The newly created Jackson city flag has an Italian color scheme and Italian council member, Wayne Garibaldi, on the left. Mayor Rosalie Pryor Escamilla is also seated beneath it Monday. Flags are available for $220 large (4x8) or $176 medium (3x5). Photo by: Jerry Budrick Jackson Police Chief Scott Morrison praises the years of work done by Vera Allen, as he presents one of the two plaques Allen received at the Jackson City Council meeting Monday night. Photo by: Jerry Budrick

Smoking was on the minds of the Jackson City Council at its Monday night meeting, but a couple of well-deserved awards became the first order of business.

Vera Allen is a 24-year-old lifetime resident of Jackson who has worked on more projects than police Chief Scott Morrison can remember. According to Morrison, Allen has worked with the Jackson Police Department, the Amador County Chamber of Commerce, Future Farmers of America, 4H, Kids' College, Amador-Tuolumne Community Action Agency and more. Allen is also a full-time student at Folsom Lake College.

Monday night, Allen was presented with the Mayor's Recognition Award, not for any of the above, rather, "in recognition of her service as Commissioner of the Junior Giants program for the Police Activities League and successful organization of the National Night Out program for the Jackson Police Department."

By the conclusion of the presentations, Allen was laden with plaques and flowers and a kiss from the police chief.

Focus of the meeting shifted to smoking. Among the proposals from the Jackson Economic Development Committee is the suggestion of a ban on smoking on Jackson's Main Street. The city has been wrestling with this issue for quite some time.

City council members were provided with information about smoking ordinances in other jurisdictions, notably that California already has a ban on smoking within 20 feet of any open doorway, window or intake on all government buildings. Several cities, including Calabasas, Davis and Berkeley, have adopted restrictive ordinances, which were included in the council information packets.

Opinions on how to proceed with creation of an ordinance went in many directions. The only consensus was succinctly expressed by Mayor Rosalie Pryor Escamilla: "People are looking to us to take some action."

The question is what action to take.

"I feel that we need to provide places for people to smoke," offered Councilwoman Connie Gonsalves. "Two of the three bars (on Main Street) have smoking areas. It's only the Fargo, and Petkovich Park is right there."

City Manager Mike Daly pointed out that Jackson already has a municipal code that prohibits use of any tobacco product in Detert Park. This ban is accompanied by a code that makes violations punishable by fines up to $1,000, six months in jail or both.

Planning Commissioner Walt Hoeser, speaking as a member of the public, told the council, "Visitors from all over have complained about the smoking. It's the No. 1 complaint that I've heard (about Jackson)."

After some further discussion, the council decided to follow the staff recommendation and directed staff to prepare an ordinance for future consideration by the council. Daly said that more input will be requested from downtown merchants, the ones directly affected by any ban that is imposed. He also said that the draft ordinance will contain options.

The Jackson Revitalization Committee took a major step forward, with council adoption of the official guidelines for its formation. Amador Community Foundation Executive Directory Shannon Lowery drafted the initial document for the city.

This new committee will replace the Jackson Economic Development Committee and should serve as a conduit for funds to be used for civic improvement. The revitalization committee is proposed to be a public/private nonprofit organization established to assist the city with economic development projects. Composition will include two city council members, two merchants, two property owners, one member of the Historic Jackson Business Association, one Jackson resident and three members at large.