GRU Authority terminates solar PPA with Origis, hears from public about the risks and benefits of fluoridating water
BY JENNIFER CABRERA
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – At their January 15 meeting, the GRU Authority terminated a solar Power Purchasing Agreement on the consent agenda, heard public comment about removing fluoride from the water, and extended their contract with Attorney Scott Walker.
Solar Power Purchasing Agreement
During public comment on a motion to adopt the consent agenda, eight people asked the board to postpone a decision on the solar Power Purchasing Agreement (PPA) with Origis Energy. Chuck Ross said they should table it because “at this point, this board shouldn’t be making any decisions while the item is pending as to whether or not you’re going to be the Authority further in the future.”
David Hastings said that putting it on the consent agenda prevented the public from discussing it. He said that although solar prices are going up, “many other forms of generating electricity, including gas, are also going to be more expensive, and the cost of inaction on climate impacts is also going to be considerable in the short- and long-term. Ask anybody who’s living in the Los Angeles environs.”
Bobby Mermer, Coordinator for the Alachua County Labor Coalition, said his organization wasn’t asking for the item to be removed from the consent agenda: “We know that the Authority is going to do what the Authority is going to do.” He gave several reasons why his organization believes it is a bad idea to terminate the contract, including the concern that “this is just a way to chip away at our ability to generate our own power… This sort of feels like a back-door way to force us into having to… bulk purchase power, as opposed to generate it… It’s a slap in the face to the 73% of city voters who voted yes on the local public utilities referendum this November… While [the court case] is pending, it’s just very disrespectful to the owners of this utility.”
Janice Garry from the League of Women Voters said the public deserves more information about the decision and the plan for “future reliable energy… Carbon emissions are the primary contributor to changes in our climate; the billions of dollars and untold suffering of a destructive hurricane is far greater than the cost of solar energy. The decisions made in this room are out of step with the City of Gainesville and most GRU customers and voters.”
Nancy Deren said increased reliance on gas could lead to fuel adjustment charge spikes, which have previously “wreaked havoc on people’s bills. It was not rates. Rates are a total red herring and a dangerous one that favor short-term narrow choices instead of long-term predictability and stability.”
Melanie, who said she was a UF student, said, “GRU has to decide if they work for their ratepayers or if they work for fossil fuel companies and the agenda that’s behind that.”
After public comment, Director Chip Skinner said, “This does not preclude GRU from entering into future agreements. This is strictly dealing with the Origis contract as it currently stands and the cost overruns that they’re looking at.”
The consent agenda was unanimously approved.
During Chair Comments, Chair Eric Lawson said, “For me, personally, I don’t have anything against solar, and I fully expect that [CEO] Ed [Bielarski] is going to come back to this board throughout the next year with opportunities for GRU to invest in solar. As Ed has educated us, the deal that was today is not the deal that was signed several years ago. One big component of that was that a land access that was made available originally was no longer available, and so that significantly increased the cost of that deal.”
Later, during CEO Comments, Bielarski said the termination of the solar PPA “was not unilateral on the part of GRU; this was an agreed-upon settlement with Origis, who couldn’t perform under the contract… It’s not a back-door way to privatize the utility. It’s actually protecting the customers. And we will engage with Origis in the future. We’ll look for other opportunities.”
Fluoride in water
During general public comment, five people asked the board to consider removing fluoride from tap water and three asked them not to. Angela Casteel said, “While fluoridation was originally intended to improve dental health, growing evidence shows that its risks outweigh the benefits. Fluoride is now classified as a developmental neurotoxin, alongside lead and arsenic. A 2014 study in The Lancet Neurology highlights how fluoride exposure harms brain development. Additionally, research published in Environmental Health Perspectives in 2017 found that children exposed to higher fluoride levels in utero had significantly lower IQs. Beyond cognitive effects, fluoride contributes to physical health issues like dental and skeletal fluorosis, thyroid dysfunction, and even kidney and liver damage, especially in the vulnerable populations. Water fluoridation forces all residents to consume fluoride, regardless of individual health needs or consent. The practice removes the right to choose and assumes a one-size-fits-all approach that is neither ethical nor safe.”
Casteel said topical fluoride, oral health education, and targeted programs can protect dental health without fluoridating water.
Chris Russell, who said he’s been treating water for over 20 years, also asked the board to remove fluoride from drinking water, saying there are effective topical treatments like fluoridated toothpaste that are readily available. He also said that since GRU is trying to cut its budget, removing fluoride can save money.
David Chase, who also asked the board to remove fluoride from the water, said, “It is not enough to just go by consensus… The onus of proof is not on those like myself that are skeptical.” He said he was a construction worker for many years who drank tap water all day, and now he has thyroid disease, so he drinks bottled water to avoid additional fluoride.
Raemi Eagle-Glenn, a Republican State Committeewoman who was there as a “concerned citizen,” said fluoride is classified by the FDA and CDC as a drug that is recommended to treat cavities. She displayed a bottle of mouthwash that contained sodium fluoride and had a “Drug Facts” label. She said, “So the question arises, why are all GRU customers being medicated for decades by City officials without our consent?… Today, more than half of Florida counties do not fluoridate water. Just last night, the cities of Niceville and Melbourne ended fluoridation, and I got word on my way here that the municipality of Immokalee in Collier County chose to end fluoridation today.”
Eagle-Glenn said that the Journal of the American Medical Association published a meta-analysis this month of 74 epidemiological studies examining the link between children’s IQ and fluoride and found that the more fluoride pregnant women and young children are exposed to, the greater the decrease in the child’s IQ.” She asked a series of questions about the level of fluoride in our groundwater, the amount of fluoride added to water, how much it costs, and whether there are alternatives that are already funded to provide fluoride treatments to families who opt in to fluoride. She asked the board to place the issue on a future agenda.
Bobby Mermer spoke as a private citizen and said he had two root canals as a young man and was told that X-rays of his teeth “look like a sponge” because he drinks well water, which is not fluoridated. He said, “I know it’s fashionable right now to not fluoridate water, but please be adults in the room; leave this issue alone.”
Cecilia Infante said, “Fluoride is a poison… A tube of toothpaste with fluoride carries a warning, ‘Do not swallow, and in case of accidental ingestion, contact the poison control center.’… Fluoride increases lead absorption. It disrupts synthesis of collagen, produces hyperactivity or lethargy, muscle disorders, brain damage, genetic damage and cell death, increase in tumor and cancer rate, disrupts the immune system, damages sperm, increases infertility, arthritis, dementia, bone fractures, decrease in thyroid function, bone cancer, inactivates 62 enzymes, inhibits the formation of antibodies. So my question to you tonight is, why are you continuing to poison us?”
Dr. Bert Hughes said he is a practicing dentist and “Fluoride is safe; we have studied this at the CDC level, the FDA level, and peer-reviewed studies all show this.” He said that in Jacksonville, for example, fluoride occurs naturally in the water at “optimal levels,” so they don’t add fluoride, but “in Gainesville, it occurs at a sub-optimal levels… [We added fluoride] so that we can have it at a level where it can fight decay but not be harmful to our citizens… I would encourage you to make fluoride a non-starter in our community.”
Dr. Paige Nicholson, who is also a local dentist, said insurance doesn’t cover topical fluoride, “so that wouldn’t be a solution for a lot of people who can’t really afford their dental care to begin with. Additionally, as a dental student at UF, I saw, unfortunately, a lot of patients who lost all their teeth because they were on well water… so I hope that you do not take fluoride out of our water.”
Nobody on the board responded to the comments about fluoride except Director David Haslam, who mentioned twice that he agreed with Bobby Mermer “on the fluoride thing,” an “unusual” occurrence.
Update on lawsuit and extension of Walker’s contract
During Attorney Comments, GRU Attorney Scott Walker says he anticipates a hearing on GRU’s lawsuit challenging the November referendum in late April or early May.
In other business, the board unanimously extended their contract with Walker’s firm by six months to August 2025 and unanimously approved a resolution that ratifies their use of an independent attorney for the purpose of conducting the business of the Authority.
We don’t need fluoride in the water, even if the gay commie and the scooter salesman disagree. Bobby might have a hissy fit for not calling him “Dr. Bobby Mermer.” Was he wearing his pretty eyeliner today?
Usually, people who are so outwardly homophobic are compensating for their inner struggles with their own sexuality.
The fact that he’s a gay communist academician (of political science, no less) just highlights how far removed he is from ideas of having a family and a so-called normal life, hopefully producing actual value in some realm instead of being a never-ending community PITA. He likely will never produce children of his own, so what does he care about water safety for children? That’s the only reason to be “homophobic” in this instance.
Fluoride in the water obviously has more of an impact on low-income folks who can’t even get to a nearby grocery store let alone afford an endless supply of spring water, so he’s also demonstrating the racial insensitivity that has always been a hallmark of the left. He probably wants to keep the IQ on the eastside as low as possible so that they will have to keep looking to the government for assistance instead of getting educated and/or starting their own businesses. Get “those people” back to towing the party line, right? Who do they think they are voting Republican?
Wearing eyeliner highlights what a narcissist he is and has nothing to do with his sexual orientation.
Methinks though doth protest to much. Your fixation with eyeliner is another indication that you long to accept these feelings you have been wrestling with. I suggest you get a makeover, put on something pretty, and relax.
Who cares about any of this? Lower the damn rates.
Well said, Joe!
Nobody loses their teeth from well water, they lose them from bad hygiene and eating habits. smh
Anyone born before the 90’s pushing to keep flouride in tap water is either a devil(deceiver) or ignorant.
It calcifies the pineal gland.
brush your teeth, gargle, spit and rinse, don’t drink to much soda and you’ll be fine.
Thank you.. these people are ridiculous!
“Nobody on the board responded to the comments about fluoride except Director David Haslam, who mentioned twice that he agreed with Bobby Mermer “on the fluoride thing,” an “unusual” occurrence”
Doesn’t bode well for Haslam.
I just reached my finger in and checked on my pineal gland. It is robust and fertile. I must be immune to flouride.
Anyone who has ever dabbled in gardening knows that many plants cannot tolerate the fluoride levels in tap water. This is a very well known issue. I’ve had this issue with several plants…most recently with my spider plant. It burns plants and is neurotoxic to animals.
Anything living should never be given hexafluorosilicic acid or sodium fluorosilicate. I cannot believe this is even a discussion in 2025.
So sick of hearing about the lies on climate change. The earth’s climate has ALWAYS changed.
But it would do so over a VERY long time, not within a 100 years or so like we’re looking at now.
We have only been doing somewhat accurate measurements for that 100 years. The rest of our 50,000 years have been ‘interpreted’, extrapolated or guessed on. The so called ‘experts’ DON’T KNOW!
No Roger, experts know because they spend their time reading books instead of living on AC all day.
Always remember it used to be called “global warming” into their parades and rallies were repeatedly snowed out. The utter and frequent embarrassment caused them to change their name to “climate change” and this way, any surprising adverse weather event, hot or cold, validated their madness. Too hot? Climate change! Too cold? Same! Bad hurricane season? Climate change! Very few hurricanes? Also climate change!
It’s irresponsible to treat some peoples dental issues by medicating the water system on a mass scale. Is there any other medical treatment that is distributed on a mass scale like this? There is not.
It’s unprecedented and should have been illegal for decades.
Anyone who isn’t naive knows it has nothing to do with teeth.
“Is there any other medical treatment that is distributed on a mass scale like this? There is not. It’s unprecedented… ”
Aside from polio, smallpox, etc. there was that nasty little issue of pellagra which is why enriched flour is now standard and the reason behind the creation of the Office of the U.S. Surgeon General.
Feel free to look it up, too many citations to list here.
Yes and don’t forget vitamin D put in milk, and iodine put in salt. Drugs for the masses without their consent.
I say take them out, especially if it will lower the lifespan of people who use the word “face diaper” and who vote for a convicted felon for President. And no one wearing a red MAGA hat should be allowed to get any vaccine, or drugs from Big Pharma if they get sick. Get well with thoughts and prayers only.
Thanks. I did indeed forget vitamin D and iodine; probably others out there I’m not even aware of.
You can buy milk without vitamin d right beside milk with added vit d. You can also buy the salt without iodine right beside the salt with iodine. Not the same as forcing water fluoridation via public water supply.
Polio, smallpox, pellagra, and enriched flour aren’t medical treatments. What are you talking about? Informed consent must be required for all medical treatments, fluoride included.
Chlorination of water is another medical treatment that is carried out on a mass scale. Also, Gainesville water is purified by an acid/base treatment, which is fairly standard for many municipal water systems.
Disinfectants, like chlorine, in tap water are absolutely needed (at minimal levels). Bacteria would run wild otherwise. Chlorine, as used, is not a (human) medical treatment. It’s a treatment for the water distribution system.
Only fluoride is solely intended to treat humans (just our teeth). As I said above, it’s unprecedented and most likely not even really legal
I get topical flouride treatment every time I go to the dentist for a cleaning. It doesn’t cost that much. We also have flouride in toothpaste and mouthwash. Are people just not brushing their teeth?
But but but some people can’t afford to get their teeth cleaned or can’t afford the treatment.
Not my f’ing problem. Quit buying the Cola. Money saved for treatment. Problem solved.
Add iodine to your drinks, to fight the effects of fluoride in your body. Most people aren’t getting enough iodine, because it’s being displaced by fluoride in the body. Research it yourselves.
Hurricanes and fires are not the result of ‘climate change’.
But the increased intensity and frequency is.
What is climate change currently? Is it global cooling like we were promised in the ‘70’s? Global warming like promised in the ‘90’s? Stronger storms and fires like we’re promised now?
See the pattern?
Can’t keep moving the goal posts while claiming to be correct.
So much “research” here in the comments section, it’s practically the library of Alexandria
Ha ha, good one Richard!
99% of municipal water isn’t ingested anyway. The EPA-listed toxin industrial fluoride added to it goes out into the environment as wastewater or directly in irrigation. Some probably has been reaching the aquifer. Since 1949. Despite the Labor Coalition’s coordinator contending that his root canals and poor dental health resulted from not getting medicated by public water supplies, the coalition union members might want to discuss the EPA Union’s well-researched opposition to adding industrial-waste fluoride to water supplies. “How the Union Got Involved An employee came to the union with an ethics complaint.” “Among the first things that became apparent when we began looking at fluoride was that the source of most of the fluoride going into drinking water was a hazardous waste.” “Money, Money, Money… seems to be a major reason why there is so little interest in Congress or EPA in stopping the addition of HFSA to drinking water supplies.”
https://epaunionhistory.org/fluoride-toxicity/
Don’t worry about climate change.
Never have, never will.
Bielarski opined that he is in fact currently implementing an IRP (integrated resource plan) although no such thing has in fact gone before the GRU Authority. He is freestyling and untethered.
For once, this is something I can agree with Konish on.
Ed implementing the IRP? If this were true, he wouldn’t have stopped the recent IRP in dead its tracks and buried the public outreach data presence on the GRU web site. Ed is focused only on short term goals: low rates and keeping his high paying job rather than focusing on the long term cost effective viability of the utility and reliability. Several generating units are functionally beyond end of life. New generation takes time to develop (permit, design, contract, and construct). He is either lying, or in denial of these facts. He has no actionable strategy for dealing gentrification of the fleet other than kicking the can down the road for the “next guy to deal with” while he looks great on rates. There must be a balance (long term cost and reliability). Until that day of reconning, Eddie will just continue prancing about beating his chest about how great of a CEO he is, and the board will be clueless about the long term effects of his mismanagement.
Well said, Bemused!
This is one of the most accurate comments I have read in a long time. GRU thirty years ago was strong and vibrant utility. The general fund transfer was from profits minus funds needed to keep the utilities costs up to date and cost efficient. GRU had one of the lowest rates in the state if not the lowest. Then the politicians got involved and started with their green agenda and funding all their other stupid policies that are for political gain and it’s down the tubes ever since. If something doesn’t drastically change GRU will be purchasing their power from other utilities and trying to get by regulating with an aging and broke down fleet. GRU will have another issue with getting transmission especially during peak loads and will at the mercy of their neighbors. Sad to see. I guess everything comes full circle. If you know your history, GRU is headed right back to the reason it was created..
Gru under Mr. Kurtz did have low rates. Mike was in a contest with Walt Brussels at JEA to have the lowest rates in the state. Unfortunately, both allowed their utilities’ financial metrics and system conditions to decline precipitously. This required the next GM to raise rates and borrow money to improve things. Don’t get me wrong, Mike did a lot of good things, but he did no favors to the utility at the end….
Jim, surprise…..surprise!
You are spot on.
Dude Named Ben
“You can buy milk without vitamin d right beside milk with added vit d. You can also buy the salt without iodine right beside the salt with iodine. Not the same as forcing water fluoridation via public water supply.”
Just like you can also buy non-fluoridated/chlorinated water at the grocery store, starting with 16oz bottles, up to 5gal jugs.
You’re either being deceptive or ignorant. There is only one public water supply here and GRU controls it. There is not an option for “no fluoride”.
As Slice mentioned above fluoride is the only medical treatment that is distributed on a mass scale. Buying different types of salt and milk at a store are not comparative to the sole (government controlled) water supply for someone’s home. Why are you hell bent on forcing neurotoxic water fluoridation on those of us who do not consent!? Really, what’s in it for you?…I think you’re just too afraid to admit how wrong you are…
Simply pointing out the inconsistencies of your statements.
You are free to purchase water for consumption, without fluoride and chlorine, at any number of markets just as YOU pointed out I can purchase milk, salt, and flour without additives at the same places.
It’s a public utility not a grocery item, you stubborn tw@t