A possible smoking ban in city parks and the priority list for parks capital improvements will be discussed Thursday during the Parks and Recreation Commission meeting.

The 7 p.m. session at City Hall, 898 Elk Drive, is open to the public.

The smoking issue was  raised by Commissioner Tony Parrish in response to cigarette butts littering the parks.

However, commissioners have debated whether banning smoking in parks would prompt people to smoke and leave butts in other areas such as roads bordering parks. Also, the question of how enforcement would be handled has been a thorny topic.

Brookings police have said they would enforce the ban if the city council passed an ordinance, but they would not make snuffing out cigarettes a top priority.

Heather Eller, Curry County Public Health Tobacco Prevention and Education Program coordinator, will present information on the health effects of smoking during the meeting.

Meanwhile, commission members toured four local parks Nov. 7 to help fine-tune their priorities for upgrades. Commissioner Don Vilelle said the trip caused some minor rearranging of priorities.

For example, he said the plan to put a picnic table near the horseshoe pit at Chetco Point Park went from medium to low priority.

Parrish explained there would likely be little use of the table because of its proximity to the city’s sewage treatment plant.

“It’s a million dollar view, but not a place where we need to put a picnic table because there is not a demand for people to have lunch out there,” he said.

Both Parrish and Vilelle applauded the recent improvements at Bud Cross Park, where underground sprinkler systems have been installed on the ballfields. Commissioner Tony Baron spearheaded that effort.

“He has done a good job with volunteers there to get things done,” Vilelle said.

The commissioners hope to develop a picnic area at Bud Cross as one of their priorities.

Another possible change at Bud Cross involves building steps to the field from Third Street because the angle is so steep.

Parrish emphasized that the priority list is fluid and should be changed according to citizens’ desires. The trip to visit Bud Cross, Chetco Point, Azalea and lower Stout Park was a way for commissioners to refresh their memories about details when the discussion begins Thursday, he said.

“We wanted to make sure that when an item is described, people know what we’re talking about,” Parrish said.

Money to pay for the projects would come from System Development Charges the city receives from building projects.