COLUMBUS, Ind. – At its Tuesday evening meeting, the Columbus City Council approved an amendment to an ordinance that was being considered on a second reading, which changes chapter 8.37 of the municipal code to put vaping under the same restrictions as smoking. The amendment provides for a 60-day waiting period before implementation, so that the ordinance review committee can study current state code.
John Jones, co-owner of Hilltop Vape Shop and a member of the Indiana Smoke-Free Alliance board, spoke to the council and said that a ban without such consideration would effectively put Columbus vape shops out of business since customers could not try various products in the shops.
In other business, the council approved changes to the section of the municipal code pertaining to animal care, approved a request to declare a section of the Sloane Branch pipe as a legal drain, passed an ordinance for fixing city employees’ salaries and wages for calendar year 2020, and increased elected officials’ salaries by two percent.
