Gadsden charities fear new smoking ordinance will impact bingo tax receipts

With Gadsden’s Smoke Free Air Ordinance set to go into effect Sunday, local charities are hoping they won’t see a drop in bingo proceeds, bars are preparing for the change and the Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. is going “smoke free” inside its plant.

The ordinance, passed in June by the City Council, bars smoking within 20 feet of public entrances to buildings and in bars, restaurants, businesses and other public places and all enclosed places of employment in the city.

The ordinance is expected to have a major impact at the Bingo Center on Alabama Avenue, where six nonprofit groups have bingo licenses and benefit from the games: Knights of Columbus, St. James School, St. James Education Foundation, St. James Parent-Teacher Organization, Catholic Center of Concern and Big Brothers Big Sisters of Northeast Alabama.

Bernie Corker of the Knights of Columbus, whose Friday night sessions draw about 175 bingo players, estimated that 80 percent of them smoke and sometimes there are two or three smoke breaks during a session. He said there’s a non-smoking room with its own heating and cooling system that is rarely occupied.

Corker fears players might choose to go out of Etowah County to locations where smoking is allowed. He fears the local games could become a “marginal operation” and said, “... There’s a strong possibility that if this thing goes in, it could pretty well wipe them out.” Bingo also raises funds for the Etowah Youth Orchestras and Gadsden State Community College. Bobby Welch, executive director of the Hardin Center, said over the last four quarters, the 10-cent-per-bingo-card tax generated about $50,000 for the EYO, and estimated that Gadsden State received about $15,000 for scholarships for Etowah County residents.