Staff to vote on smoking

COLBERT COUNTY - County commissioners have agreed to allow courthouse employees to vote on whether smoking will be allowed directly outside the building in downtown Tuscumbia.

Voting results will not be binding, Colbert County Administrator Donna Llewellyn said.

"(Commissioners) want to know how everybody feels about it," she said.

Smoking is not allowed inside the building, but when smokers gather outside the Colbert County courthouse entrances to take a cigarette break, fumes waft inside, much to the dismay of non-smokers.

The commission will decide how to proceed after the votes are tabulated, Llewellyn said. She said about 200 people work at the courthouse.

Courthouse workers normally gather at exits that are near their work areas. A crowd normally gathers near the southern courthouse entrance, Circuit Clerk Nancy Hearn said.

Courthouse visitors also look for convenience when they want to smoke during a prolonged visit.

Hearn recalled a fire last summer that started when a lit cigarette was tossed into dry landscaping mulch. The courthouse was evacuated as a precaution.

"This is such a historic building," she said. "In the 21 years I've worked here, we've never had a fire."

The original courthouse was built in 1882 and rebuilt in 1909.

Probate Judge Tommy Crosslin said employees and the public have complained about the smoke at entrances. The doors near his office are a popular smoking spot because there are places to sit, he said.

District Attorney Bryce Graham Jr. said he would prefer a designated smoking area.

"Me and my office will certainly abide by whatever the policy is," Graham said.

Some workers said the smell of smoke can be detected in the building and in stairwells near entrances even when windows are closed.

Carol Merritt, who works in Graham's worthless check unit, said she has smelled smoke in her office, most likely from those who are smoking below her office window on the south side of the courthouse. She has occasionally smelled smoke when the windows are closed, she said.

During a recent commission meeting, Commissioner Jimmy Gardiner said employees should be allowed to vote, but he did not say if he would support their decision.

Llewellyn said commissioners could designate the courthouse grounds a no-smoking area without a vote of employees.

"I don't smoke and don't like it, but I don't want to infringe on other people's rights," Llewellyn said.

She said the vote would likely take place in the next couple of weeks.

Russ Corey can be reached at 740-5738 or russ.corey@TimesDaily.com.