Dominic Holmes, a recent graduate of Dell Rapids High School along with Kaitlynn Umphleet from Rural Sioux Empire Coalition for Youth made a request to the Dell Rapids City Council at their regular meeting on Tuesday, July 5th, to make the city parks tobacco free.
“We would like the city to adopt a tobacco free policy for all city parks. We believe this is a great cause because it promotes cleaner air, ensures safer parks for children and animals, and models positive behavior for youth,” Holmes stated in his opening remarks.
Holmes also stated that other policies of not allowing alcohol and needing to clean up after pets help promote a healthy environment designed for parks. He mentioned that having a tobacco free policy would also contribute to better community wellness.
Umphleet added that the Rural Sioux Empire Coalition for Youth has funding to provide tobacco free signage to Dell Rapids if the city council approves a tobacco free policy. Umphleet also provided the council with information on a policy that is implemented in Minnesota that Watertown and Sioux Falls have also mirrored for their policies. The council was also told by Umpleet that the University of Minnesota did a study in 2004 on the policy in place in Minnesota and found that 80% of park directors reported no change in park usage, 71% reported less smoking, and 58% reported cleaner parks.
The city council referred the request to the Policy and Procedures committee at this time to review the information provided to the council to make a determination on adoption.