Three people at the Jan. 2 Eustis City Commission meeting urged commissioners to end or pause fluoridation of the city’s water system, raising health and consent concerns.

At the audience-to-be-heard portion, Jackie Forward, who identified herself as a resident of Grand Island in the City of Eustis, said Tavares had recently removed fluoride from its water system and asked the Eustis commission to “write a new chapter” by considering the same step. Forward said the move in Tavares was “a remarkable stand toward the health of the community.”

Nicole King, a registered nurse, told commissioners she had attended multiple meetings to press the issue. King said health-care professionals should “educate and advocate” and that individuals should have “the right to choose what medical interventions are presented to them.” She told the commission that some recent studies and legal developments had raised concerns about long-term fluoride exposure and said she believed the state surgeon general, Joseph A. Ladapo, had called for municipalities to consider removing fluoridation from public water systems. King also named several Florida jurisdictions she said had stopped fluoridation, including Tavares, and asked the commission to consider pausing fluoridation until state and federal guidance are clearer.

Commissioners did not take formal action on the requests during the meeting. City staff did not present a report or recommendation on water fluoridation at the Jan. 2 session; no vote or formal direction to staff was recorded in the meeting minutes or the transcript.

Speakers framed their comments as requests for further consideration and for public consent before continuing fluoridation. Commissioners accepted the public comments and moved on to other agenda items.