WHAS11 Coverage

(WHAS11) - Smokers can continue to light up inside bars and restaurants for now.  New Albany’s mayor says he will veto a smoking ban ordinance passed by city council, but the fight isn’t over yet. 

“I am really trying to heal our divided community via compromise,” says New Albany Mayor Doug England.

New Albany’s mayor says no to a smoking ban, but his veto sends the discussion right back to city council.

“We have so many things in the city of New Albany we need to address… to make it safer, more livable for people,” says City Council member Diane Benedetti, who represents district 7 and voted against the ban.  “We did not want it back on our plate.”

The mayor will propose amendments to the ordinance—that passed 5-4 by city council last month.  He says he wants to enforce exemptions for private clubs, or restaurants and bars that only allow patrons over the age of 21.

“It’s better than a whole ban,” says Brenda Gresham, who owns B&B Bar and Grill.  “Customers already told us they would go up to Clark County and smoke.”

“If you don’t like the smoking, go somewhere else where there’s non-smoking,” says Duane Smith, a smoker who says he agrees with the mayor’s decision.

The city of Louisville is officially non-smoking inside all establishments, including bars and restaurants.  That ban went into effect in January of this year.

“Louisville, everyone wants to brag about, but it took them three times to get there,” says Mayor England.  “We all shall grow a little bit.  It seems in government, you must crawl before you walk.”

But some New Albany City Council members say they worked hard to get it this far, only to have their decision thrown back to them by a mayor who didn’t make these proposed changes earlier in the debate. 

“We’ve got to get this behind us on the council so we can move forward,” says Dan Coffey, who represents District 1 on New Albany’s City Council.  “But if we don’t have a mayor who will work with us, then to come out and say we’re trying to divide the community, I take a real offense to that.”

The mayor says a draft of his ordinance could go before city council as soon as this Thursday.