Jonesborough officials have decided to wait until after the town’s Nov. 8 election  to take up further debate on keeping fluoride in the municipal water supply. Mayor Kelly Wolfe told Press staff writer Jessica Fuller scheduling conflicts and vacation plans make a vote on the issue unlikely before the holidays.

“At this point, we have considered it to be a December or January type issue,” Wolfe said.

That means no debate or vote on the controversial issue will come before the town’s municipal election. Wolfe is up for re-election, as are Aldermen Adam Dickson and Terry Countermine.

The Board of Mayor and Aldermen first debated the fluoride issue at its April meeting. While that discussion didn’t yield any action, aldermen did express their opinions on the safety and cost-effectiveness of continuing fluoridation of the town’s water supply.

“I researched this, and from what I read there’s absolutely no benefit now in having that in drinking water,” Alderman David Sell said at April’s meeting. “Actually, it’s kind of dangerous almost, and it’s costly.”

With public opinion equally split on the issue, Wolfe knows there is no solution that will please everyone.

“Like most things in life there’s two sides to every issue and our goal is going to be very deliberative, not have a knee-jerk reaction and try to do things as we see a priority to our water customers,” Wolfe said.

We want to hear from you. Do you think Jonesborough officials should vote now on keeping fluoride in the town’s water or wait until after the election to make a decision?

Send your comments to mailbag@johnsoncitypress.com. Please include your name, telephone number and address for verification.

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