A proposal to ban smoking at city owned and maintained parks and recreation areas barely passed through the Meriden City Council on Monday, but a 7-5 vote was enough to pass the anti-smoking ordinance. Violators will be subject to citations and fines that start with a simple warning for a first offense before escalating to fines of $25, $50 and $99 for second, third and fourth offenses, according to MyRecordJournal.com. The fines are relatively minor compared to what the city imposes for smoking at a bus stop: $219. There is one notable exception to the ban, however, as the city’s golf course–Hunter Golf Club–will not be subject to the ban. The ban is scheduled to go into effect 60 days from Monday’s passage, which pegs the start date at July 1. Meriden is home to nearly 61,000 people and is located nearly halfway between New Haven and Hartford.
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