Mount Pleasant Town Board Considering Vape Shop Limitations
The Mount Pleasant Town Board is considering legislation to regulate the opening of vape shops because of the potential harm that can be created by the use of electronic cigarettes, particularly among youth.
At the Aug, 7 Town Board work session Supervisor Carl Fulgenzi said the purpose of regulating the opening of vape shops would be “to keep it away from children.”
Town Attorney Darius Chafizadeh told the Town Board last week it could make it difficult to open a vape shop through limitations on where they could be operated. He suggested that vape shops could not be open within 5,000 feet of parks and other locations where children might congregate, within 2,000 feet of a school and 1,000 feet from another vape shop, though none are currently operating in Mount Pleasant.
Chafizadeh said a special permit from the Planning Board should be required to open a vape shop. Special permits expire three years after approval by the Planning Board and they would need to be renewed, he noted.
The Town Board may hold a public hearing on legislation to restrict vape shops in September.
Drainage fund
Also discussed at last week’s meeting was a proposal from Fulgenzi to create a fund for drainage maintenance. Fulgenzi is seeking to create a drainage district that would allow for the collection of property tax dollars that would be earmarked for drainage maintenance projects, such as repairing storm drains. The town typically funds drainage projects through borrowing by approving a bond, Fulgenzi said.
If a drainage district was created there could be a line item in each year’s town budget for drainage maintenance project rather than continuing to borrow for those projects, Fulgenzi said.
Chafizadeh said the first step in creating a drainage district would be for the Town Board to approve a map of the proposed district. Fulgenzi said he could provide the town attorney with a map.
Paper reduction effort
In an effort to cut costs and be more environmentally friendly, the Town Board is moving to eliminate the stacks of paper it reads and reviews at its meetings.
Fulgenzi said the meeting agendas and backup materials such as memos will eventually no longer be put on paper, but will instead the board members will eventually read from their tablet computers. Board members will have the option to use the tablets starting with their Aug. 14 meeting, though board members will still be able to read from papers if they desire.
Amanda Jasilli, Fulgenzi’s confidential secretary, is spearheading the effort to reduce the use of paper. She has been training the Town Board and department heads on how to communicate more by using technology rather than paper. Jasilli has been training department heads to provide purchase order information on line rather than on paper.
Jasilli said by using the NovusAngenda system the town would save money, though she did not have an exact figure, by eventually having paperless Town Board meetings. “It definitely reduces paperwork,” she said.
