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.comThe 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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Patrick Lagreid

I strive to capture the essence of a cigar and the people behind them in my work – every cigar you light up is the culmination of the work of countless people and often represents generations of struggle and stories. For me, it’s about so much more than the cigar – it’s about the story behind it, the experience of enjoying the work of artisans and the way that a good cigar can bring people together. In addition to my work with halfwheel, I’m the public address announcer for the Colorado Rockies and Arizona Diamondbacks during spring training, as well as for the Salt River Rafters of the Arizona Fall League, the WNBA's Phoenix Mercury and previously the Arizona Rattlers of the Indoor Football League. I also work in a number of roles for MLB.com, plus I'm a voice over artist. Prior to joining halfwheel, I covered the Phoenix and national cigar scene for Examiner.com, and was an editor for Cigar Snob magazine.