Ledger-Dispatch

By Jerry Budrick (jbudrick@ledger-dispatch.com= )=20

The newly created Jackson city flag has = an=20 Italian color scheme and Italian council member, Wayne Garibaldi, = on the=20 left. Mayor Rosalie Pryor Escamilla is also seated beneath it = Monday.=20 Flags are available for $220 large (4x8) or $176 medium = (3x5).

Photo by: Jerry = Budrick

Jackson Police Chief Scott Morrison = praises the=20 years of work done by Vera Allen, as he presents one of the two = plaques=20 Allen received at the Jackson City Council meeting Monday = night.

Photo by: Jerry=20 Budrick
Smoking was on the minds of the = Jackson=20 City Council at its Monday night meeting, but a couple of well-deserved = awards=20 became the first order of business.

Vera Allen is a 24-year-old = lifetime=20 resident of Jackson who has worked on more projects than police Chief = Scott=20 Morrison can remember. According to Morrison, Allen has worked with the = Jackson=20 Police Department, the Amador County Chamber of Commerce, Future Farmers = of=20 America, 4H, Kids' College, Amador-Tuolumne Community Action Agency and = more.=20 Allen is also a full-time student at Folsom Lake College.

Monday = night,=20 Allen was presented with the Mayor's Recognition Award, not for any of = the=20 above, rather, "in recognition of her service as Commissioner of the = Junior=20 Giants program for the Police Activities League and successful = organization of=20 the National Night Out program for the Jackson Police = Department."

By the=20 conclusion of the presentations, Allen was laden with plaques and = flowers and a=20 kiss from the police chief.

Focus of the meeting shifted to = smoking.=20 Among the proposals from the Jackson Economic Development Committee is = the=20 suggestion of a ban on smoking on Jackson's Main Street. The city has = been=20 wrestling with this issue for quite some time.

City council = members were=20 provided with information about smoking ordinances in other = jurisdictions,=20 notably that California already has a ban on smoking within 20 feet of = any open=20 doorway, window or intake on all government buildings. Several cities, = including=20 Calabasas, Davis and Berkeley, have adopted restrictive ordinances, = which were=20 included in the council information packets.

Opinions on how to = proceed=20 with creation of an ordinance went in many directions. The only = consensus was=20 succinctly expressed by Mayor Rosalie Pryor Escamilla: "People are = looking to us=20 to take some action."

The question is what action to = take.

"I feel=20 that we need to provide places for people to smoke," offered = Councilwoman Connie=20 Gonsalves. "Two of the three bars (on Main Street) have smoking areas. = It's only=20 the Fargo, and Petkovich Park is right there."

City Manager Mike = Daly=20 pointed out that Jackson already has a municipal code that prohibits use = of any=20 tobacco product in Detert Park. This ban is accompanied by a code that = makes=20 violations punishable by fines up to $1,000, six months in jail or=20 both.

Planning Commissioner Walt Hoeser, speaking as a member of = the=20 public, told the council, "Visitors from all over have complained about = the=20 smoking. It's the No. 1 complaint that I've heard (about = Jackson)."

After=20 some further discussion, the council decided to follow the staff = recommendation=20 and directed staff to prepare an ordinance for future consideration by = the=20 council. Daly said that more input will be requested from downtown = merchants,=20 the ones directly affected by any ban that is imposed. He also said that = the=20 draft ordinance will contain options.

The Jackson Revitalization=20 Committee took a major step forward, with council adoption of the = official=20 guidelines for its formation. Amador Community Foundation Executive = Directory=20 Shannon Lowery drafted the initial document for the city.

This = new=20 committee will replace the Jackson Economic Development Committee and = should=20 serve as a conduit for funds to be used for civic improvement. The=20 revitalization committee is proposed to be a public/private nonprofit=20 organization established to assist the city with economic development = projects.=20 Composition will include two city council members, two merchants, two = property=20 owners, one member of the Historic Jackson Business Association, one = Jackson=20 resident and three members at large.

Jerry = Budrick