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Students press commissioners for tobacco- and vape-free county parks; enforcement plan requested
Summary
Members of the Students Working Against Tobacco (SWAT) club asked the commission to adopt a tobacco- and vape-free parks ordinance like McClenny's. Commissioners supported the goal but requested a clear enforcement plan from the sheriff—s office before moving an ordinance forward.
Students and county partners urged the Baker County Board of County Commissioners on March 4 to adopt an ordinance banning tobacco and vaping in county-owned parks.
Cheyenne Dowie and Wyatt Forbes, members of the county—s SWAT (Students Working Against Tobacco) club, described park cleanups and presented Florida Youth Tobacco Survey findings showing high youth exposure to secondhand smoke and electronic vapor products. They asked the board to move from an existing county resolution to a county ordinance with enforceable penalties and urged that any fine revenue be reinvested in county parks for maintenance and improvements.
Joy Owens of Tobacco Free Baker and a county staff member said the city of McClenny already has a similar ordinance and recommended the county adopt language consistent with the city—s ordinance for uniformity. Enforcement was the primary concern among commissioners: one commissioner said an ordinance without enforcement would be merely a “blank piece of paper.” Sheriff—s office cooperation and a civil citation mechanism were discussed as likely enforcement tools.
Commissioners requested that ordinance language be drafted and reviewed with the sheriff—s office to confirm that enforcement is feasible and that a civil citation approach can be implemented in the county incident-reporting system. They also asked staff to bring a draft ordinance back for formal consideration once the sheriff—s office indicates support for an enforcement approach.
No vote was taken; commissioners encouraged the student presenters to continue outreach and asked staff to prepare an ordinance draft and to confer with the sheriff—s office about enforcement logistics.
