35°

More than a year after the city's clean air ordinance went into effect, people on different sides of the debate continue to disagree about the success of the law that required Juneau's bars to go smoke free.

After years of debate in front of the Assembly, on Jan. 2 of last year all bars were required to ban smoking from their establishments, ushering in a fresh new era of nightlife in the capital.

Marlintini's Lounge owner Ethan Billings, a longtime opponent of the ordinance and member of the Juneau-Lynn Canal Cabaret, Hotel, Restaurant & Retailer's Association, said the smoking ban had a negative impact on his business and those of his peers'.

"Sales are down because of it," he said. "I think if you asked any bar owner that would be true."

A number of other issues came to light because of the ordinance, Billings said.

"If anybody has walked around or been in bars lately, they can see there's people outside of every bar in town, whether there is cigarette butts on the ground, loitering, causing disturbances, whatever, it's basically taking customers out of the establishments and into the sidewalks and streets. And that in turn has affected sales negatively."

Ann House, president of the Downtown Business Association, said the ordinance resulted in a number of concerning issues in the downtown business sector.

"I'm not sure how successful this has been, however we do know it created additional problems for downtown locations, and that's all the cigarette butts on the sidewalks," she said. "With so many people having to smoke outside, it created another problem of pockets of congestion on the streets and I don't think we've looked at all the issues yet. It is problematic."

Wendy Hamilton, a proponent of the ordinance and the tobacco program coordinator for National Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence-Juneau, has an opposing view.

"I think it's gone swimmingly," she said. "It's been a great success. We've had 99 percent compliance and our results here are consistent with the national trend, which is the dire results that some predicted never happened. People do not stop going to bars because they have to smoke outside."

There has been little resistance from local businesses complying with the ordinance, she said, with the exception of one private club that ignored the law. The Fraternal Order of Eagles was cited by city and state officials for not complying at its Mendenhall Valley club, and the organization filed a civil lawsuit against the city of Juneau over the ordinance.

Initial sales tax revenue shows there were more alcohol sales than initially anticipated. The city adds a 3-percent sales tax on alcohol sales on top of a 5-percent tax.

Finance Director Craig Duncan said the city projected a decline of $86,600 in sales tax revenue from alcohol sales for the fiscal, but it actually went up by $20,000.

"What we were anticipating is a fairly significant impact from the smoking issues and it turns out there wasn't," he said.

A number of variables could affect the figures, such as the impact of summer tourism on alcohol sales in the community.

Jewels Barmoy, a bartender for more than 20 years at the Triangle Club downtown, said she has seen a loss in wages since the ordinance was enacted.

"Everything has been affected," she said. "We changed our hours because of it."

Barmoy said she has not yet seen the influx of nonsmokers coming to the Triangle Club.

"I think people aren't hanging around as long as they would, that they go home sooner," she said. "They don't even stop by sometimes anymore. And all the nonsmokers that said they were going to come out and party and have cocktails? I'm still waiting for them to show up."

Barmoy said she suspects it is more difficult for the smaller bars in town to attract the enthusiastic nonsmokers to their establishments.

"We don't have bands and dance floors and no pool tables, so yeah, people came here mostly to socialize and have a cigarette and have a cocktail," she said.

Hamilton said nonsmoking establishments have become the norm around the country, with 30 states across the nation enacting some version of a clean air law. Hamilton said the hope is for all of Alaska to be smoke-free in the coming years.

"It's just waiting for the right time politically to work for a statewide law," she said.

Billings said the Assembly should rethink some aspects of the ordinance to help local businesses weather the national recession. He suggested allowing businesses to cordon off smoking rooms, mentioning one that used to function at the Island Pub.

"With what's going on in this whole town, with capital move issues and economy woes, every little bit helps for a small business owner," he said. "Overall the smoking ban, it's a good thing because a lot of people don't like to smoke, but there can be a rational compromise and the smoking room is. You can set aside both needs to meet the health concerns and the revenue concerns of the bar owners. It's just something that needs to be revisited and I'm sure we'll bring it up soon to Assembly members to consider again."

• Contact reporter Eric Morrison at 523-2269 or eric.morrison@juneauempire.com.