Lakewood Smoking Ban Update
April 21, 2010
To All,
It seems we have had the last meeting of the Dream Team. Ironic that it should be on the birthday of the first leader to impose a smoking ban on his people, (Adolph Hitler).
Tobacco Businesses: Recommendations of the committee: 1) No Smoking in any Tobacco Business. All Tobacco businesses in existance at the time of the new ordinance will be in compliance within 5 years of the new law. 2) No one under 18 permited to enter a Tobacco Business. 3) Prohibit the opening of any new Cigar/Hookah Bars. 4) No Tobacco business should be allowed to open on the premise of any Bar, Tavern, or Restaurant.
Cigar Bars: Recommendations of the committee: 1) Eliminate the "Cigar Tobacco Bar" exemption. All Bars in existance at the time of the enactment of the ordinance shall end smoking within 5 years of the date of enactment. 2) No new Cigar/Hookah Bars in the city of Lakewood.
Smoke-free Perimeter Around Entrances to Buildings: Committee Recomends: 1) Move smoke-free perimeter from 15 to 25 feet from ALL ENTRANCES. 2) Require signage at all entrances stating, "No Smoking Within 25 Feet".
Outdoor Areas of Bars and Restaurants: Committee Recomends: 1) Prohibit smoking in outdoor patio areas of Bars and Restaurants before nine PM. 2) The committee further recommends that if City Council chooses not to follow this recommendation, that other alternatives be considered to protect the public from ETS/SHS in these outdoor areas.
A member of the committee brought up Multi-unit Housing. It was suggested that this be an amendment to the ordinance or be brought up in another committee. This has all the same arguments as the origional smoking ban, CCIAA of 2006. Health, Death, and Injury.
A look at the above: No smoking in a tobacco retail store, WHY??? It's a tobacco store. When does someone under 18 frequent a tobacco store. Cigar and Hookah Bars have five years to stop smoking or relocate outside of Lakewood. Another case of biting the hand that feeds you. Killing businesses that pay your bills in an Economy that requires the closing of schools to meet the budget. 25 feet from any entrance: There are a couple of things to consider here. Where will this put YOUR EMPLOYEE and the SMOKER? In many cases it will be the parking lot or the middle of the street. Who will be responsible if the employee or the consumer gets injured? Personal Insurance, State Compensation, WHO??? Who will be the enforcer? Outdoor areas: When the CCIAA of 2006 was passed we were told to be creative. Build patios to accommodate the smoker. Now the Nannies are not satisfied that you were banned to the patio, now they want the patio too. It all boils down to the Surgeon Generals report and the term, "No Safe Level Of ETS/SHS". Let me remind you that there is no scientific evidence to support that claim.
Will advise when the next process begins.
Jim V.
Lakewood Smoking Ban Update
April 7, 2010
AD HOC Committee on Smoking Ban.
Had another meeting of the Dream Team April 6, 2010. Last nights discussions were on Tobacco Retailers, Cigar and Hookah Bars, Patios, Perimeter Issues, and young people.
Tobacco Retailers: Smoking in a Tobacco Store will be illegal??? Why?
Cigar and Hookah Bars have five years to sell, or relocate outside of Lakewood, or stop smoking. Death sentance for Hookah Bars who have no alcohol or food sales. Information on Hookah Bar health issues provided by the Jeffco PTA located in Arvada.
Patio's: 1) Stop smoking all together, 2) Set perimeter at 25 feet, 3) Smoking and non-smoking sections on patio, allow smoking on patio after 9 PM. (# 1 selected, 5 for, 2 against0.
Perimeters: Set to 25 feet from any door, Back doors, Side doors, Delivery Entrances, Patios, and loading docks, create outdoor smoking areas same as were in the malls. (5 for, 2 against)
Youth: There are penalties for supplying tobacco to minors, but there is no penalty for possession of tobacco by a minor. First response, "Do we really want to villainize our children?" Not the children, but they will nail you to their cross. Will a teenager laugh at this Ordinance????? The next meeting is scheduled for April 20th. On the agenda; Youth and multi-unit dwellings, (Your own home).
Questions to the above proposals:
What non-smoker, or anyone with a health issue, would be in a Tobacco Store? Who has the right to tell anyone, that runs a perfectly legitimate business in the United States, (Which is a Republic, not a Democracy), that he has five years to get out. I have not heard anything more ridiculous in all my life, Could this really happen in AMERICA? (5 for, 2 against). When do you see young people in a bar leave alone on the smoking patio? How do you have a smoking and non-smoking section on a patio? On who's property will the smoking area be, Public or Private land?
Arvada Bar owners are saying the perimeter for smoking is un-enforceable. See Arvada PD for citations? One known citation. What has Arvada's smoking ban done? It's closed businesses and cost Arvada revenue. The smoker went to Westminister or Wheat Ridge to drink and smoke on the patio. The same will happen in Lakewood. Denver, Westminister, Golden, and Littleton will thank you. This will also put the consumer and the employee in harms way, Two Deaths and multiple beatings directly attributable to the CCIAA. But by Colorado law you are still responsible for the actions of your customers and employee's, (ie: parking lots, patios, smoking areas, etc. It's defined in State Law) In most juristictions it's called the PUBLIC NUISANCE ordinance which goes beyond state law.
Two more meeting's have been scheduled, April 20th. & May the 4th. Hopefully we will know soon how far they plan to go.
Jim V.
Lakewood Smoking Ban
2/4/2010
Hello All,
On January 26, 2010 I attended what I believe is the last meeting of the dream team, AD HOC Committee for smoking ban, in Lakewood. From here it will go to Lakewood's legal people to get drafted into an ordinance.
In previous meetings I collected propaganda from the dream team. One of the presentations came from the Indiana Health Department. In that presentation the Indiana Health Department says there were no bad effects from the Ft. Wayne smoking ban. As many of you know I have contacts in many states in the liquor industry from my many years on the board of the CLBA. So I contacted the association representative in Indiana. I started asking questions about the Ft. Wayne smoking ban and informed him of what the health department said. No ill effects from the ban.
The reply was as follows. In the first thirty days of the ban 16 bars closed. In the first year of the ban 20 more bars closed. Then I asked, "How can sales tax revenue go up if you lost 36 bars and taverns?" I gave him the statistics given in the health department report. He came back with, Ft. Wayne is in Allen county, In. The revenue statistics in the report was for all of Allen County.
In which case, the ban is in Ft. Wayne only, and the smokers simply went to other bars in Allen county. That would explain the revenue remaining the same. Also in that report was references. In references I found the name Stanton Glantz 20 to 25 times.
I took the health department report provided by the dream team and went to the committee meeting. I asked if I could still address the committee since I had declined at a previous meeting to speak. I was told at the meeting before that I could only have ten minuets to speak. You all know i cannot do any thing in ten minuets. I opted to send a letter to all of the committee members instead. In my letter I spoke of all the damage caused by the CCIAA of 2006. I asked the dream team if they had a chance to read that letter? They all said yes. Then I asked if there were any questions about that four page letter I sent? NO QUESTIONS. THEY DO NOT CARE WHO THEY HURT.
I THEN took the Indiana health department report and focused on Ft. Wayne. I informed the committee on what I found out from Indiana. Then I moved to address DR. Glantz.
Dr. Stanton Glantz has a doctorate in applied mechanics, not health, not economics, and not biology. He is not qualified to do these kind of studies. Yet all health departments use his work over and over again, including the Jefferson County Health Department who also did a presentation to this committee. The work done by Dr. Galntz was done at the University of California at San Francisco, UCSF. The studies done by Dr. Glantz were funded by the Robert Woods Johnson Foundation, RWJF, to the tune of 36 plus million dollars. Also at the UCSF campus was a past president of RWJF at the time these studies were being generated. Would one not believe the those studies by Dr. Glantz might be a little biased. Then I touched on ventilation, and added to a previous presentation on the revenue from tobacco. I also indicated how much damage was caused by the CCIAA of 2006. I mentioned how much damage would be caused to the businesses along Sheridan Boulevard with Denver right across the street.
Then I was told that they were not interested in my statistics. The committee chairman then read from some literature in front of him, "There is no safe level of second hand smoke". I assume he got that from the surgeon generals report, which by the way is also under attack. Then the dream team leader went to a dry erase board and started to draw up the outline for a perfect ordinance.
Truth means nothing to these people. They want their idea of the perfect world to move forward.
It is time to step up to the plate folks. This will cost money to stop and the Coalition for Equal Rights, CER, is almost broke. Contributions can be made on the web site stopthebans.com. Patrick and I will be updating the site in the near future.
Remember the CCIAA of 2006 where we were not prepared for the fight. After three years of research I now have the advisers and the information to fight. Lets not get caught with our pants down again. It could be coming to a city near you.
Jim VonFeldt
Pres., CER
Colorado Update
18 Dec. 2009
Three years ago when the legislature passed the Clean Indoor Air Act (CIAA) in Colorado I said it wood not stop there. Well they are back. It began in Fort Collins and Arvada. They imposed laws stricter than the state. For example they ruled that there would be no smoking on the patio's, or within 25 feet of any entrance including windows and doors. It has now migrated to Lakewood, Jefferson County, Colorado.
An AD HOC Committee has been formed to draft the new laws.
On that committee, two members of the Jefferson County health dept., three members from smoke free Jeffco, two city council members who do not smoke, and members of the restaurant association.
Do you think this is a stacked committee? Using language from Ft. Collins and Arvada, Lakewood wishes to do more. Example: Change definition of tobacco for cigar bars, removing Cigar and Hookah Bars altogether, no smoking within 25 feet of any air intake to any building. Your employee needs to get 25 feet away from the bar in order to have a cigarette. No smoking in any public area, playgrounds, parks, bike paths, for that matter city side walks. If you have not seen it in your house get ready here they come.
Ft. Collins is on the top ten list for best places to live in the USA. Jefferson County wishes to be on that list. The state of Colorado will not be far behind. This is only a few of the regulations they wish to impose. The intent is to eliminate all exemptions.
James L. VonFeldt
President, Coalition for Equal Rights
The American Dream Lost
Three years after the Ban
August, 2009
James L. VonFeldt
Billy's Inn
4403 Lowell Blvd.
Denver Colorado, 80211
The Colorado Clean Indoor Air Act, (smoking ban), and its effect on Billy's Inn.
In 2005 we had a contract to sell Billy's Inn for $825,000.00. We then received an offer for $855,000.00. Since the first contract was in place the second offer was turned down. The sale was to take place effective on January the first of 2006. One of the buyers could not fulfill the agreement and the deal fell through. But now we are into the legislative session of 2006. A smoking ban was now almost a sure thing. We went to the legislature and testified how much damage would be caused by such a ban. Because of my affiliation with the national Association I knew that it would be devastating on small businesses (Bars & Taverns) such as ours. As I had seen in New York, California, and even Canada.
While all this was going on I went back to the people who made the second offer and asked them if they still wished to buy Billy's Inn. If so make me an offer. It is well known by now that there was going to be a ban. An all inclusive ban. In April of 2006 the people who made the second offer came back with an offer of $600,000.00. We just lost $225,000.00 due to the ban.
Our worthy opponents said that six months into the ban our businesses would begin to improve. But my knowledge of smoking bans told me to prepare for hard times.
First off we stopped taking wages and started using our savings to live on. Then we re-wrote the mortgage on our house and opened a home equity line of credit.
Six months into the ban our business had dropped off by 41%.
By November of 2006 we had to drop our Liquor License Insurance (Dram shop), because we could no longer afford it. At the end of our fiscal year the business was down by 26%. The ban had been in effect for only 4 out of 12 months.
Our opponents said that one year into the ban everything would be back to normal and we would or should have adjusted to the ban. But now our only chance was to increase prices to cover some of the losses. Since Billy's Inn was a neighborhood bar who catered to blue collar workers, this was a very difficult decision. But we raised our prices 25 cents per drink and the best we could do was break even. Then there was the higher prices for gasoline. It increased our costs across the board. All of our venders increased prices or delivery fees to cover the cost of gasoline.
Our adjusted gross income for 2006 was $914.00.
We went from a comfortable life style to zero in less than a year.
In 2007 we saw our business continue to fall off. We sold off other property at a loss and used the money to go on. We dropped our property insurance because we could no longer afford to pay that. We ran the last year of business without any insurance of any kind.
On January the first we celebrated our 40th. Anniversary at Billy's Inn. My wife’s father ran it for 19 years. In 1985 I left the u nions because I was tired of rebels dictating policy in my life. I swore no one would ever dictate policy in my life again. I started running the business in 1985 for my father-in-law. In 1987 we took over the business and have been there ever since. Twenty three years down the drain. I am now sixty two years old and I have to find a job till I can retire at sixty six. Little did I know that the next rebel would be in our own legislature.
By now it is quite evident that we are not going to get better. We went back to the people who made the offer of $600,000.00 and told them that if they were still interested that we would accept that offer. Billy's Inn was sold on February the 15th. 2008. We got enough money up front to cover the bills accumulated since the ban began and are carrying a second mortgage on the property. At closing we lost another $20,000.00 to be used for asbestos clean up. Final selling price was $580,000.00. Hope the new owners make it since they still owe us over $300,000.00. After the remodel, the total cost to the investors was over $1,000,000.00.
I have been back to the legislature every year since trying to get relief but it has fallen on deaf ears. But the casinos on the other hand got relief. The voter was told that the loss in revenue due to the ban and the high cost of gasoline was costing the state much needed revenue. A ballot initiative was introduced to help the casinos and was approved. The casinos got help but the bars and taverns are still closing.
After the sale of the business our government taxed us 21% on what we could sell.
Then our government penalized us 25% because we retired three years to soon.
Our Healthcare Premium has gone up by double digits since the ban was imposed.
17% in 2007, 20% in 2008, and 21.9% in 2009. Our healthcare premium is now $1,850.08 a month. My Social Security income is $1,347.00 and my wife’s is $664.00 a month. It is plain to see that we are well short of the needed income to survive. Our mortgage, that we rewrote at the beginning of the ban, is $1,369.89 a month. Social Security, because I am only 63, will only let me earn about $1,300.00 a month. Then they start deducting one dollar for every two earned from the benefit. At the currant rate of spending our savings will be gone in 4.2 years. We have gone from a good middle class income to poverty in three short years. After 48 years of hard work this is what we are left with.
Since closing. One of my bartenders has a wife and four children. He has been homeless since the spring of 2008. In February of 2009 they got into a two bedroom apartment. With four children that is real cozy.
One of the other bartenders, (An unwed mother of two), is also now losing her home. Her new job at Walgreen’s does not pay what she received as a bartender.
One bar in Colorado was opened in 1835, now closed.
Another had a killing outside the bar while they were smoking. Two families destroyed by the smoking ban. There was no bartender or owner outside to intervene.
There have been rapes, muggings, and even murders. Yet Dudley DoRight and Susie Straitlace press on for their convenience. I have heard them say that if one life is saved then it is all worth it. But what about the thousands of lost jobs and businesses?
63 bars, 478 employees, 1 casino, 62 employees, 2 nightclubs, 46 employees, 1 bowling alley, 3 pool halls, and 16 bingo halls all closed. Number of employees un-known.
Venders such as Fender Entertainment gone. Lisa Fender booked entertainment for bars and taverns. Businesses could not afford the entertainment venues so it cost her the business.
In 2006 there were 44 bingo halls, now there are 28 left. The non-profits, who could least afford it, are the biggest losers. The losses are in the millions.
We lost our first amendment rights. We lost our 14th amendment rights. Our government is telling us that they know how to run our businesses better than we do. What is even worse is with all this information on hand our states are still passing bans.
What ever happened to love thy neighbor? Or live and let live. Is this truly the American way?
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