Youth group urges tobacco-free parks; committee forwards ordinance to county board

Members of Youth for Change prepared a written statement asking the committee to adopt a tobacco-free parks policy for all county parks and volunteered to help with signage and education.

The statement noted a community survey (299 respondents) with about 75% support for tobacco-free parks and cited benefits reported by other Wisconsin communities that adopted similar policies, including reduced exposure for youth and reduced litter. "We're here to respectfully ask you to consider adopting a tobacco-free parks ordinance for Richland County," the statement concluded.

Committee members said the parks board had already unanimously supported moving the ordinance forward and the committee voted to forward the drafted ordinance to the county board for further consideration. Staff agreed to include the youth statement and survey in the packet for future reference.

The committee's vote does not by itself adopt the ordinance; it forwards the draft and supporting materials to the county board, which will consider formal adoption.