Article published December 21, 2007
SMOKING BAN VIOLATION
Nightclub wins appeal of $100 fine
Platinum Showgirls cites health department errors
Platinum Showgirls at Telegraph and Alexis roads successfully overturned a charge of violating Ohio's smoking ban.
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THE BLADE
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By JULIE M. McKINNON
BLADE STAFF WRITER
Clerical errors and other problems helped Platinum Showgirls win its appeal of a $100 fine for allegedly violating the state's smoking ban, but the Toledo-Lucas County Health Department will be better prepared for its next confrontation, board members were told yesterday.
And with other smoking ban complaints being filed against Platinum Showgirls, the health department will forgo an appeal of the recent decision and do another investigation of the Toledo club, board members agreed.
Eliminating smoking in public places - not collecting fines from violators - is the goal of Ohio's law, said Dr. David Grossman, health commissioner.
"We learned from this," he told board members. "We took one step backward, and we'll go forward."
Enforcement of the year-old smoking ban began in May, and local health departments are charged with investigating complaints about violations.
Warning letters are issued if violations are found, and establishments can appeal both letters and fines. Repeat offenders are fined $100 to $2,500, depending on the number of violations.
Platinum Showgirls is the first Lucas County establishment to appeal a civil fine from a smoking ban violation.
After an administrative hearing last month, J. James Bishop of Toledo's law department recommended that the $100 fine against Platinum Showgirls be dismissed because of procedural defects and a lack of evidence presented.
The health department, for example, listed the wrong date for an alleged violation on a letter to Platinum Showgirls, Mr. Bishop said in his recommendation.
Neither a Platinum Showgirls official nor its attorney could be reached for comment.
The state has changed its form-letter database so dates are automatically entered, which should help eliminate clerical errors, said Alan Ruffell, the health department's director of environmental health.
Plus, health department inspectors will be better prepared to answer questions and supply information at appeal hearings, Mr. Ruffell said.
"This is our first," he said. "It's a new program, we're learning from our mistakes, and we're going to prevail in the end."
Smoking ban fines have been levied against 10 other Lucas County establishments, Mr. Ruffell said.
Two of them - Martini & Nuzzi's at 6023 Manley Rd. and the Veterans of Foreign Wars at 1032 Sylvania Ave. - have each paid $100, he said.
Some errors have been made by health departments, businesses, and residents since enforcement of the smoking ban began, but they are being corrected, said Kristopher Weiss, spokesman for the Ohio Department of Health.
"There certainly has been a learning curve," Mr. Weiss said. "This was new to Ohio. This was new to the Midwest."
Contact Julie M. McKinnon at:
jmckinnon@theblade.com
or 419-724-6087.
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