Excerpt from article titled:City leases downtown Chena Building to new charter school; fluoride ordinance read

More than 15 people testified on the topic of fluoridation in water at Monday night’s City Council meeting.

An ordinance that would prohibit the addition of fluoride in the community’s water system was read for the first time. Mayor Jerry Cleworth introduced the ordinance after a task force’s recommendation to discontinue city water fluoridation practices.

A task force consisting of a group of people with scientific backgrounds, including some from the medical and dental professions, was created more than a year ago to study the issue and make recommendations. They found the amounts of fluoride added to city water, which already contains natural amounts of fluoride, could be harmful to non-nursing infants’ health.

“If there is any question about the safety about the substance that’s in our water, why take a chance?” Lou Brown asked during public comment.

Many others voiced her concern.

The item passed through the consent agenda.