The Leelanau County Board of Commissioners this week ratified its narrow decision of last week to enact a new “Clean Indoor Air Regulation” that bans smoking in public and private work sites throughout the county – but not without debating the issue again for nearly an hour.

A sticking point was a one-word change in the regulation proposed by District No. 6 commissioner David G. Marshall, who insisted that officials “must” rather than “may” produce an informational brochure explaining provisions of the new regulation to employers and employees.

The head of the Benzie-Leelanau District Health Department, Bill Crawford, said that any change to the regulation would require that a draft go back to the health department board and the Benzie County board for a public hearing and a re-vote before returning to the Leelanau County Board for additional consideration.

A vote to adopt the new regulation with Marshall’s proposed one-word change failed 4-3, with District No. 2 commissioner James A. Schaub Sr., District No. 3 commissioner Richard A. Schmuckal, District No. 5 commissioner David W. “Chauncey” Shiflett and District No. 7 commissioner Melinda C. Lautner opposed.

Shiflett then offered a motion to adopt the regulation as originally presented by the Health Department. Marshall supported the motion, which carried 4-3. Schaub, Schmuckal and Lautner remained opposed.

The new smoking ban will not include bars and restaurants, but will require other private businesses that do not already do so to ban smoking indoors and post notices to that effect.

The state legislature retains authority to regulate smoking in bars and restaurants.
In other business at its regular monthly meeting Tuesday evening, the Leelanau County Board of Commissioners:

• Accepted a recommendation from Leelanau County Construction Code Authority building official Bob Meyer to take no action on a fee schedule modification proposed by the developer Indigo Bluffs, a recreational vehicle park in Empire that will offer individual spaces for sale as part of a site condominium rather than as a single entity. The current fee schedule requires individual fees for permits and inspections of individual sites. The developer had proposed a “blanket” permit and fee.

• Agreed to allow county Master Gardener program volunteers to work with a volunteer landscape architect on a project to landscape areas surrounding the Government Center, as proposed by the board’s Campus Completion Committee. County board chairman Mary Tonneberger, who also chairs the committee, said the board would be asked to consider expenditures on the landscaping project sometime in the future, but that proposed expenditures were estimated to be $10,000 to $11,000.

• Agreed to authorize the Campus Completion Committee to spend up to a total of $45,000 for a variety of projects associated with the Government Center, notably “wall treatments” and artwork for the building’s interior. Marshall cast the lone dissenting vote, saying he thought the county was spending too much money on the effort.

• Narrowly approved a $9,490 expenditure to install a heated sidewalk for an “employee/contractor” entrance at the west end of the Government Center. Shiflett said he understood the need for the heated sidewalk, but was disappointed that the project had not been included in original construction. He joined Schumuckal and Marshall in voting “no” on the expenditure.

• Tabled a motion to authorize the Leelanau County Sheriff’s Office to hire a full-time road patrol deputy temporarily to replace an officer who has been off duty since mid-May and may remain off duty under the Family Medical Leave Act beginning next month. Commissioners said it wasn’t clear that the sheriff required authorization from the board to fill a vacancy on his staff. Several commissioners also indicated they wanted to see whether the officer might return to duty in the near term. The board agreed to consider the issue again during its executive committee meeting in October.