An ordinance with restrictions on smoke and vape shops failed to advance in Mount Vernon, after a 2-1 vote. Council member Mark Andresen provided the dissenting opinion, and council members Scott Rose and Paul Tuerler were absent from the meeting. The ordinance needed a majority of council members for a reading to advance, and with Andresen’s no vote, that stalled that decision.
Andresen said he was opposed to the current ordinance as presented, as there is a good chance many of these smoke or vape shops will likely be closing doors by the end of the year, due to laws passed by the legislature this past year.
“A lot has changed on the ground since we passed our moratorium against smoke and vape shoppes in April,” Andresen said.
That moratorium against smoke and vape shoppes also lapsed at the end of September. Council member Stephanie West requested the moratorium come back in the Oct. 21 agenda to be reinstated while the council looks at the ordinances again.
One of the items Andresen also had an issue with was a line about enforcement of keeping people 21 or under from the establishment with someone monitoring the door.
Mount Vernon-Lisbon Police chief Doug Shannon said of the two particular shops in existence at Mount Vernon at the moment, the employee at the register would be that door monitor.
“These establishments have nowhere to sit and are roughly one or two rooms large,” Shannon said. “There are specific items for sale that are not for anyone under 21. We need to be mindful that 25 percent of our population is young.”
The police department annually completes compliance checks for anyone selling tobacco products as well.
An ordinance that would have clearly defined that minors are not allowed in smoke shops was tabled until a future meeting.