't work you, mayor," Cooley told Powell.
Venable, the main target of Cooley's often colorful insults, called the councilman "a drama queen."
Powell said he wasn't surprised that the smoking debate had ignited tensions at the meeting.
"This is a very difficult issue to deal with because of the emotions and because no one wants to change their minds," he said. "I want once and for all to be done with it, and I think we can be soon."
Powell said that he would organize a meeting with restaurant owners as early as this week, and that an official vote on amending the ban could be held next month.
Though he opposes any change to the smoking ban, Venable said he would rather see a single vote on whether to amend the law for all restaurants.
"Mr. Cooley wants an exception for Denny's. If they get it, another restaurant will come, and then another," he said. "I don't want to be here two months from now doing the same thing over and over."
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Reporter Matthew Hathaway
E-mail: mhathaway@post-dispatch.com
Phone: 636-500-4108
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