Approved Minutes of March 26, 2025

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MINUTES ORANGE COUNTY BOARD OF HEALTH March 26, 2025 extensive report on the positive public health impact and low risks associated with fluoridating local water. Dr. Rodgers asked if water from private wells is typically fluoridated, to which Commissioner Fowler replied that it depends on the levels of fluoride in the groundwater. Victoria Hudson, Environmental Health Director, said that there is not much fluoride in the groundwater for Orange County. She shared that there are records of healthcare providers referring their patients' households for well water testing so that they would know whether to recommend fluoride supplementation; she added that this program can be resumed at any time. Dr. Baldwin commented that he attempted to share the final 2020 report from the fluoride committee with the board in advance of this meeting, but that it was a 150-page PDF and was too large to attach it to the email. He shared that some of the concerns related to fluoride were due to a past incident where OWASA inadvertently overfluoridated the water after a water main break, and Ms. Stewart clarified that, while the water was overfluoridated, it was tested, and the mistake was identified and corrected before the water went out to the public. Dr. Bruce Baldwin Dr. Baldwin apologized for having to leave the Board Retreat early— he shared that his home is undergoing renovations, and the contractors showed up unexpectedly. Commissioner Amy Fowler Commissioner Fowler commented that there was a measles case identified in Washington D.C., which does not bode well for the rest of the nation. Dr. Stuebe asked if there was room for the Board of Health to submit a resolution in support of vaccines and vaccine funding, to which Commissioner Fowler explained that vaccine funding is primarily at the state level, rather than the Federal level, though that unfortunately doesn't mean vaccine funding is protected. Keith Bagby Mr. Bagby shared that his last day on the Board of Health will be June 30t", 2025. He explained that he had notified the County Clerk's office directly and that they told him no further action was needed to oversee his departure. He added that he will be moving into a house with a private well and septic system for the first time in his life, which he feels serving on the board has helped prepare him for. Dr. Alison Stuebe Dr. Stuebe shared that she had recently spoken with a member of the Chapel Hill Planning Board regarding the land use plan, and that they had discussed "conservation districts" — building houses more densely together to preserve existing farmland or untouched land — and she had directed questions she received to Ms. Hudson. Dr. Stuebe suggested that perhaps Ms. Hudson could present to local boards, including the BOCC, about health and land use. Commissioner Fowler agreed that the BOCC are interested in the intersection of health and land use. She noted that the land use plan had largely kept development out of the rural buffer, which is where OWASA would operate. Dr. Stuebe said that she believed that in a later page of the land use plan there was a suggestion to include development in the rural buffer, though Orange County Planning was not able to make direct recommendations as they don't have S:\Managers Working Files\BOH\Agendas &Abstracts\2025 Agenda and Abstracts/ March Page 2