Supporters of a smoking ban in St Joseph gathered enough signatures on their petitions to force City Council action. Smoke Free St Joe was able to collect well over the minimum of 2,190 signatures needed.

County Clerk Mary Baack-Garvey says City Clerk Paula Heyde collected the petitions and was formally notified that the petition drive was a success.

Now the City Council must either pass the ordinance as written in the petitions within 60 days, or they must put it on the ballot within 180 days. That means we could be voting on the ordinance April 8. The deadline for ballot language in that election is January 28.

The City Council considered a similar ordinance earlier this year, but dropped the idea when St Joe Frontier Casino objected. The ordinance on the petition includes an exemption for the casino’s gambling floor.