The Amherst Pepsi Center — and every other town building — will pour only Coke-brand soft drinks on Jan. 1. Needless to say, the Pepsi Center will not be called the Pepsi Center much longer.

In a separate matter, the board has passed a resolution to try to ban all smokers from being hired as new town employees.

Monday, the Amherst Town Board gave its purchasing director the authority to negotiate exclusive pouring rights with Coca-Cola Bottling and voted to reject the naming rights bid submitted by Pepsi Bottling Group.

Though the pouring rights bid is for a 10-year period, Purchasing Director Lawrence Graner said he will work to negotiate a shorter time frame.

The town had originally asked companies to submit separate naming rights and pouring rights bids for the town’s ice rink facility, but Pepsi submitted the only naming rights bid. Both Coke and Pepsi bid separately on the pouring rights in March.

Coca-Cola managed to put forth a more attractive pouring rights package by not only submitting a better offer for supplying the Pepsi Center, but by offering to pay $10,000 more to secure the pouring rights for all town buildings and facilities.

In addition, Coke put forth seven different fee configurations for the town to consider, taking advantage of the town’s proposal request that allowed bidders to offer “economic alternatives.” Pepsi submitted a single pouring rights financial package.

While Pepsi Center signs may remain on the building for a few more months, the naming rights for the building expire Jan. 1, so the ice rink technically may be nameless in the near future.

“Officially, they’re not the ‘Pepsi Center’ because they’re not paying for that right,” Graner said.

Since Coke products won’t be sold in a building named for Pepsi, the town rejected Pepsi’s naming rights bid. However, the building’s Pepsi Center signs may not come down for a while. Graner said Coca-Cola is willing to give the town a few months to leave the signs up until the town can award the building’s naming rights to someone else.

He also said he hopes to reissue the request for naming rights proposals within the first two weeks of January.

To stir up more interest in the naming rights, Graner said, town staff will personally market the proposals to specific companies in addition to advertising the proposal request. Graner also will gather more information on the number of times the Amherst Pepsi Center has been named in print and broadcast media in the past year, he said.

In other news, the board voted, 4-2, for a resolution asking the town attorney and human resources director to research the legality and feasibility of adopting a policy that would ban smokers from being hired as new employees in town government.

Council Member Mark Manna, who sponsored the resolution, said it is in the taxpayers’ best interest to have a healthier work force to help contain high insurance premiums and keep employees more productive.

“Amherst taxpayers should not have to pay for the unhealthy habits of our town employees,” he said.

Council Members Shelly Schratz and Daniel Ward voted against the resolution. Ward said he was concerned about employee discrimination, and Schratz said there is already a state law banning smoking inside the workplace.