ONEIDA — The prospect of fluoridated water in the city of Oneida came before the council again and was quickly voted down.
Item number two on the agenda at Tuesday’s Common Council meeting was a recommendation by the City of Oneida Water Board to apply for a $50,000 grant from the New York State Department of Health to fund a study on the technical and economic feasibility of starting water fluoridation in the city of Oneida’s water supply.
The entire Common Council was opposed and the resolution failed.
After the meeting, Ward 6 Councilor Tom Simchik said the city had investigated fluoridating Oneida’s water in the past on numerous occasions.
“Had we passed this resolution, this would be at least the third time we’ve considered it,” Simchik said. “Looking back through my archived emails, the last time we considered fluoridation was in 2015 and 2016 and the first time was in 2002.”
“And each time, the public was overwhelmingly opposed to it,” he added.
Three public hearings were held in 2015, where the city council heard from both advocates and opponents of water fluoridation, with a representative of the New York State Bureau of Dental Health speaking at these hearings in favor. One resident at a 2015 public hearing cited their own autoimmune disease as to why they were opposed, while another voiced concerns over the cost.
“We didn’t want to spend money and time to look at this for a third time, when we know residents are opposed,” Simchik said. “Even though it would be a state-funded study, it’s still tax payer money — so why waste it?”
*Original full-text article online at: https://romesentinel.com/stories/bid-for-fluoridated-water-doesnt-float-with-members-of-oneida-common-council,170031
Print 
PDF