[Quality of Life, Arts and Culture Committee on October 16, 2023.]
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FIRST ORDER OF BUSINESS IS ITEM A APPROVAL OF SEPTEMBER 18TH, 2023 COMMITTEE MINUTES.
I HEAR A MOTION. IS THERE A SECOND? A MOTION AND A SECOND.
IS THERE ANY DISCUSSION? HEARING NONE. ALL THOSE IN FAVOR SAY AYE.
THE MEETING MINUTES PASS UNANIMOUSLY.
NEXT WE ARE GOING TO MOVE INTO BRIEFING ITEM B, COMMUNITY WATER FLUORIDATION IN DALLAS.
WE HAVE SEVERAL PRESENTERS HERE THAT WILL WORK THROUGH SOMEWHAT SWIFTLY IN HIGH LEVEL.
I'VE REQUESTED THAT SO THAT THERE'S PLENTY OF OPPORTUNITY FOR MEMBERS TO GET QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS.
SO I'LL TURN IT OVER TO SARAH STANDIFER, DIRECTOR OF WATER UTILITIES, TO GET US STARTED, AND WE HAVE A COMPREHENSIVE PANEL HERE THAT I WILL ALLOW DIRECTOR STANDIFER TO INTRODUCE AS THEY COME ON.
GOOD MORNING, CHAIR AND MEMBERS OF THE COMMITTEE.
SARAH STANDIFER, INTERIM DIRECTOR, DALLAS WATER UTILITIES.
THIS MORNING WE WERE ASKED TO BRING FORWARD A BRIEFING TO TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT WHAT IS FLUORIDE IN DALLAS WATER, AND THEN PRESENT A PANEL OF EXPERTS FROM THE ORAL HEALTH, THE MEDICAL AND THE PUBLIC HEALTH COMMUNITY.
SO I'M GOING TO HIT VERY QUICKLY ON OUR HISTORY HERE IN DALLAS, AND THEN I'M GOING TO HAND IT OVER TO THE PANEL TO PRESENT SOME MATERIAL, AND THEN TAKE SOME QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS FROM YOU ALL.
ON SLIDE FIVE, YOU'LL JUST SEE A QUICK OVERVIEW OF FLUORIDE.
THIS IS ALSO REPEATED IN SOME OTHER SLIDES.
SO IT'S A NATURALLY OCCURRING MINERAL, AND IT IS ALSO ADDED TO DRINKING WATER.
ON SLIDE SIX, THE PURPOSE BEHIND THE FLUORIDE IS TO ADDRESS BACTERIA ON TEETH THAT CAN BE FOUND.
IT REMINERALIZE ON TOOTH SURFACES AND THE HARDER MINERAL IS MORE RESISTANT TO TOOTH DECAY.
SO ON SLIDE SEVEN, THE COMMUNITY WATER FLUORIDATION IN DALLAS.
CAN WE GET THE SLIDES AREN'T PROGRESSING.
SO IF YOU WANT TO GO TO SLIDE EIGHT, I'LL GIVE YOU A BRIEF HISTORY.
ALL RIGHT. WE ARE NOW ON SLIDE EIGHT AS IT PROGRESS FOR EVERYBODY.
OKAY. SO THE COMMUNITY WATER FLUORIDATION, THE HISTORY BEHIND THIS.
IT WAS INTENDED TO INCREASE NATURAL FLUORIDE LEVELS, AS YOU CAN SEE IN 2020, WHICH IS THE MOST RECENT MAP AVAILABLE BY CDC, ABOUT 72% OF THE POPULATION ON PUBLIC WATER SYSTEMS DO HAVE ACCESS TO FLUORIDATED WATER.
ON SLIDE NINE, IT'S AN OVERVIEW.
MANY OF YOU HAVE SEEN THIS OVERVIEW.
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IN 1965, THERE WAS A COUNCIL RESOLUTION THAT AUTHORIZED THE CITY MANAGER TO PROCEED WITH FLUORIDATION IN OUR WATER SUPPLY, AND A PETITION THEN FOLLOWED, AND WE HELD A SPECIAL ELECTION WHERE THE CITIZENS DID VOTE AGAINST THAT PROPOSITION, AND IN 1966, DALLAS WATER UTILITIES BEGAN ADDING FLUORIDE TO ALL THREE TREATMENT PLANTS.SO ON SLIDE TEN, I UNDERSTAND THERE'S A DELAY, SO WE'LL MAKE SURE THEY ADVANCE ON SLIDE TEN.
THIS IS THE PRODUCT THAT WE DO USE HERE IN DALLAS.
IT IS ADDED TO OUR TREATMENT PROCESS.
IT IS PURCHASED AND CERTIFIED FOR DRINKING WATER UNDER THE NATIONAL SANITATION FOUNDATION.
I'M SORRY. THE SLIDES JUST WENT BACK DOWN.
CASEY, IS THERE AN ISSUE IF WE DON'T HAVE THE SLIDES DISPLAYED VIRTUALLY FROM TOMA? OR WE HAVE OUR PRESENTATIONS IN FRONT OF US, CAN WE JUST MOVE ON? THERE'S NO TOMA ISSUE.
YEAH, YOU GUYS CAN MOVE ON IF YOU WANT TO.
YOU CAN WORK THROUGH. I THINK ALL OF US HERE HAVE IT.
MR. RESENDEZ, IF YOU COULD WORK--PERFECT.
ALL RIGHT, SO OUR SUPPLY IS ALSO CERTIFIED IN DRINKING WATER BY THE AMERICAN NATIONAL STANDARDS INSTITUTE OR ANSI, AND IT CONFORMS TO THE AMERICAN WATER WORKS ASSOCIATION STANDARD FOR THAT APPLICATION ON SLIDE 11 THAT FLUORIDE DOES APPEAR NATURALLY IN OUR RAW WATER SUPPLIES, AND WE SUPPLEMENT THAT TO GET TO THE OPTIMAL LEVEL IT'S APPLIED AND THEN IT IS ALSO TESTED DAILY.
ON SLIDE 12 YOU'LL SEE WE'VE GIVEN YOU SOME COSTS.
IT'S ABOUT $500 PER TON OR $0.25 PER POUND, AND DEPENDING ON WHICH TREATMENT PLANT YOU'RE AT, THE RANGES ARE FROM ABOUT 225 TO 417 PER MILLION GALLONS OF WATER TREATED IN OUR DALLAS WATER FLUORIDATION, WE SPEND APPROXIMATELY $0.20 PER PERSON PER YEAR EACH YEAR, SLIGHTLY DIFFERENT DEPENDING ON THE AMOUNT OF WATER THAT NEEDS TO BE TREATED, AND SLIDE 13 IS ALSO JUST GIVING YOU A REMINDER THAT WE DO HAVE 23 OTHER CUSTOMERS THAT PURCHASE OUR WATER THAT RECEIVE THIS COMMUNITY FLUORIDATION, AND AT THIS TIME I'M GOING TO INTRODUCE DR.
SHE IS WITH THE COMMUNITY FLUORIDE COMMITTEE OF THE TEXAS DENTAL ASSOCIATION.
I'M A LOCAL DENTIST, PAST PRESIDENT OF THE DALLAS COUNTY DENTAL SOCIETY, AND TDA COMMUNITY WATER FLUORIDATION COMMITTEE CHAIR. LET'S TAKE A LOOK AT SLIDE 16.
THAT'S OUR OBJECTIVES FOR TODAY.
WHEN WE GET TO NUMBER FIVE, WE'LL BE HAPPY TO ADDRESS QUESTIONS.
WE'RE GOING TO DO A LITTLE BIT OF DEFINITION OF TERMS BETWEEN FLUORIDE AND FLUORIDATION.
FLUORIDE IS A NATURALLY OCCURRING ELEMENT.
FLUORIDATION IS HOW WE BALANCE IT AND ADD TO THE WATER SUPPLY SYSTEM.
FLUORIDE IS EVERYWHERE, AND YOUR FOOD AND YOUR WATER IN THE AIR, AND WE KNOW AFTER 75 YEARS OF DEALING WITH FLUORIDE, WE KNOW THE OPTIMUM LEVEL, AND WE ARE TALKING ABOUT ONLY THE OPTIMUM LEVEL OF FLUORIDE ADDED TO THE WATER, AND CURRENTLY 73% PERCENT OF US CITIZENS ARE BENEFITING, BENEFITING FROM FLUORIDATED WATER.
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FLUORIDATED WATER FLUORIDATION.FLUORIDE HELPS TEETH IN TWO WAYS TOPICALLY AND SYSTEMICALLY.
WE ARE ALL PRETTY MUCH FAMILIAR WITH THE FLUORIDE IN OUR TOOTHPASTE AND MOUTHWASHES, AND HOPEFULLY WHEN YOU GO TO THE DENTIST, A PROFESSIONAL APPLICATION AND TOPICAL BENEFITS THE TOOTH.
WHEN IT IS ERUPTED INTO THE MOUTH.
THE INGESTED OR THE SYSTEMIC FORM HELPS THE DEVELOPING TOOTH IN CHILDREN AND INFANTS.
PLEASE KEEP IN MIND THAT THERE ARE SOME PARTS OF THE COMMUNITY THAT A TOOTHBRUSH IS A LUXURY.
TOOTHPASTE IS A LUXURY, BUT THEY DO GET WATER.
WE'VE BEEN FORTIFYING OUR FOOD AND DRINK FOR MANY, MANY YEARS.
SO IF YOU HAVE TO REMOVE DECAY FROM A SIX YEAR OLD'S PERMANENT FIRST MOLAR BY THE TIME THAT PERSON IS FINISHED WITH LIFE, GIVEN THE FACT THAT YOU CAN NOW GET RECURRENT DECAY, LARGER FILLINGS, BREAKING CUSPS, ROOT CANAL, CROWN, YOU CAN IMAGINE HOW THAT SINGLE TOOTH CAN ADD UP TO ABOUT $6,000 AND WE'VE GOT MEDICAID STATISTICS THAT SHOW US SPECIFICALLY THAT COST SAVINGS PER CHILD PER YEAR IS ABOUT $24 WITH FLUORIDATED WATER.
SO HOW DO WE KNOW THAT FLUORIDE IS IMPORTANT? IN THE 60S, AND THIS IS WHERE THE SLIDE WOULD BE VISUALLY IMPACTFUL.
IN THE 60S, THE US HEALTH OFFICIALS CONDUCTED A NATIONAL SURVEY.
THIS IS BEFORE FLUORIDE IN WATER WAS READILY AVAILABLE.
EXCUSE ME, AND ON THE NEXT SLIDE, I WISH YOU COULD SEE GUESS HOW MANY CAVITIES THE AVERAGE PERSON HAD WITHOUT FLUORIDE, 18.
SO I'M FORTUNATE TO WORK IN AN AREA OF TOWN THAT.
I HAVE MANY PATIENTS THAT HAVEN'T HAD A SINGLE FILLING IN THEIR HEAD.
SO FLUORIDE IS USEFUL IN BOTH FORMS, TOPICAL AND SYSTEMIC, AND TOOTHBRUSHING ALONE IS NOT ENOUGH.
WE KNOW THIS BECAUSE WE HAVE COMMUNITIES WHERE FLUORIDE HAS BEEN CEASED AND WE HAVE STATISTICS.
I'M ON SLIDE 28 AND IT SHOWS THE ALASKA CITIES OF JUNEAU AND ANCHORAGE, SIMILAR CITIES FLUORIDATED THE SAME WAY, AND IN 2007, JUNEAU OFFICIALS ENDED WATER FLUORIDATION, AND IT WAS THE OFFICIALS.
THE OFFICIALS ENDED WATER FLUORIDE IN JUNEAU.
SO WE SENT RESEARCHERS UP THERE TO GATHER EVIDENCE AND RESEARCH, AND AFTER NINE YEARS, ON SLIDE 29, YOU CAN SEE THAT JUNEAU, THE NON-FLUORIDATED COST FOR AVERAGE COST PER CHILD PER CAPITA WAS WENT UP 47%, AND WE'RE LOOKING AT CHILDREN BECAUSE WE KNOW THAT THE CHILDREN ARE THE MOST AFFECTED WHEN FLUORIDE IS STOPPED IN THE COMMUNITY WATER SYSTEM.
ON THE NEXT SLIDE WE HAVE ANOTHER SITUATION THAT HAPPENED IN CANADA.
BOTH TWO COMMUNITIES CLOSE TO EACH OTHER.
ONE DECIDED TO STOP FLUORIDE SENT OUR RESEARCHERS UP THERE.
DATA WAS STARTED TO BE COLLECTED IN 2004, AND IF YOU MOVED THROUGH THESE SLIDES IN 2011, CALGARY STOPPED FLUORIDE, AND NINE YEARS LATER.
THAT CALGARY'S DECAY COST OF DECAY.
TRACKED THE DECAY RATE ON EXTRACTED AND MISSING TEETH IN CHILDREN.
SECOND GRADERS UP 65% WHILE THE EDMONTON REMAINED FLUORIDATED.
YOU CAN CLICK THROUGH THE NEXT 2 OR 3 IF YOU COULD.
EDMONTON, WHICH REMAINED FLUORIDATED, THE DECAY RATE STAYED THE SAME.
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THE DECISION WAS REVERSED AND FLUORIDE WAS RETURNED TO CALGARY.SO WHAT ARE THE HIDDEN COSTS OF POOR DENTAL HEALTH? WE KNOW THAT KIDS THAT SUFFER FROM THERE'S THE CANADA RESULTS UP THERE, AND YOU CAN KEEP FORWARDING, PLEASE.
EDUCATION. CHILDREN MISSED 34,000,000 HOURS OF SCHOOL TIME IN A SINGLE YEAR DUE TO SERIOUS OR UNPLANNED DENTAL CARE AND WE KNOW THAT IF A STUDENT IS IN PAIN, THEY'RE NOT GOING TO PERFORM AS WELL, AND GRADES DROP.
HIDDEN COST FOR GOOD PAYING JOBS.
IF YOU'RE AN EMPLOYER AND YOU HAVE A POSITION OPEN THAT HAS, THE APPLICANT WOULD BE REPRESENTING YOU OR YOUR BUSINESS IN THE PUBLIC EYE.
YOU CAN SEE THERE'S A LITTLE QUOTE DESCRIBING A SITUATION WHERE A SOLDIER HAD TO BE REMOVED FROM THE BATTLEFIELD BECAUSE OF A DENTAL CONDITION, AND THE COST REQUIRED NINE PERSONNEL AND A CONVOY OF THREE VEHICLES TO EVACUATE THAT SOLDIER.
SO THE MILITARY UNDERSTANDS THE NEED.
ALSO, OUR AGING POPULATION WE KNOW THAT FLUORIDE BENEFITS BOTH SYSTEMICALLY AND TOPICALLY.
WE HAVE FOR MANY YEARS TRACKED WHAT HAPPENS WITH CHILDREN, BUT WITH OUR AGING POPULATION.
NOW WE'RE LOOKING AT RECEDING GUMS, EXPOSED ROOT SURFACES WITHOUT THAT HARD SHELL OF ENAMEL, MUCH MORE SUSCEPTIBLE TO DECAY, AND WE KNOW THAT FLUORIDE IN THE WATER BENEFITS THE ELDERLY AS WELL AS CHILDREN.
SAFETY OF FLUORIDE IN YOUR WATER.
WE HAVE 75 YEARS OF RESEARCH THAT CONFIRMS THE SAFETY OF FLUORIDE IN YOUR WATER.
YOU'LL SEE THE OPPONENTS BLAME A LONG LIST OF HARMS ON FLUORIDE IN YOUR WATER, BUT EVIDENCE SHOWS THAT THESE CLAIMS ARE BASELESS, AND EACH TIME A FACT CHECKER IS HAS BEEN SENT TO REVIEW A CLAIM ABOUT THE SAFETY OF FLUORIDE, THEY HAVE FOUND IT FALSE OR MISLEADING. YOU'LL SEE.
ONE OF THE PRIMARY CLAIMS CURRENTLY IS THAT FLUORIDE LOWERS IQ.
THIS PARTICULAR STUDY, THE GREEN STUDY OUT OF CANADA, FOUND AN ASSOCIATION BETWEEN FLUORIDE AND LOWER IQ, BUT ONLY IN BOYS AND ONLY IN ONE OF THE TWO STUDIES, AND THE STUDY'S AUTHORS REFUSED TO RELEASE THE DATA.
WE'VE HAD EXPERTS REVIEW THAT STUDY.
DR. STEVEN NOVELLA, A NEUROLOGIST, ASSISTANT PROFESSOR AT YALE SCHOOL OF MEDICINE, IS QUOTED: THE NEGATIVE RESULTS WERE DRIVEN LARGELY BY A SMALL NUMBER OF BOYS WHO HAD AN EXTREME LEVEL OF EXPOSURE, AND THAT'S IMPORTANT AN EXTREME LEVEL OF EXPOSURE.
IF YOU TAKE THE OUTLIERS OUT, THE OVERALL EFFECTS BECOME NON-SIGNIFICANT, AND THERE'S THE RESULTS SHOWED THAT THE IQ SCORES WHEN YOU TOOK THE OUTLIERS, REMOVED THE OUTLIERS, THE IQ SCORES REMAINED THE SAME.
OTHER STUDIES HAVE REJECTED THE CLAIM ABOUT IQ, GOT ALL OVER THE WORLD.
PEER REVIEWED STUDIES THAT SHOW THERE'S NO LINK BETWEEN IQ AND FLUORIDATED WATER.
RESEARCHERS ANALYZED 30 STUDIES ABOUT FLUORIDE AND IQ.
MOST OF THEM, 29 OF THEM WERE AT HIGH RISK OF BIAS.
THE ONE THAT WAS NOT BIASED SHOWED NO RELATIONSHIP.
THE NATIONAL ACADEMIES OF SCIENCES WEIGHED IN.
THEY. THE ACADEMY WAS ASKED TO PEER REVIEW A REPORT DESCRIBING FLUORIDE AS HARMFUL, AND THEY FOUND NO RELATIONSHIP IN A TYPICAL IN THE PROPER LEVEL OF FLUORIDE, AND THE NATIONAL TOXICOLOGY PROGRAM
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REMOVED THE HAZARDOUS CLASSIFICATION WHEN THAT FLUORIDE WAS BELOW 1.5MG/ML AND ON THIS FINAL SLIDE, YOU'LL SEE LEADING HEALTH AND SCIENTIFIC EXPERTS WITH A POSITION STATEMENT AGREEING THAT FLUORIDE IS SAFE AND EFFECTIVE.WE HAVE DR. JOHNNY JOHNSON WITH US VIRTUALLY.
HE'S THE PRESIDENT OF THE AMERICAN FLUORIDE ASSOCIATION.
PHILIP HUANG, WHO IS DIRECTOR OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES FOR DALLAS COUNTY, AND DR.
VAN NGUYEN, WHO IS AN MD AND HAS A FELLOW IN TOXICOLOGY, AND WE ARE HAPPY TO TAKE YOUR QUESTIONS.
DID SOMEONE SPEAK? I'M SORRY. OKAY.
THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR THE PRESENTATION.
WE'LL GO AHEAD AND ASK FOR MEMBERS.
THANK YOU, AND THANK YOU FOR JOINING US TODAY.
SO I DO HAVE A COUPLE OF QUESTIONS ABOUT THE CHEMICAL MAKEUP.
SO MY CHEMISTRY WAS BACK WHEN I WAS 17, BUT I WAS PRETTY DECENT AT IT.
SO IT'S A TRACE MINERAL IN THE NATURAL SETTING, AND I BELIEVE IT'S FLUORINE VERSUS FLUORIDE.
IS THAT CORRECT? OKAY, BUT WE ADD WHAT TO OUR WATER AND IT MAY BE SARAH, AND WHAT IS THAT CHEMICAL MAKEUP.
MY APOLOGIES. I DO NOT KNOW THE ANSWER TO THAT.
CAN YOU GET US? BECAUSE, I MEAN, WE'RE HEARING THAT FLUORIDE.
WE'LL GET YOU THE CHEMICAL MAKEUP.
IT'S THE [INAUDIBLE] ACID, BUT WE WILL GET YOU THE CHEMICAL MAKEUP BEHIND IT, BUT IT IS THE ONE THAT'S ENDORSED FOR DENTAL AND FOR INGESTION PURPOSES.
WHICH MEANS THAT IT IS IT'S A CONSUMABLE THING IN ITS NATURAL STATE.
HOWEVER, WHEN WE ADD IT TO THE WATER, WHAT STATE DOES IT BECOME AND WHAT ARE THOSE OTHER MINERALS THAT ARE ADDED TO IT? WHAT HARM ARE THEY DOING? I DON'T THINK THE QUESTION HERE IS NOT ABOUT IS FLUORIDE.
IS FLUORINE GOOD FOR YOU? BECAUSE IT DOES. IT IS IN THE TRACE.
IT'S IN OUR FOODS, OUR [INAUDIBLE].
IT'S IN OUR WATER, BUT WHAT ARE WE ADDING TO IT WITH OUR WATER IN ORDER TO CREATE THAT BIND? THAT'S MY QUESTION.
BECAUSE THERE IS A CHEMICAL THERE.
IT HAS TO HAPPEN IN ORDER FOR IT TO BOUND TO THE H2O.
THEN MY NEXT THING IS YOU MENTIONED THAT BECAUSE OF WATER, PEOPLE AREN'T HAVING BAD DENTAL.
WELL, MY FATHER, WHO GREW UP ON A FARM, HAD WELL WATER, TRACE MINERAL, BUT HE DIDN'T EAT SUGAR AND HE DRANK MILK, BUT NOTHING WAS ADDED TO THE NATURAL FORM OF THE MILK, MEANING NOT VITAMIN D.
SO I THINK THE QUESTION IS, IS NOT NECESSARILY ONE THING.
I THINK IT'S A COMBINATION OF YOUR LIFESTYLE.
SO I THINK IT'S A IT'S A WHOLE ENTREE OF LIFESTYLE ACTIVITIES, AND SO YOU DID SAY, SARAH, THAT IN 1950.
WE ADDED IT TO THE WATER SUPPLY, BUT THEN WE PASSED A RESOLUTION AS A COUNCIL, BUT THEN THERE WAS AN ELECTION, I THINK TWICE THAT SAID NO, BUT WE WENT AHEAD AND DID IT.
NO, MA'AM. SO THE PUBLIC HEALTH ENDORSED IT IN 1950.
WE DID NOT BEGIN ADDING IT UNTIL THE 1966 ORDINANCE.
OKAY. IT WAS LAG TIME IN SLIDES.
OKAY. SORRY, AND THEN SO WHY DID, EVEN THOUGH THE POPULATION ELECTORATE PRETTY MUCH RESOUNDINGLY SAID NO, STILL ADD IT? NO, MA'AM. SO WHEN YOU LOOK AT THE ACTUAL WORDING ON SLIDE NINE, THAT WILL HELP YOU A LITTLE BIT.
SO WHAT WAS TAKEN TO THE VOTERS WAS TO DETERMINE WHETHER OR NOT IT WAS GOING TO BE UNLAWFUL FOR THE CITY OF DALLAS TO ADD THE FLUORIDE TO THE WATER. SO THAT PROPOSITION FAILED, WHICH THEN RESULTED IN THE 66 ORDINANCE THAT WAS PASSED BY COUNCIL TO TELL US OR DIRECT DALLAS WATERWORKS AT THE TIME WAS THE NAME OF IT, BUT DALLAS WATERWORKS TO ADD THE FLUORIDE, BECAUSE IT SAYS IN JANUARY 29TH, '66 WHERE THE CITIZENS VOTED AGAINST THE PROPOSITION..
I'LL GET YOU THE EXACT PROPOSITION WORDING THE WORD IT WAS THE WORDING OF TO VOTE NO, TO VOTE YES.
IT WAS ONE OF THOSE PROPOSITIONS.
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YES. YOU MIGHT WANT TO CLARIFY THAT FOR BECAUSE I WAS WONDERING WHY ALL OF A SUDDEN WE DECIDED THAT IT WAS A GOOD IDEA WHEN PEOPLE SAID NO.YES. COUNCIL MEMBER BLACKMON DO YOU ALSO HAVE PANELIST DR.
JOHNSON ON THAT HAS HIS HAND RAISED? I THINK HE HAS A RESPONSE TO YOUR FIRST QUESTION ABOUT THE CHEMICAL MAKEUP.
YEAH. OKAY. CAN YOU HEAR ME? OKAY. YES, SIR.
THAT WAS PRETTY LOUD ECHO IN THE BACKGROUND.
YES. I WANTED TO ADDRESS THE QUESTIONS YOU HAD ABOUT WHAT ACTUALLY IS IN THE WATER FROM THE HYDROFLUOROSILICIC ACID, WHICH IS THE COMPOUND THAT'S MOST COMMONLY USED IN THE US FOR FLUORIDATING WATER.
IT IS ACTUALLY NOT FLUORINE, BUT IT IS THE FLUORIDE ION, WHICH IS AN ION OF THE ELEMENT FLUORINE.
NOW THE PRODUCT IS HYDROLUOROSILICIC ACID IS MEANS A HYDROGEN ION, FLUORIDE ION AND SILICA.
WHEN THAT IS ADDED TO THE WATER, IT IMMEDIATELY DISSOLVES.
DISSOCIATION IS THE WORD USED WITHIN A SPLIT SECOND, AND WHAT YOU HAVE LEFT ARE FLUORIDE IONS.
YOU HAVE HYDROGEN IONS AND YOU HAVE SILICA SAND IN THE WATER.
THERE IS NOTHING LEFT OVER IN IT AND THE FLUORIDE DOES NOT BIND TO THE WATER.
FLUORIDE IS IN THE WATER AND IT MAY ATTACH TO SOMETHING ELSE, BUT IT'S STILL VERY, VERY AVAILABLE.
IN REGARDS TO YOUR FATHER, I BELIEVE YOU SAID, WHO GREW UP ON A FARM AND WAS ON WELL WATER.
ONE THING TO ADDRESS ON WELL WATER IS THAT WE HAVE AND YOU ALL TOO YOU HAVE WELLS IN TEXAS, WEST TEXAS ESPECIALLY THAT HAVE FLUORIDE AT VERY HIGH LEVELS AND IN WELLS, AND WE IN THIS COUNTRY HAVE PEOPLE WHO HAVE FLUORIDE AT FOUR PARTS PER MILLION, WHICH IS SIX TIMES WHAT'S IN YOUR WATER THAT NATURALLY OCCURS IN THE GROUND THROUGH EROSION OF ROCKS.
SO WE DON'T KNOW WHAT YOUR FATHER'S FLUORIDE LEVEL WAS MY WIFE GREW UP AND SHE WAS ON WELL WATER, AND SHE HAS VERY FEW CAVITIES, AND COME TO FIND OUT, THEIR LEVEL OF FLUORIDE WAS APPROPRIATE.
SO SHE GREW UP LIKE HER FATHER, IN AN AREA THAT HE MAY HAVE HAD APPROPRIATE LEVELS OF FLUORIDE.
YES, DIET DEFINITELY MAKES AN IMPACT.
SO YES, EVEN NATURAL FRUIT, NATURAL SUGARS, FRUITS, VEGETABLES, BUT MAINLY FRUITS, PASTAS AND MILKS THOSE THINGS CAN ACTUALLY BE USED BY THE BACTERIA ON OUR TEETH TO CAUSE CAVITIES.
THERE WAS ONE. OH, THE QUESTION ON THE BALLOT WAS ONE OF THOSE.
THAT IS THE WAY IT'S WORDED, AND THE WAY IT WAS WORDED, TO MY RECOLLECTION, IS THAT A NO ANSWER MEANT THAT YES, WE WANT FLUORIDATION AND THAT'S SOMETHING THAT IT'S ALWAYS WAY IT'S POSED ON THE BALLOT.
SO A YES MEANS NO SOMETIMES AND A NO MEANS YES, BUT CERTAINLY THE OUTCOME WAS THAT THE RESIDENTS WANTED FLUORIDATION IN DALLAS.
I THINK YOU MAY HAVE ASKED SOMETHING ELSE, BUT I HOPE THAT ANSWERS THAT.
YES. THANK YOU, AND MY FATHER DID GROW UP IN WEST TEXAS, SO AND I GUESS THE ISSUE IS NOT FLUORIDE OR FLUORINE ITSELF IN MY UNLESS BUT BUT TELL ME THAT I'M WRONG.
IT'S WHAT WE ADD TO IT IN ORDER TO GET TO A CERTAIN STATE THE BYPRODUCTS.
I THINK YOU SAID FLORICIC, BLAH BLAH, BLAH, BLAH ACID, AND SO THAT'S MY QUESTION IS BECAUSE IT'S GOT TO CREATE A CHEMICAL REACTION TO GET THAT BIND, AND WHAT IS IT THAT'S LEFT? IS THAT HARMFUL TO AN INDIVIDUAL? SO IN OTHER WORDS, ARE WE THINKING WE'RE CAUSING A BENEFIT BUT WE'RE ACTUALLY MAYBE CAUSING MORE HARM, AND THAT'S JUST A QUESTION THAT I HAVE.
YOU'RE SHOWING YOUR CHEMISTRY BACKGROUND AND YOU'RE DOING GOOD.
[CHUCKLING] I'M A CHEMISTRY MAJOR.
YOUR WATER UTILITY WOULD BE ABLE TO ANSWER THIS, AND I'LL BRIEFLY ANSWER IT.
IF THE FLUORIDE EXCUSE ME IF THE HYDROGEN ION THAT IS RELEASED IMPACTS THE PH, THE ACIDITY OF THE WATER, WHEN IT'S ADDED, THEY WILL ADD A BUFFER LIKE A CARBONATE/SODIUM BICARBONATE OR SOMETHING ALONG THOSE LINES ORTHOPHOSPHATE THAT WILL
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REMOVE THAT ACIDITY SO THAT THE FINISHED WATER IS AT A BALANCED LIKE IT SHOULD BE.SO THAT'S ALL HANDLED BY THE WATER UTILITY BEFORE IT LEAVES LEAVES THE FACILITY.
THANK YOU, AND SO THEN MY FINAL QUESTION IS, DOES DWU KNOW WHAT THE FLUORINE LEVEL IS WITHOUT ANY ADDITIONAL ELEMENTS ADDED TO IT? THE CITY OF DALLAS RECEIVES A NATURAL FLUORIDE IN ITS RAW WATER OF ABOUT 0.3 TO 0.
5MG/L. OKAY, AND YOU AND 0.7MG IS WHAT'S THE RECOMMENDED.
SO WE WILL BE, IF IT WASN'T IN THERE IT WOULD STILL BE IN THERE, JUST NOT AT THE RECOMMENDED LEVELS.
THAT IS CORRECT, AND TO FOLLOW UP ON WHAT DR.
JOHNSON MENTIONED, WE ALSO ADD AN ORTHOPHOSPHATE TO OUR WATER.
OKAY, AND I DO HAVE A FINAL QUESTION.
SO THIS WAS BROUGHT TO US IN 1950.
I I'M JUST CURIOUS, DO WE STILL USE 1950 DENTAL PRACTICES.
JUST BUT NO, I MEAN THERE IS YOU SHOULD REEVALUATE THIS TO SEE EVERY EVERY SO OFTEN ARE WE DOING WHAT WE THINK BECAUSE TIMES HAVE CHANGED SINCE THE 50S IN EVERY PROCEDURE AND I THINK IT'S A FAIR QUESTION FOR THIS COUNCIL TO ASK IS IN 2023 IS A PRACTICE THAT WE HAD IN 1950 STILL A FAIR PRACTICE GIVEN WHAT WE HAVE OUR SOCIETY TODAY, AND I THINK SO THE QUESTION.
THIS IS THE EXERCISE OF GOING THROUGH THIS.
SO IT'S NOT SAYING TO ME, I THINK IT'S UPON US TO ASK THE QUESTION, GIVEN THAT THIS IS A SOMETHING THAT HAPPENED DURING MY PARENTS' TIME AND I THINK I I LOOK AT MY KIDS AND I REMEMBER GOING TO THE DENTIST AND THEY WOULD PUT THE FLUORIDE AND THEY DON'T DON'T SWALLOW IT, DON'T SWALLOW IT, AND EVEN MY KIDS WHO DID DRINK WATER HAS BEEN I THINK IT IS A...
I THINK IT'S HYGIENE, IT'S EDUCATION.
IT'S USING PROPER BRUSHING TECHNIQUES, PROPER TOOTHPASTE, AND SO I CAN'T SEEM TO THINK THAT IT'S ONLY BECAUSE OF ONE THING IS BECAUSE THERE IS A DIRECT CORRELATION.
DR. HUANG THERE ACTUALLY HAS BEEN REVIEW OF THIS AND THERE PREVIOUSLY WAS A RANGE RECOMMENDED, AND PART OF THAT WAS BECAUSE DIFFERENT CLIMATE AREAS AND SO DIFFERENT WATER CONSUMPTION THAT WERE ANTICIPATED BUT THEN I THINK IT WAS 2015, THEY DID CHANGE THAT TO THAT RECOMMENDATION OF 0.7, BUT IT WAS TAKING INTO ACCOUNT THE ADDITIONAL AVAILABILITY OF FLUORIDE AND THE OTHER PRODUCTS. AGAIN, SOME OF THE CHANGES THAT HAVE OCCURRED, AND RESEARCH IS ONGOING.
THERE WAS ONE SLIDE THAT SHOWED YOU THAT WE DIDN'T DECIDE THIS 75 YEARS AGO AND SAY, THAT'S IT, THAT THE RESEARCH IS CURRENT AND ONGOING, AND AS FAR AS YET, YOU'RE CORRECT.
IT IS A COMBINATION OF LIFESTYLE, BUT KEEP IN MIND THAT THOSE THAT ARE AFFECTED THE MOST BY THE CESSATION OF FLUORIDE ARE THOSE THAT MIGHT NOT HAVE ACCESS TO A HEALTHY DIET, A TOOTHBRUSH, FLUORIDE TREATMENTS, DENTAL VISITS.
THANK YOU, AND THAT'S IT, MR. CHAIR. THANK YOU, MISS BLACKMON.
I WANT TO JUST FOLLOW UP ON A COUPLE OF THINGS.
FIRST OF ALL, YOU MENTIONED THE DALLAS AS NATURALLY OCCURRING.
SO HOW MUCH DO WE ACTUALLY ADD? SO WE ADD ANYWHERE FROM 0.4 TO 0.2, AND DOES IT VARY AS YOU MEASURE THE WATER RATES.
WHAT WE DO AT THE WATER TREATMENT PLANTS IS WE TEST THE WATER AS IT'S COMING INTO THE PLANT.
BASED UPON THE RESULT, WE WILL ADD FLUORIDE IN ORDER TO GET TO THE OPTIMAL AMOUNT.
SO IF WE ARE READING A 0.4, WE WILL ADD A 0.3.
IF WE'RE READING A 0.5, WE'LL ADD A 0.2.
MOST OF THE TIME THE RAW WATER THAT'S COMING IN STAYS FAIRLY STABLE, BUT WHEN WE SEE THAT IT CHANGES, WE MAKE A DOSE CHANGE AND THEN COULD YOU TALK ABOUT WHY YOU CHOSE THAT PARTICULAR LEVEL? BECAUSE I KNOW THERE ARE SOME CITIES THAT ACTUALLY HAVE IT TO THE 0.5.
THE CDC RECOMMENDATION THAT WE RECEIVED IS 0.7.
[00:35:02]
I WOULD REFER TO THE DOCTORS AS TO WHY OR HOW THEY MAYBE ACHIEVED THAT LEVEL, BUT WE DO TAKE THE RECOMMENDATION AS PROVIDED BY THE CDC, AND AGAIN, THERE WAS A REVIEW OF THE RECOMMENDATIONS AND IT WAS UPDATED IN 0.7 WAS IDENTIFIED AS THE OPTIMAL LEVEL AS OPPOSED TO THAT PRIOR RANGE THAT WAS PREVIOUSLY RECOMMENDED, AND AGAIN, THAT WAS AFTER LOOKING AT ALL OF THE DIFFERENT CONSIDERATIONS.SO IT'S STRAIGHT OUT OF THE CDC.
YES. OKAY. SO THE THING THAT I'VE JUST BEEN DOING A LITTLE BIT OF RESEARCH, OBVIOUSLY I DON'T KNOW NEARLY AS MUCH AS ANY OF YOU ALL, BUT PART OF THE REASON THAT THE CITIES IN EUROPE HAVE ELIMINATED FLUORIDE ADDED TO THEIR WATERS BECAUSE THEY HAVE SCHOOL BASED DENTAL HYGIENE, AND SO STUDENTS ARE GETTING THIS AT SCHOOL EVERY SINGLE DAY ON A REGULAR BASIS THEY'RE GETTING WHETHER IT'S FLUORIDE TREATMENTS OR OTHER THINGS THAT ARE REDUCING THE CAVITIES. SO I'D LIKE YOU TO I KNOW YOU MENTIONED SEVERAL TIMES OBVIOUSLY, THAT WE DON'T CARE FOR OUR IN OUR STATE.
CERTAINLY WE DO NOT CARE FOR CHILDREN THE WAY THEY DO IN EUROPE AT A PUBLIC LEVEL AND SO I'M WONDERING IF YOU COULD SPEAK TO THAT A LITTLE BIT.
YEAH, IT IS MY UNDERSTANDING THAT IN OTHER COUNTRIES, THE INFRASTRUCTURE DOES NOT ALLOW FOR FLUORIDE TO BE ADDED TO THE WATER.
THEY ACTUALLY PUT IT IN THEIR SALT.
THAT'S THE WAY THEY FORTIFY AND ADD FLUORIDE.
SO YOU MIGHT SEE SOME OPPONENTS COMPARE THE UNITED STATES TO OTHER COUNTRIES AND WATER TO WATER, BUT THAT'S NOT HOW THEY'RE ADMINISTRATING THE FLUORIDE IN SOME OTHER COUNTRIES.
SO ARE YOU SAYING TO ME THEN? SO PUTTING ASIDE THE SCHOOL BASED DENTAL CARE AND OTHER HYGIENE IS COUNCIL MEMBER BLACKMON REFERENCED.
THEY'RE STILL GETTING FLUORIDE, SO THEY ARE JUST A DIFFERENT SOURCE.
GOT IT. OKAY, AND THERE'S MANY DIFFERENT WAYS IT COULD BE ADDED.
OKAY. THAT'S ALL I HAVE FOR NOW, MR. CHAIR. THANK YOU. THANK YOU, MISS SCHULTZ.
THANK YOU ALL. SO I'M REALLY CONCERNED THAT SOMETHING YOU WERE STARTING TO GET AT, WHICH IS KIND OF THE BOOKENDS OF POPULATIONS THAT ARE MOST VULNERABLE BECAUSE WE SIT HERE, WE'VE HAD DENTAL CARE.
WE HAVE THE LUXURY OF A TOOTHBRUSH AND TOOTHPASTE, BUT I'M REALLY CONCERNED BECAUSE I FOCUS GROUP OF ONE, JUST VISITING MY DENTIST DIDN'T SET ANYTHING UP IN ANY WAY, JUST SAID, WHAT'S WHAT ABOUT FLUORIDE? WHAT ARE YOUR THOUGHTS? AND HIS COMMENT WAS WENT RIGHT TO THE MOST VULNERABLE, THE CHILDREN, AND THAT HOW THEY WOULD BE MOST AFFECTED BY A DECISION OF THIS NATURE.
SO THAT'S WHY WE HAVE TO WEIGH THIS SO CAREFULLY.
SO I'M WONDERING, I MEAN, YOU'VE GIVEN US SOME NICE SLIDES, BUT I'M WONDERING IF YOU CAN DRILL INTO THIS A LITTLE BIT MORE WITH REGARD TO DIET AND NUTRITION AVAILABILITY AND CONSUMPTION, MAYBE DR.
HUANG AND DR. SWIFT, IF YOU MIGHT ADDRESS THIS AS IT RELATES SPECIFICALLY TO THIS AREA.
I MEAN, I KNOW WE WE'RE TALKING ABOUT DENTAL CARE IN EUROPE AND THROUGH THE SCHOOLS HERE.
WE KNOW WE'VE SEEN PREDATORY DENTAL PRACTICES.
SO TELL US A LITTLE BIT MORE ABOUT THE LIFE OF THAT CHILD AND WHAT'S GOING TO HAPPEN.
I MEAN, DEFINITELY THE POINT THAT YOU MAKE IS EXACTLY ONE OF THE CONCERNS, AS DR.
SWIFT MENTIONED IT'S THE VULNERABLE POPULATIONS THAT MAYBE DON'T HAVE AS MUCH ACCESS TO FLUORIDE TOOTHPASTE, TOOTHBRUSHES, OTHER PRODUCTS, AND ALSO, I THINK THERE'S BEEN IT'S BEEN SHOWN THAT IT'S NOT JUST THE LIKE EPISODIC APPLICATION OF FLUORIDE, BUT ALSO THE SORT OF CONSTANT SORT OF BATHING OF THE TEETH WITH THE SALIVA THAT HAS THE FLUORIDE THAT IS ALSO BENEFICIAL. SO THAT'S PART OF THE BENEFITS OF HAVING THIS FOR ESPECIALLY THE VULNERABLE POPULATIONS THAT DON'T HAVE ACCESS TO THE SAME RESOURCES, BUT ARE WE TALKING ABOUT CONSUMPTION OF JUICE, SOFT DRINKS I MEAN DIETARY, WHAT ARE SOME OF THE THINGS THAT ARE MAYBE EXACERBATING A DENTAL PROBLEM? YEAH, DEFINITELY.
THE DIET THAT WE SEE FAST FOOD DIETS AND THINGS LIKE THAT AND SOME OF THE MORE VULNERABLE POPULATIONS WHEN WE'RE ADDRESSING CHRONIC DISEASES, THINGS LIKE THAT, THE CHEAPER, AGAIN, FAST FOOD OPTIONS THAT ARE WHAT THE DIET IS A LOT OF TIMES CONSISTING OF IN THAT, IN THAT COMMUNITY.
SO THEN KIND OF STARTING WITH SOME ISSUES DUE TO DIET, LACK OF PROPER EQUIPMENT, TOOTHPASTE, TOOTHBRUSHES, AND THEN SO YOU START TO HAVE A PROBLEM, AND IF YOU'RE NOT GETTING REGULAR DENTAL CARE, I MEAN, WHAT HAVE YOU SEEN? WHAT HAVE YOU ALL SEEN THAT THIS MANIFESTS INTO IF I'LL TAKE THAT I SAW AN ARTICLE ONCE ON
[00:40:04]
GOING TO THE GROCERY STORE.IF YOU'RE SHOPPING WITH FOOD STAMPS AND WHAT YOU CAN GET VERSUS WHAT SOMEBODY THAT WAS MORE FORTUNATE COULD GET, AND THAT LOAF OF WONDER BREAD COSTS A LOT LESS THAN THE WHOLE GRAIN ALTERNATIVE THAT THEY COULD CHOOSE.
THEIR DIETARY SELECTION IS BASED ON THEIR BUDGET, AND HIGH STARCH FOODS ARE CHEAPER, AND ADD TO THAT, LIKE I SAID, SOME HOUSEHOLDS A TOOTHBRUSH IS A LUXURY WHERE IN TAKING AWAY THE FLUORIDE, THE ONE PREVENTIVE MEASURE THAT WE CAN ALLOW THAT POPULATION AT NO COST TO THEM, AND THEN ASK THAT FAMILY, THAT UNDERPRIVILEGED FAMILY TO BE ABLE TO PURCHASE A GOOD FLUORIDATED TOOTHPASTE AND GO TO THE DENTIST TWICE A YEAR IS UNREASONABLE.
WE CAN REACH AND PREVENT MORE DECAY WITH A COMMUNITY WATER FLUORIDE SYSTEM THAN ANY SINGLE DENTIST COULD EVER REACH INTO THE POPULATION AND BENEFIT AND I WANT TO HOLD THAT THOUGHT BECAUSE, DR.
THE FASTEST GROWING DEMOGRAPHIC IN THIS CITY IS ADULTS 60 PLUS, AND SO THAT'S OUR SENIORS, AND I WAS REALLY PLEASED TO SEE THE ACKNOWLEDGMENT OF THIS ON SLIDE 41. THE EFFECTS THERE AND THESE THINGS REALLY RESONATED BECAUSE IT SAYS MANY PRESCRIPTION DRUGS CAN CAUSE DRY MOUTH, WHICH RAISES RISK OF DECAY, AND ABOUT, I GUESS, RETRACTING RECEDING GUMS. WHAT ARE YOU SEEING SPECIFICALLY THERE WITH THE I MEAN, THIS IS SOMEONE WHO NOW IS A SENIOR.
TELL US ABOUT THE FLIP SIDE OF WHAT YOU ALL ARE SEEING.
IT'S HEARTBREAKING TO END UP AT A POINT IN YOUR LIFE WHERE OTHER PARTS OF YOUR PHYSICAL EXISTENCE ARE FAILING, AND THEN YOU HAVE TO DEAL WITH DENTAL DISEASE. IT'S HEARTBREAKING ON MY END AND LOSS OF TOOTH.
WE KNOW FOR A FACT THE MORE TEETH YOU HAVE, THE LONGER YOU LIVE.
NUTRITION AND DIGESTION STARTS IN THE ORAL CAVITY.
ROOT SURFACE DECAY, IT'S RAMPANT, AND SO IF YOU HAVE A STRONGER TOOTH GOING INTO OLD AGE, YOU HAVE MORE OF A FIGHTING CHANCE OF BEING ABLE TO CHEW YOUR FOOD BASICALLY, AND LIVE A HEALTHIER LIFE.
OKAY. THANK YOU FOR GIVING US A LITTLE BIT MORE OF A PICTURE ON THAT.
I MEAN, WE'RE ALL SITTING HERE.
I DON'T WHAT CAN YOU TELL US WHEN YOU WHEN YOU HEAR ABOUT SOME OF WHAT'S BEEN PRESENTED, WHAT WOULD YOU COMMENT? YEAH SO I WOULD SAY CERTAINLY THE DATA IS NOT.
COULD YOU PULL THE MIC UP CLOSER? YEAH, SURE. THANK YOU.
CAN YOU HEAR ME OKAY? YEAH, CERTAINLY THE DATA IS FAR FROM CONCLUSIVE REGARDING ANYTHING TO DO WITH IQ AND FLUORIDE AT THIS POINT YOU HAVE ONE META ANALYSIS SAYING ONE THING AND THEN ANOTHER META ANALYSIS BASICALLY NOT ABLE TO REPRODUCE THAT DATA, AND THE STUDIES, THERE'S A LOT OF PROBLEMS WITH IT.
SO I WOULD SAY THAT ESPECIALLY WITH RESPECT TO IQ AND FLUORIDE, THAT IS NOT A SETTLED QUESTION BY ANY MEANS AND IT'S CERTAINLY NOT A SOMETHING THAT YOU COULD EVEN SAY IS EVEN AN ASSOCIATION.
SO PUTTING THAT ASIDE AS NOT EVEN BEING EVIDENCE WITH RESPECT TO FLUORIDE ITSELF.
SO IT'S A VERY TRACE AMOUNT IN THE WATER.
YOU WOULD PROBABLY GET WATER TOXICITY FROM DRINKING TOO MUCH WATER BEFORE YOU WOULD GET ANY ISSUE WITH GETTING IN TOO MUCH FLUORIDE FROM THE WATER, AND SO WHAT I WOULD SAY IS YOU ALWAYS HAVE TO THINK ABOUT WHEN TALKING ABOUT THESE THINGS WITH ANY CHEMICAL IS THAT
[00:45:02]
THE DOSE MAKES THE POISON AND THE DOSE HERE IS NOWHERE NEAR ANYWHERE THAT WOULD CAUSE ANY ADVERSE EFFECT, AND IN FACT, THERE'S A SAFETY BUILT IN. RIGHT. SO THE EPA ACTUALLY HAS A MAXIMUM CONTAMINANT LEVEL.THEY SET THAT FOR FLUORIDE TO BE 4MG/L.
SO THAT'S JUST TO AVOID ANY ADVERSE EFFECT FROM HAVING TOO MUCH FLUORIDE IN THE WATER, AND IF THERE ARE PEOPLE THAT ARE IN THE RURAL COMMUNITY THAT LIVE IN AREAS WITH ROCKS THAT CONTAIN FLUORIDE AS PART OF THE MINERAL, THEY MAY BE PRONE TO JUST GETTING A LITTLE BIT MORE FLUORIDE THAN THEY SHOULD FROM THEIR WELL WATER, AND THEN THAT CAN CAUSE PROBLEMS LIKE FLUOROSIS AND ETCETERA, BUT WHEN YOU HAVE MUNICIPALITY OF WATER MUNICIPALITY THAT'S ABLE TO VERY NICELY CONTROL THAT CONCENTRATION TO WHERE YOU GET THE BENEFIT WITHOUT THE ADVERSE EFFECT, THEN THEN THAT'S DEFINITELY SOMETHING THAT WE SHOULD ADVOCATE FOR THE PUBLIC HEALTH AND SO THAT'S WHAT OUR PROFESSIONALS ARE DOING HERE TO MONITOR THIS ON A DAILY BASIS AND BE AGILE IN WHAT YOU ADD.
AS WE MENTIONED BEFORE, WE MONITOR THE WE MONITOR THE FLUORIDE LEVEL AS IT COMES INTO THE WATER TREATMENT PLANT, AND WE MAKE THOSE ADJUSTMENTS BASED UPON WHAT WE'RE SEEING COMING IN. WE DO THOSE TESTS ON IN A LABORATORY SETTING MULTIPLE TIMES A DAY, BUT MORE SO THAN THAT, WE ALSO HAVE ONLINE MONITORING THAT ALLOWS US TO SEE THAT REAL TIME DATA VERY QUICKLY.
AS I SAID, IT DOES NOT CHANGE VERY OFTEN, BUT WHEN WE DO SEE A CHANGE, WE MAKE A DOSE CHANGE.
DR. HUANG, ARE YOU SATISFIED WITH WHAT WE ARE PRACTICING IN DALLAS AND FOR THESE OTHER 23 COMMUNITIES? YES. I MEAN, I THINK THAT'S AGAIN THE ACHIEVING THE OPTIMAL FLUORIDATION LEVELS AS RECOMMENDED BY CDC IS WHAT WE RECOMMEND, AND AS YOU KNOW, IT'S BEEN VERY WELL RESEARCHED.
THERE ARE MULTIPLE SCIENTIFIC REVIEWS.
I HAD A FEW SLIDES IN THE END THAT SHOWED THAT IN A LOT OF WHEN THERE HAVE BEEN LIKE EVEN NEWS REPORTS ABOUT HEALTH EFFECTS AND THINGS, THESE ARE TYPICALLY MUCH HIGHER LEVELS THAN WE'RE TALKING ABOUT WITH THE COMMUNITY.
SO AGAIN, WE'VE HAD HUNDREDS OF MILLIONS OF PEOPLE WHO HAVE LIVED WITH THIS AS NATURAL EXPERIMENTS, ALMOST THROUGH COMMUNITY WATER FLUORIDATION AND MUCH LITERATURE REVIEW CONDUCTED ON THIS AND IT IS WELL ESTABLISHED THAT IT'S SAFE AND EFFECTIVE, AND JUST ONE LAST POINT IS THAT WHEN WE TALK ABOUT RESEARCH AND WE'VE HAD THE ALASKAN COMPARISON IN 2007, AND THEN IT LOOKS LIKE IN CANADA, IT WAS ACTUALLY IN 2018-2019.
ARE THOSE STUDIES HAVE YOU LOOKED AT THE NUMBERS ON THIS? IS THIS COMPARABLE. WERE THEY DEALING WITH COMPARABLE LEVELS.
WERE THEY DEALING WITH COMPARABLE WHAT'S FOUND NATURALLY VERSUS WHAT THE ADDITION IS.
YES, ABSOLUTELY, AND AGAIN, YOU KNOW YOUR POINT.
YOU KNOW THIS WATER FLUORIDATION HAS BEEN RECOGNIZED BY THE CDC AS ONE OF THE TEN GREAT PUBLIC HEALTH ACHIEVEMENTS OF THE 20TH CENTURY, AND IT'S LARGELY BECAUSE ONE OF THE PRINCIPLES THAT WE TRY TO DO IN PUBLIC HEALTH IS MAKE THE HEALTHY CHOICE THE EASY CHOICE, AND THIS IS SOMETHING THAT, AGAIN, AFFECTS AND BENEFITS ALL OF THE POPULATION, INCLUDING THE THOSE THAT ARE LESS FORTUNATE THAT AS YOU'VE TALKED ABOUT EARLIER, AND SO THIS HAS BEEN SHOWN TO HAVE THAT COMMUNITY WIDE BENEFIT, AND AS YOU WERE SAYING AGAIN, THE STUDIES AND EVERYTHING REALLY SHOW THAT THIS LATEST EXPERIENCE IN CANADA OR WAS THAT ALASKA, WHICH ONE YOU WERE REFERRING TO? BOTH ARE DEMONSTRATIVE OF THE CONTINUED BENEFIT IN CURRENT TIMES AND IF I COULD ADD, IT SHOWS UP QUICKLY IN THE POPULATION.
IT'S NOT LIKE IT TAKES GENERATIONS FOR US TO SEE THE CHANGE.
IN ONE SITUATION, IT WAS A LOCAL PEDIATRIC DENTIST THAT HAD A CLIENT BASE THAT HAD BEEN VISITING REGULARLY, AND ALL OF A SUDDEN START SEEING DECAY RATES JUMP, AND THEN FINDS OUT THAT THE FLUORIDE WAS CEASED, STOPPED IN ITS COMMUNITY.
SO WE SEE IT IMMEDIATELY IN CANADA WITHIN NINE YEARS.
YOU COULD HAVE AVOIDED RAMPANT DECAY.
THANK YOU, MS. WILLIS. MR. RIDLEY. THANK YOU, MR. CHAIR. I'D LIKE TO THANK STAFF FOR BRINGING US THIS THOROUGH PRESENTATION ABOUT FLUORIDATION.
[00:50:05]
SO THANK YOU. THANK YOU, MR. RIDLEY. SEEING NONE, I WILL JUST SAY I DO TOO APPRECIATE THE PRESENTATION.I DO THINK THAT IT IS SOMEWHAT TILTED TO ONE SIDE VERSUS ANOTHER THAT I WAS TRYING TO AVOID, AND I THINK THAT THERE ARE SOME SLIDES IN HERE THAT ARE MORE OPINIONATED AND ANECDOTAL THAN THE FACTUAL PIECE THAT I THINK SHOULD BE GUIDING POLICY.
SO IT'S VERY APPARENT WHERE YOU STAND ON THE ISSUE, AND I THINK THAT IT'D BE GREAT TO PROBABLY GET SOME PANELISTS IN HERE THAT IT'S VERY APPARENT WHERE THEY STAND ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THE ISSUE, SO THAT WE CAN WEIGH THIS OUT BALANCED AS POLICYMAKERS.
SO WITH THAT SAID, I WOULD LIKE TO JUST ASK IF YOU CAN SPEAK, I GUESS, TO SOME OF MY ANECDOTE, WHICH IS WHY ONLY 72% OF MUNICIPALITIES IN OUR COUNTRY USE IT, AND HOW THAT HAS POINTED OUT, WE HAVE SOME CITIES THAT ARE VERY COMPARABLE IN SIZE, LIKE SAN JOSE, CALIFORNIA, THAT DOESN'T FLUORIDATE THEIR WATER.
IF YOU COULD MAYBE EXPAND ON THAT.
SO THAT'S A LITTLE INTERESTING ON WHAT THE ANSWER IS, BUT I KNOW THAT'S NOT A PRACTICE IN OTHER STATES OR EVEN OTHER CITIES IN STATES THAT HAVE THE PRACTICE ADOPTED.
WE JUST HAD ROUND ROCK, FOR INSTANCE, WAS THE MOST RECENT CITY IN THE COUNTRY THAT HAS TAKEN IT AWAY, BUT CAN YOU PLEASE SPEAK TO THOSE DIFFERENCES? AND I UNDERSTAND THE PH LEVELS THAT YOU'VE MENTIONED, BUT I ALSO KNOW THAT THE CDC, IN RECENT YEARS, I THINK JUST IN THE PAST TWO DECADES, HAVE ACTUALLY LOWERED THEIR RECOMMENDED THRESHOLD.
SO JUST AS MUCH AS DATA IS AND COLLECTION IS ONGOING IN US MAINTAINING ITS SIGNIFICANCE IN OUR WATER, IT SEEMS LIKE IT'S ALSO STILL ONGOING ON WHAT THAT LEVEL SHOULD BE.
JOHNSON, SINCE HE'S MORE FAMILIAR WITH THE NATIONAL PICTURE, TO COMMENT ON THAT.
JOHNSON, CAN YOU COMMENT ON THAT? I HAD TO FIND THE UNMUTE, I APOLOGIZE.
FIRST, THE REASON THAT WE ARE AT ABOUT THREE QUARTERS OUT OF OUR COMMUNITY, WATER SYSTEMS THAT ARE FLUORIDATED IN THE US, AND IT HAS INCREASED EVERY SINGLE YEAR SINCE FLUORIDATION BEGAN.
SMALL COMMUNITIES ARE BEING ARE THE ONES THAT WE NEED TO INCREASE IN, AND SO A PROJECT WAS INITIATED BY THE CDC AND A GRANT THAT WAS BID ON AND PROPOSED BY A COMPANY TO BUILD A DELIVERY SYSTEM.
IT IS A SODIUM FLUOROSILICATE TABLET.
THE TABLET THAT IT'S MADE OF IS MUCH EASIER TO USE THAN THE BIG BAGS, 50 POUND BAGS OF POWDER THAT WATER OPERATORS HAVE TO PUT INTO A HOPPER, AND THIS SYSTEM IS TARGETED TOWARDS COMMUNITIES OF 5 TO 15,000 POPULATION.
AS THIS GROWS, THIS, THE COUNTRY WILL BEGIN TO INCH TOWARDS 70, 80, 90% FLUORIDATED.
SO WE WILL CONTINUE TO DO THIS.
IT IS THE MOST IT IS THE MOST ECONOMICALLY FEASIBLE WAY TO GET THE PROPER AMOUNT OF FLUORIDE TO EVERYONE IN THE COMMUNITY WITHOUT A SINGLE COGNITIVE CHANGE IN THEIR IN THEIR DAILY PROCESS, THEY HAVE THE WATER, THEY USE IT, THEY THEY GET 25% CAVITY REDUCTIONS ABOVE AND BEYOND THOSE ALREADY REDUCED BY FLUORIDATED TOOTHPASTE.
IN CALGARY, THERE WAS NO DIFFERENCE BETWEEN EDMONTON AND CALGARY AS FAR AS TOOTHPASTE OR ANY OTHER BEHAVIORS CHANGED. THE ONLY THING THAT CHANGED IN CALGARY WAS FLUORIDATION STOPPED.
SWIFT SPOKE TO CAVITY RATES CHANGED RAPIDLY, AND IN FACT, THE FIRST STUDY THAT DR.
[00:55:06]
LINDSAY MCLAREN DID WAS THREE YEARS AFTER IT HAD STOPPED.KIDS WERE BEGINNING TO GET CAVITIES INCREASED.
WITHIN THAT PERIOD OF TIME, ABOUT 146% RISE.
DR. JOHNSON? YES? WITH THAT YOU JUST SAID, CAN YOU SPEAK TO THE INSTANCE IN RICHMOND, VIRGINIA, WHERE THE TREATMENT WORKER TOOK IT UPON THEMSELVES TO LOWER IT WITHOUT THE PUBLIC'S KNOWLEDGE? AND SO I DON'T MEAN TO LAUGH BECAUSE I HAVE BEEN VERY INVOLVED IN ALL OF THESE COMMUNITIES, INCLUDING CALGARY, WINDSOR, ONTARIO.
FREDERICKSBURG IN TEXAS AND SEVERAL OTHER COMMUNITIES.
FLUORIDATION LEVELS BELOW 0.6, WHERE THEIR NATURAL LEVELS OF FLUORIDE ARE 0.6, OR THAT IS WHERE THE WHERE THE COMMUNITY SYSTEMS KEEP IT BETWEEN REALLY AT 0.7, BUT YOUR WATER OPERATORS ARE LIKE US DRIVING ON AN INTERSTATE.
JUST JUST AS A QUICK ASIDE, THEY'RE TRYING TO KEEP IT AT 0.7 BUT AS WE KNOW, WE DRIVE AN INTERSTATE.
WE VARY. WE CAN GO DOWN TO 60, AND COMING DOWN A HILL YOU CAN GO UP TO 70 OR 80 MILES AN HOUR.
SO THEY'RE GIVING A RANGE TO KEEP IT IN.
THIS GENTLEMAN'S FIRST NAME IS KENDALL.
HE RESIGNED FROM HIS POSITION QUICKLY.
FLUORIDE LEVELS ARE BACK UP IMMEDIATELY TO WHERE THEY NEED TO BE.
HE THOUGHT HE KNEW BETTER AND WAS SAVING THE PUBLIC HEALTH PROBLEMS. IN FACT, [INAUDIBLE] HAD HUGE INCREASES IN CAVITIES.
ASIDE FROM THE OPINIONS THOUGH, CAN YOU SPEAK TO ANY DATA SUPPORTED OF THE SAME TIME FRAME, ESSENTIALLY, OF THE STORY THAT YOU WERE JUST TELLING PRIOR TO IN ANOTHER LOCATION? SO IT SEEMED AS IF THERE WAS AT LEAST A FOUR YEAR PERIOD TO BE ABLE TO STUDY IN RICHMOND OF THE IMPACTS FROM THEM, LOWERING THAT.
THEREFORE, IF WE DON'T HAVE BASELINE INFORMATION ON WHERE CHILDREN AND ADULTS CAVITY RATES ARE AND HOW THEY CHANGE, THEN WE CAN'T USE THAT DATA IN A COMMUNITY.
WELL, DR. JOHNSON, WITH ALL DUE RESPECT THE ALASKAN STUDY YOU SAID YOU ALL RESPONDED TO, AND SO WHERE WAS THE BASELINE THERE? THE BASELINE THERE IS THAT THE RESEARCHER, JENNIFER MEYER, MOVED THERE FROM ANOTHER COMMUNITY AND SHE SAW TEETH ON KIDS.
SHE SAW KIDS ON THE PLAYGROUND WITH HER KIDS THAT HAD BLACK TEETH, AND SHE LOOKED INTO IT.
WHAT THEY DID WAS THEY LOOKED AT, THEY LOOKED AT KIDS, AND THEY TOOK MEDICAID DATA BECAUSE IT WAS READILY AVAILABLE, AND JUNEAU HAS A VERY LOW TURNOVER OF POPULATION.
SO THEY SAW THE BEFORE AND THE AFTER EFFECTS OF FLUORIDATION AND HOW IT CHANGED.
SWIFT THAT THE INCREASES COMPARED TO ANCHORAGE, ALASKA, WHICH WAS CONTINUOUSLY FLUORIDATED.
THE DOLLAR AMOUNT OF INCREASES IN PERCENTAGES OF THE PROCEDURES SHOT UP.
IN ADDITION, THE KIDS UNDER THE AGE OF SIX AND SEVEN IN JUNEAU GOT ONE MORE CAVITY PROCEDURE PER YEAR THAN THE KIDS DID BEFORE FLUORIDATION STOPPED.
I MEAN, YOU THINK ABOUT IT, YOU'VE GOT A CLASSROOM OF 30 KIDS AND THOSE THAT ARE FLUORIDATED VERSUS NON FLUORIDATED, THOSE IN THE NON FLUORIDATED CLASSROOM GET 30 MORE CAVITIES THAT FIRST YEAR.
NEXT YEAR THEY'VE GOT 60 MORE.
IT IS A MAJOR MAJOR DIFFERENCE.
THESE ARE MAJOR STUDIES AND MAJOR DOLLARS THAT GO INTO IT, THE SAME SAME IN JUNEAU.
SO CAN YOU POINT US IN A DIRECTION TO FIND SOME DATA POINTS LIKE THAT, SPECIFICALLY TO COMPARE LARGE CITIES IN THE COUNTRY THAT AREN'T FLUORIDATING, SUCH AS TUCSON, WICHITA, KANSAS, FRESNO, CALIFORNIA, ALBUQUERQUE, NEW YORK, PORTLAND, OREGON, OR SAN JOSE, CALIFORNIA.
[01:00:01]
CAN YOU GIVE HARD DATA POINTS THAT HAVE A COMPARISON TO CITIES WITH SIMILAR SIZE THAT DO HAVE THE RECOMMENDED NUMBERS, SO THAT WE CAN ACTUALLY SEE WHERE THOSE DISCREPANCIES ARE? THERE ARE NOT SPECIFIC CITIES, BUT THERE IS AN ONGOING EVALUATION EVERY TWO YEARS BY THE CDC.I'LL TRY TO GET THE ABBREVIATION RIGHT.
NATIONAL HEALTH AND NUTRITION EXAMINATION SURVEY.
THEY'RE LOOKING AT A LOT OF DIFFERENT PARAMETERS, BUT IN THAT SURVEY THEY ARE LOOKING AT CAVITY RATES IN THESE POPULATIONS ACROSS THE COUNTRY, AND THEY ARE LOOKING AT WHETHER FLUORIDATION NOW IS AVAILABLE IN THOSE AREAS OR NOT.
SO YES, THAT DATA IS ONGOING IN THIS COUNTRY.
LET'S LOOK AT THIS COMMUNITY VERSUS THAT.
FIRST OF ALL, YOU'VE GOT TO FIND DEMOGRAPHICS THAT ARE THE SAME STABLE POPULATIONS.
THERE'S A LOT OF FACTORS THAT HAVE TO GO INTO IT, BUT THIS NHANES DATA STUDY IS THE IS THE GOLD STANDARD FOR HOW WE ARE LOOKING AT IT IN THIS COUNTRY, AND ABSOLUTELY FLUORIDATION MAKES A HUGE DIFFERENCE IN THIS COUNTRY STILL.
DR. HUANG. YEAH, I JUST WANT TO CLARIFY, DR. NUGYEN AND I ARE REPRESENTING DALLAS COUNTY HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES.
WE ARE HERE AS A RESOURCE, BUT ALSO, YOU BROUGHT UP ROUND ROCK, AND PRIOR TO MY COMING TO DALLAS, I WAS THE HEALTH AUTHORITY MEDICAL DIRECTOR AT AUSTIN PUBLIC HEALTH FOR MANY YEARS, AND SO DEALT WITH A LOT OF THE SAME CONTROVERSIES AND THINGS THAT WERE COMING UP IN THAT COMMUNITY AND SURROUNDING COMMUNITIES, AND I CAN TELL YOU THERE'S JUST A LOT OF MISINFORMATION THAT IS PRESENTED OUT THERE, A LOT OF SCARE TACTICS.
AGAIN, I PUT IN A FEW SLIDES AT THE END OF YOURS AND JUST BROUGHT UP SOME OF THE ISSUES THAT ARE PUT OUT THERE, BUT I MEAN, AGAIN, ONE OF THE THINGS I KEPT HEARING, THEY'D SAY, OH, SCARING THAT THIS IS A FERTILIZER BYPRODUCT OR SOMETHING THAT YOU'RE PUTTING IN THERE.
IT'S JUST THE CHEMICAL PROCESS THAT THEY USE TO GET THE FLUOROSILICIC ACID, AND SO AGAIN, A LOT OF SCARY SOUNDING THINGS, CITING SOME OF THESE STUDIES SHOWING HEALTH EFFECTS, BUT THESE ARE AT MUCH HIGHER LEVELS OF EXPOSURE THAN WHAT WE'RE TALKING ABOUT WITH THIS, AND SO THAT'S HOW I KNOW THAT'S OUT THERE.
THANK YOU, DR. HUANG, AND JUST TO BE CLEAR, I'M SIMILAR FROM A SIMILAR MIND SPACE THAT WHAT COUNCIL MEMBER BLACKMON MENTIONED, AND THAT'S THIS IS IT'S AN OLD PRACTICE.
IT'S A VERY OLD PRACTICE, AND IT'S ONE THAT I'M GLAD THAT YOU DIFFERENTIATED YOURSELF FROM A LOBBYIST, BECAUSE IT'S MADE A LOT OF LOBBYISTS, A LOT OF MONEY ACROSS THE COUNTRY, AND IT'S A PRACTICE LIKE A LOT IN MEDICINE AND IN DENTISTRY, THAT IS ABOUT PROFIT, AND SO I WANT TO SEE WHERE WE ARE ABLE TO DIFFERENTIATE WHY OTHER CITIES HAVE BEEN ABLE TO ELIMINATE IT.
I WANT TO SEE IF THIS IS SOMETHING THAT IS JUST A SUSTAINED PRACTICE, BECAUSE IT'S ONE OF THOSE WE'RE USED TO IT, OR IF WE'VE ACTUALLY DUG INTO WHAT THE NEED IS, I'M NOT GOING TO FEED INTO THE SCARE TACTICS OR THE TALKING POINTS THAT CAN MAKE IT VERY POLARIZING OF AN ISSUE.
WHAT I'M MORE SO DOING IS THAT AS A POLICYMAKER AND AS A YOUNG ONE AT THAT, I LOOK AT ANYTHING THAT'S BEEN IN PLACE FOR 60 OR 70 YEARS AND SAY, WHY ARE WE STILL DOING IT? WHY HAVE WE NOT REEVALUATED? WHY ARE WE NOT CHANGING THINGS? AND SO THAT'S WHY I'M ASKING A LOT OF WHAT I'VE ASKED HERE.
I STILL DON'T FEEL THAT I'VE GOTTEN MUCH OF THE I UNDERSTAND THAT FLUORIDE ITSELF AND THE BENEFITS THAT IT HAS. I STILL THINK THAT THERE ARE SOME QUESTIONS THAT I'D LIKE TO HEAR ANSWERED FROM AN UNBIASED STANDPOINT.
I'D LIKE TO HEAR A MEDICAL PROFESSIONAL TALK ABOUT WHY WE DON'T WANT TAP WATER TO BE USED WITH THE FORMULA FOR BABIES.
I'D LIKE TO KNOW WHY WE EVERY SINGLE TOOTHPASTE TUBE TELLS YOU NOT TO SWALLOW IT OR INGEST IT.
I UNDERSTAND THAT YOU'RE NOT ABLE TO REGULATE THOSE AMOUNTS NECESSARILY, BUT THE TAP WATER FOR BABIES IS A BIG ONE, AND I UNDERSTAND THAT THEY DON'T HAVE ANY TEETH, BUT THERE ARE SOME QUESTIONS THERE, BUT THEN THERE'S ALSO SOME QUESTIONS ON I'VE BEEN TO TUCSON, FRESNO, ALBUQUERQUE AND SAN JOSE, AND I DIDN'T NOTICE A BUNCH OF BAD TEETH WHILE I WAS THERE, AND SO I'D LIKE TO JUST KIND OF GET THAT, BECAUSE I DO KNOW WE HAVE IT NATURALLY OCCURRING IN OUR WATER, AND I KNOW THAT THE CDC RECOMMENDATION HAS FLUCTUATED WHERE IT IS.
[01:05:08]
I ALSO KNOW THAT WE HAVE REALLY HARD WATER, AND SO I'M CURIOUS TO KNOW, AND THAT'S NOT A BAD THING.I ACTUALLY LIKE FEELING LIKE I GET THE SOAP OFF OF ME WHEN I'M IN THE SHOWER.
I CAN'T STAND GOING TO CITIES THAT.
YEAH, AND SO I'M JUST CURIOUS IF YOU COULD KIND OF EXPAND ON THAT, AND ACTUALLY ON MY LAST SLIDE, THAT WAS ONE OF THE COMMON ISSUES I'D HEARD. BROUGHT UP THE ISSUE WITH INFANT FORMULA, AND THE RECOMMENDATION IS ACTUALLY NOT TO NOT USE IT, BUT WITH THOSE THAT ARE USING THE WHAT IS IT, THE POWDERED FORMULA THAT THERE IS SOME FLUORIDE IN THAT, THAT THOSE WHO MIGHT BE CONCERNED ABOUT DENTAL FLUOROSIS, THE MILD SORT OF COSMETIC CONDITION, COULD CHOOSE TO NOT USE FLUORIDATED WATER DURING THAT TIME, BUT THAT IT'S NOT SAYING DON'T USE IT. THEY SAY IT'S STILL SAFE TO USE IT, BUT THAT IF YOU CHOSE NOT TO AND WE'RE USING THESE POWDERED FORMULATIONS OR OTHERS THAT ALREADY HAD OTHER FLUORIDE IN IT, AND THEN AGAIN THERE HAS BEEN CONTINUED PERIODIC REVIEW OF THIS, AND THE LATEST CHANGES TO GET TO 0.7 WAS A RESULT OF REVIEWING THAT AND LOOKING AT THE NEW DATA, LOOKING AT ALL THE DIFFERENT CHANGES IN PRACTICES AND THINGS THAT ARE OUT THERE NOW, AND SO THAT'S WHY THEY CAME UP WITH THE 0.7 RECOMMENDATION.
I JUST HAVE ONE LAST QUESTION.
IN AN IDEAL WORLD WITH AN UNLIMITED BUDGET, WHAT WOULD BE THE WAY THAT WE WOULD DO IT? I DONATED CARE, I GUESS, FOR THOSE UNDERPRIVILEGED, WHICH I KNOW TEXAS IS VERY GOOD AT.
THERE'S IT'S HARD TO REACH THOSE THAT DON'T WANT TO BE REACHED, AND THIS FLUORIDATING WATER, LIKE I SAID, IS ONE OF THE WAYS WE CAN REACH EVERYONE WITH A PREVENTIVE MEASURE, BUT, BUT YOU'RE SAYING, THOUGH, THAT THE BEST PREVENTION IS HYGIENE.
PROPER DENTAL HYGIENE? YES. OKAY.
ARE THERE ANY OTHER QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS? THANK YOU ALL AGAIN FOR THE PANEL, FOR Y'ALL'S TIME, FOR Y'ALL'S EXPERTISE.
DEFINITELY WE'LL KEEP YOU ALL IN THE LOOP AS WE MOVE FORWARD.
I WILL SAY WITH DWU, I'D LIKE TO SCHEDULE A FOLLOW UP AND SEE IF WE CAN MAYBE GET SOME INDEPENDENT AND FLIP KIND OF THE NARRATIVE, IF YOU WILL, FROM THE PANEL, AND ALLOW US TO ASK QUESTIONS FROM THOSE WHO MAY BE PROPONENTS FOR IT OR OPPOSITION FOR IT, INSTEAD OF PROPONENTS FOR IT.
YES, SIR. WE'LL LOOK FOR THOSE.
COULD I JUST MAKE ONE SUGGESTION? WHEN YOU'RE LOOKING AT THE STUDIES, PLEASE ASK WHERE THE WATER SOURCE CAME FROM.
THAT'S SUPER IMPORTANT, BECAUSE WHAT WE'RE TALKING ABOUT IS A VERY REGULATED, CONTROLLED, SAFE LEVEL, AND YOU MIGHT SEE A STUDY THAT TAKES A WATER SAMPLE FROM A NATURAL SOURCE WITH A FREAKISHLY HIGH LEVEL OF FLUORIDE.
SO ALWAYS MAKE SURE YOU ASK ABOUT WHERE THE WATER SAMPLE CAME FROM IN THE STUDY.
THANK YOU, I APPRECIATE THAT. THAT WAS ONE OF THE THINGS I WAS HOPING TO HEAR RESPONSE TO IN SOME OF THESE LARGER CITIES WHO DO TREAT THEIR OWN WATER AND CHOOSE NOT TO PUT FLUORIDE IN, TO SEE IF THERE WAS ANY DATA THAT YOU ALL HAD THAT, THAT YOU KNEW THAT THEIR WATER CONTAINED A NATURAL LEVEL HIGHER THAN OURS.
ET CETERA. BECAUSE I KNOW THAT'S A FACTOR THAT HAS TO BE CONSIDERED.
I DIDN'T GIVE YOU ALL THE QUESTIONS AHEAD OF TIME, BUT I DIDN'T GET THAT ANSWER, AND SO I'M STILL WONDERING WHY SOME CITIES CAN GET AWAY WITH IT AND SOME CANNOT AND SO THANK YOU FOR THAT, AND WE'LL MAKE SURE THAT'S A PART OF THAT.
I JUST HAD A QUESTION. SO YOU HAD MENTIONED OBVIOUSLY IN A PRESENTATION LIKE THIS, YOU DON'T PUT ALL OF THE DATA ON EACH SLIDE, BUT YOU MENTIONED THAT THERE WERE SOME THAT YOU FELT LIKE WERE JUST SORT OF ANECDOTAL IF YOU COULD SHARE, MAYBE NOT NOW, BUT OFFLINE TO GIVE THE PANEL AN OPPORTUNITY TO KIND OF DIG DEEPER IN THAT, BECAUSE I'D LIKE TO KNOW, TOO, WHAT SOME OF THOSE CONCERNS ARE SO THAT WE CAN LOOK AT THAT AND MAKE A JUDGMENT BASED ON MAYBE A LITTLE MORE DEPTH.
SURE. NOT ALL NOT ALL SLIDES CONTAIN DATA WHERE OPINIONS WERE GIVEN.
SO I CAN POINT THOSE OUT TO YOU IF YOU'D LIKE, BUT THE ONES LIKE LIKE PUTTING OUT A ONE EXCERPT FROM MILITARY MEDICINE MAGAZINE THAT WE KNOW CONTEXT OF WHAT THE ARTICLE IS FROM MAY 2015, AND THEN ALLUDE TO A DECISION THAT THE DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE MADE IN 2011 IS ABSOLUTELY ANECDOTAL AND
[01:10:03]
OPINIONATED, AND SO CONTEXT DEFINITELY MATTERS.I SEE THAT THERE'S SIGHTINGS DOWN BELOW, BUT IF WE'RE GOING TO BE GIVEN MATERIALS, IT NEEDS TO BE COMPREHENSIVE ENOUGH FOR US TO DIG THROUGH WITHOUT HAVING TO DO OUR OWN RESEARCH. SURE.
SO THAT WOULD BE ONE TO LOOK AT.
THAT WAS ONE EXAMPLE. THERE ARE SEVERAL.
THANK YOU THOUGH. WILL YOU LOOK AT IT FOR THE OPINIONS THEN AND COME BACK WITH MORE DEPTH? AGAIN, I KNOW THAT WE'RE GOING TO HEAR FROM SO YOU'RE A PROFESSIONAL.
I'M NOT QUESTIONING YOUR PROFESSIONALISM.
I'M NOT QUESTIONING YOUR EXPERTISE, BUT I DO THINK IT'S VERY CLEAR THAT WE HAVE AN OPINION FROM YOU, AND I THINK THAT IT'S ONLY FAIR FOR US TO HEAR FROM THOSE WHO HAVE AN OPINION OTHERWISE, SO THAT WE CAN QUESTION WHETHER WE AGREE WITH IT OR NOT.
THAT'S THE POINT OF POLICYMAKING.
SO I'M NOT HERE TO HEAR OPINIONS IN A VACUUM.
I'M SORRY. I DIDN'T WANT TO INTERRUPT.
I DO WANT TO ADDRESS JUST A QUICK COUPLE OF THINGS.
NUMBER ONE, I AM A NON-PAID VOLUNTEER.
I DON'T TAKE ANY INCOME FOR WHAT I DO.
OUR GROUP IS HERE TO PRESENT SCIENTIFIC-BASED INFORMATION.
WE ARE ADVOCATING FOR LESS BUSINESS.
CAVITIES ARE AN INFECTIOUS AND TRANSMISSIBLE DISEASE, AND PEOPLE DIE FROM THEM.
WE DO NOT HAVE A VACCINE THAT WILL KNOCK THEM OUT.
IF WE DID, WE WOULDN'T BE HERE SITTING AND TALKING ABOUT THIS TODAY, BUT JUST AS PHYSICIANS DID NOT CRY OVER A VACCINE AGAINST SMALLPOX BECAUSE THEY COULDN'T TREAT THOSE PATIENTS, WE ARE EXACTLY THE SAME WAY ON CAVITIES.
WE CAN FIND TIME TO DO THINGS LIKE FISHING OR GOLFING OR WHATEVER.
IF CAVITIES WERE ELIMINATED NOW, PEOPLE WON'T TAKE CARE OF THEMSELVES OTHERWISE WE WON'T GO OUT OF BUSINESS, BUT WE ARE NOT ADVOCATING FOR SOMETHING THAT WE FEEL WE'RE MAKING MONEY OFF OF.
THANK YOU FOR LETTING ME COMMENT.
JOHNSON, AND THANK YOU AGAIN FOR YOUR CONTRIBUTION, AND AGAIN, I'M NOT TAKING A STANCE RIGHT NOW TO TELL YOU ALL ONE WAY OR THE OTHER, AND IN NO WAY WANT TO DISPARAGE WHAT YOU ADD TO THE CONVERSATION.
JUST SO YOU ARE AWARE, I DO BELIEVE THAT IT'S JUST IMPORTANT FOR US TO HAVE AS WELL BALANCED OF OF STANCES AS POSSIBLE FOR US TO CONSIDER. SO IT WASN'T MEANT TO ANY SLIGHT TO YOU OR THE INFORMATION THAT'S BEEN PROVIDED.
DEPUTY CITY MANAGER KIM TOLBERT.
THANK YOU SO MUCH, CHAIR BAZALDUA AND TO THIS COMMITTEE.
WELL, FIRST OF ALL, I JUST WANTED TO COMMENT ON A FEW THINGS.
WE DEFINITELY UNDERSTAND HOW IMPORTANT THIS TOPIC IS, AND I DO WANT YOU TO KNOW THAT WE DEFINITELY WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT THIS BODY, INCLUDING THE ENTIRE CITY COUNCIL, THAT YOU HAVE ALL OF THE INFORMATION AND AS POLICYMAKERS, YOU FEEL THAT YOU'VE BEEN INFORMED AND YOU CAN MAKE WHATEVER DECISIONS YOU WOULD LIKE TO MAKE GOING FORWARD.
I WOULD LIKE TO RECOMMEND, SINCE I KNOW THAT THIS BODY PROBABLY WILL NEED TO HAVE ADDITIONAL COMMENTS AND QUESTIONS BACK TO OUR TEAM, IS THAT IF THERE ARE SPECIFIC QUESTIONS THAT WE DID NOT ANSWER TODAY, I HEARD SEVERAL OF THEM.
WE WILL MAKE SURE THAT WE BRING OTHERS TO THE TABLE THAT EITHER YOU RECOMMEND AND OTHER NAMES THAT I THINK WE'VE HEARD ABOUT, BUT OUR GOAL IS TO MAKE SURE THAT YOU DO HAVE THE INFORMATION AS WELL AS THE PUBLIC, AND SO PLEASE JUST KNOW THAT TODAY WAS A FIRST STEP.
EVERYBODY HAS THE ANSWERS TO THE QUESTIONS THAT THEY NEED, AND WE'RE DOING SO IN AN OPEN AND A TRANSPARENT MANNER, AND I DO KNOW THAT WE HAVE THERE'S A LOT OF IT'S COMPLEX.
THERE'S I DON'T THINK THEY'RE GOING TO BE ANY YES OR NOS.
I THINK THERE ARE GOING TO BE SEVERAL ANSWERS TO A LOT OF THE QUESTIONS, AND THEN IT WILL BE UP TO THIS BODY TO KIND OF DECIPHER WHICH DIRECTION YOU WOULD LIKE FOR THE STAFF TO TAKE. SO I JUST WANTED TO THANK OUR TEAM.
[01:15:03]
OFTENTIMES WHEN WE BRING PEOPLE IN, WE WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT THEY KNOW THAT WE'RE NOT PUTTING THEM IN A FIRING SQUAD, BUT WE WANT THEM TO BE A PART OF HELPING EDUCATE AND AS WELL AS INFORM OUR TEAM OVERALL.SO THANK YOU SO MUCH, BUT I DEFINITELY WOULD LIKE TO GET QUESTIONS IN ADVANCE, AND WE CAN SEND OUT SOMETHING AND EVEN ASK MEMBERS OF THE COUNCIL THAT ARE NOT A PART OF THIS COMMITTEE IF THERE ARE PARTICULAR QUESTIONS, THAT THEY WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT WE COME BACK AND ANSWER.
SO THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THE OPPORTUNITY TO BE HERE TODAY TO TALK ABOUT THIS CRITICAL TOPIC.
THANK YOU, MISS TOLBERT, AND THANK YOU ALL AGAIN TO OUR PANEL.
THANK YOU ALL FOR YOUR FOR YOUR TIME, AND WE'LL BE IN TOUCH FOR NEXT STEPS AS WELL.
MOVING ON TO AGENDA ITEM C AMENDMENT OF PRIVATE PREMISES DEFINITION AND ANTI-LITTER REGULATIONS.
THIS WAS A BRIEFING MEMO AND WE HAVE ASSISTANT DIRECTOR JEREMY REED HERE.
IF THERE IS ANY QUESTIONS OR CONCERNS I SEE WE HAVE MR. RIDLEY WITH QUESTIONS MR. REED.
GOOD MORNING, CHAIR COMMITTEE JEREMY REED, ASSISTANT DIRECTOR FOR CODE COMPLIANCE.
MR. REED, IN THE MEMO THAT WE RECEIVED DATED SEPTEMBER 11TH OF THIS YEAR FROM ACM SIMPSON, THE PURPOSE OF THIS AMENDMENT IS STATED TO BE BASED ON TWO FACTORS, THE SECOND OF WHICH IS TO ALLOW THE CODE COMPLIANCE SERVICES TO USE THE ORDINANCE FOR EVERY INSTANCE OF LITTER IN THE CITY OF DALLAS, WHETHER THE PROPERTY IS RESIDENTIAL, COMMERCIAL OR VACANT.
IS THAT CORRECT? YES, SIR. THAT'S CORRECT, AND YET, IN READING THE ORDINANCE, I FIND THAT IT DOESN'T MEET THAT PURPOSE.
ALL IT DOES IS IT REMOVES ONE WORD THAT IS RESIDENTIAL, BUT IN THE DEFINITION OF PRIVATE PREMISES, IT APPLIES ONLY TO PROPERTY THAT HAS A STRUCTURE ON IT.
ISN'T THAT CORRECT? IT DOES NOT APPLY TO VACANT LAND.
AS THE PURPOSE STATED IT WAS TO.
SO WHY IS THAT NOT INCLUDED IN THE AMENDMENT? SO THE DEFINITION OF PRIVATE PREMISES DOES TALK ABOUT DWELLING, HOUSE, BUILDING OR OTHER STRUCTURE DESIGNED FOR PRIVATE RESIDENTIAL PURPOSES, WHETHER INHABITED OR TEMPORARILY, CONTINUOUSLY OR CONTINUOUSLY, UNINHABITED OR VACANT, INCLUDING ANY YARDS, GROUNDS, WALKS, DRIVEWAYS, ETCETERA.
SO I WAS TAKING THE DIRECTION FROM CITY ATTORNEY'S OFFICE WHO WE WORKED WITH.
THEN I'D LIKE TO HEAR FROM THE CITY ATTORNEY.
OKAY. MR. BURGESS, THE CONTEXT OF SECTION 11 DEFINING PRIVATE PREMISES IS BASED UPON APPLICATION TO ANY DWELLING, HOUSE, BUILDING OR OTHER STRUCTURE, WHETHER INHABITED OR UNINHABITED OR VACANT, REFERRING TO THE STRUCTURE, NOT VACANT LAND.
GROUNDS WELL AND THE INCLUDING ANY YARD GROUNDS PHRASE APPLIES ONLY TO YARDS, GROUNDS, ETCETERA THAT ARE BELONGING TO OR APPURTENANT TO SUCH STRUCTURE.
SO THERE HAS TO BE A STRUCTURE THERE FOR THIS ORDINANCE TO APPLY.
ISN'T THAT CORRECT? AGREED. YEAH.
WE CAN MAKE THAT CORRECTION, ADD VACANT LAND IN THERE AS IT MOVES FORWARD.
IF THAT'S THE RECOMMENDATION OF THE COMMITTEE.
THANK YOU SIR, BECAUSE YOUR INTENTION IS FOR ALL PROPERTY, WHETHER OR NOT IT EVER HAD A STRUCTURE.
IS THAT CORRECT? THAT IS CORRECT.
THAT'S THE INTENTION AND I'M VERY AMIABLE TO THAT CHANGE IF THE COMMITTEE IS AS WELL.
SO THANK YOU, MR. RIDLEY, FOR CALLING THAT OUT, AND I THANK YOU ALL FOR DOING CREATIVE WORK.
THANK YOU, MR. RIDLEY. THAT WAS A GREAT CATCH.
FULLY SUPPORTIVE. I DON'T SEE THAT THERE'S ANY OPPOSITION TO THAT CHANGE BEING MADE FROM MEMBERS.
SO IF YOU COULD BRING THAT BEFORE THE COUNCIL SEES IT WITH THAT CHANGE, THAT WOULD BE GREAT.
[01:20:02]
NOW WE ARE MOVING TO ITEM D.THIS IS ONE THAT I'M REALLY EXCITED ABOUT.
WE'RE GOING TO HEAR FROM DR. BRITA ANDERCHEK AND ALSO CHRIS CHRISTIAN FROM CODE.
IF YOU HAVE ANY THIS WAS BY MEMO.
I'M NOT GOING TO JUST DO LIKE A NORMAL MEMO.
I WAS GOING TO ALLOW FOR THERE TO BE A BRIEF BRIEFING SO THAT THERE CAN BE QUESTIONS.
I THINK THIS IS A REALLY IMPORTANT ITEM.
HONORABLE CHAIR, VICE CHAIR AND MEMBERS OF THE COMMITTEE.
IT'S A PLEASURE TO BE WITH YOU HERE TODAY.
THE OFFICE OF DATA ANALYTICS AND BUSINESS INTELLIGENCE PARTNERED WITH CODE COMPLIANCE, AND WE'VE DEVELOPED A PUBLIC FACING DASHBOARD THAT SHOWS THE PERFORMANCE METRICS OF CODE AND THE TREMENDOUS AMOUNT OF WORK THAT THEY'RE DOING.
I HAVE WITH ME HERE TODAY, MR. NICO TALLEY, WHO IS ONE OF OUR DATA SCIENCE ANALYSTS IN THE DATA ANALYTICS AND BUSINESS INTELLIGENCE DEPARTMENT.
TO BEGIN, THE TIMEFRAME FOR THIS DASHBOARD IS FROM OCTOBER 2020 TO THE PRESENT MONTH.
BELOW THE BANS, THERE'S A MAP THAT SHOWS THE LOCATION OF SERVICE REQUESTS.
BELOW THAT, WE HAVE A BREAKDOWN OF VIOLATIONS BY COUNCIL DISTRICT, FOLLOWED BY A BREAKDOWN OF VIOLATIONS BY CITY SERVICE AREA A CITY SERVICE AREA IS ESSENTIALLY THE SUBREGION THAT A VIOLATION OCCURRED IN.
THE SECOND DASHBOARD PAGE WILL COVER ESTIMATED RESPONSE TIME PERFORMANCE, AND THE THIRD PAGE OF THE DASHBOARD WILL GO INTO NUISANCE ABATEMENT DATA AND ILLEGAL DUMP ABATEMENT DATA. MOVING ON TO THE SECOND PAGE OF THE DASHBOARD, WE ARE LOOKING AT ESTIMATED RESPONSE TIME PERFORMANCE, ALSO REFERRED TO AS ERT PERFORMANCE.
STARTING AT THE TOP, WE HAVE OUR FILTERS, FOLLOWED AGAIN BY OUR BIG AUTHORITATIVE NUMBERS.
WE CAN SEE THAT FOR SEPTEMBER 2023, THERE WAS A TOTAL OF 10,186 SERVICE REQUESTS, OF WHICH 9956 WERE MET WITHIN THEIR ESTIMATED RESPONSE TIME.
THIS COMES OUT TO 98% OF REQUESTS BEING MET WITHIN THEIR ERT.
THE VISUAL CAN BE USED TO FILTER THE REST OF THE DASHBOARD BY CLICKING ON ANY DESIRED COLUMN.
JUMPING RIGHT INTO OUR BIG AUTHORITATIVE NUMBERS, WE CAN SEE THAT THERE WERE 13,711 NUISANCE ABATEMENT REQUESTS, AND THAT THE AVERAGE DAYS TO CLOSE A NUISANCE ABATEMENT REQUEST WAS LESS THAN A DAY.
COMING BACK TO THE TOP RIGHT OF THE PAGE, WE CAN OBSERVE THAT THERE WAS A TOTAL OF 298 ILLEGAL DUMP ABATEMENT REQUESTS, AND THAT THE AVERAGE DAYS TO CLOSE AN ILLEGAL DUMP ABATEMENT REQUEST WAS JUST UNDER ONE, AND A HALF DAYS.
THEY COULD THEN GO TO THE MAP AND FILTER FOR OPEN SERVICE REQUESTS LIKE SO.
[01:25:06]
FURTHER TO SHOW ONLY REQUESTS THAT DEAL WITH HIGH WEEDS AND GRASS.LASTLY, IF THEY HAVE A SERVICE REQUEST NUMBER AVAILABLE TO THEM, THE COMMUNITY MEMBER CAN ENTER THEIR SR NUMBER INTO THE SERVICE REQUEST NUMBER FILTER ABOVE THE MAP, AND AFTER PRESSING ENTER, THEY COULD CLICK ON THE REQUEST TO OPEN A WEB BROWSER THAT WILL SHOW THE MORE DETAILED INFORMATION REGARDING THE STATUS OF THEIR SERVICE REQUEST.
THAT CONCLUDES OUR OVERVIEW OF THE DASHBOARD, AND I'LL BE HANDING IT BACK TO DR.
BRITA ANDERCHECK, THANK YOU VERY MUCH.
THANK YOU, NICO, FOR YOUR WORK.
WE WELCOME YOUR FEEDBACK, AND BOTH DBI AND CODE ARE HERE FOR ANY QUESTIONS THAT YOU HAVE.
ANDERCHECK. I WILL START WITH COUNCIL MEMBER SCHULTZ.
THANK YOU. GREAT WORK. FANTASTIC.
COULD YOU JUST ELABORATE A LITTLE BIT MORE ABOUT THE SERVICE REQUEST ISSUE? I GET A LOT OF THINGS SAYING, WELL, IT SAYS IT'S CLOSED, RIGHT? WHEN IN FACT IT MEANS IT'S ACTUALLY BEING WORKED ON.
SURE. SO I'LL GO WITH THE MORE WITH THE DEFINITIONS I GUESS.
SO THE SERVICE REQUESTS LIKE YOU SAID, IT'S THE OVERARCHING REQUEST THAT COMES IN.
THOSE ARE WHAT GET WORKED AND ARE CONSIDERED LIKE WORK ORDERS ON THE BACK END, BUT IN TERMS OF WHETHER OR NOT SOMETHING IS CLOSED OR OPEN, I COULD DEFER THAT TO C.C.S.
CHRIS CHRISTIAN, DIRECTOR OF CODE COMPLIANCE SERVICES.
SO WITH THIS DASHBOARD, THE CLOSED ITEMS WHEN A RESIDENT ENTERS AN SR, THEY WILL BE ABLE TO SEE THE EXTERNAL COMMENTS FROM THE NOTES THAT WE PLACE IN THOSE SRS, AND SO IF WE HAVE A NEIGHBORHOOD CODE REQUEST THAT IS WORKED AND CLOSED AND HAS BEEN REFERRED TO OUR NUISANCE ABATEMENT TEAM FOR ADDITIONAL WORK, THEN IT WILL SHOW IT IN THOSE EXTERNAL COMMENTS AND THEY'LL SEE IT IN THOSE NOTES.
ONE OF THEM, HOW DOES THAT WORK WHEN YOU WHEN YOU GET MULTIPLE REQUESTS IN FOR A COMMON PROBLEM? THANK YOU FOR THE QUESTION, COUNCIL MEMBER.
WHAT THAT MEANS IS ONLY IF THE EXACT SAME ISSUES ARE SELECTED IN THE TREE OF SUB-OPTIONS, WHEN YOU PUT IN A CODE CONCERN, IF THE EXACT SAME ISSUES ARE SELECTED, IT WILL DETECT IT AS A DUPLICATE BUT IF YOU PUT IN A HIGH WEEDS COMPLAINT AND YOUR NEIGHBOR PUTS IN A HIGH WEEDS AND LITTER, IT WON'T CALL THAT A DUPLICATE BECAUSE WE MIGHT NEED TO GO OUT AND LOOK AT DIFFERENT VIOLATIONS.
THEY WILL WORK ONE OF THEM, BUT THEY WILL NEED TO CLOSE THE OTHER ONE AS A DUPLICATE.
SO THIS THIS DASHBOARD REPRESENTS ONE OF THE SEVERAL POINTS OF MESSAGING THAT WE'RE TRYING TO ENHANCE WITH CODE COMPLIANCE, AND THE RESIDENTS, WE KNOW THAT THERE'S A LOT OF QUESTIONS ABOUT HOW DOES THE CODE COMPLIANCE PROCESS WORK, AND THIS REPRESENTS ONE OF THOSE.
A DIFFERENT THING WE'RE ALSO WORKING ON IS THOSE EMAIL RESPONSES THAT THE CITIZENS GET.
IDEALLY, WHEN THE CODE OFFICER IS TYPING IN, THIS IS A DUPLICATE SR.
WITH THOSE SPECIFIC COMMENTS RIGHT NOW, OFTENTIMES WHAT THEY'RE GETTING IS YOUR SR HAS BEEN CLOSED.
SO WE KNOW THAT'S A DIFFERENT MESSAGING ISSUE WE'RE ALSO TRYING TO FIX AT THE SAME TIME.
OKAY. THANK YOU. SO FIRST OF ALL, JUST IF YOU DON'T MIND, IT'S RESIDENTS.
I TRY TO USE RESIDENTS RATHER THAN CITIZENS, BUT SO IS SOMEONE ABLE TO LOOK UP BY THEM BY ADDRESS.
SO IF ALL OF US ARE COMPLAINING ABOUT A PARTICULAR PROPERTY, CAN I LOOK UP USING THIS DASHBOARD BY ADDRESS TO SEE WHETHER OR NOT THERE'S WORK BEING DONE, EVEN IF IT'S NOT MY SR RIGHT.
SO RIGHT NOW THERE'S TWO SEARCH LOOKUP FEATURES.
THERE'S A COUPLE. SO YOU CAN USE AN ACTUAL SR NUMBER.
YOU CAN ZOOM IN TO THE ADDRESS AND SEE IF THERE'S ONE ADJACENT TO THE ADDRESS.
SO YOU COULD IT'S YOUR NEIGHBOR.
SO YOU GO TO YOUR STREET AND SCOOT OVER AND YOU CAN SEE A CLUSTER OF OPEN SRS THERE.
OR YOU CAN SEARCH BY GEOGRAPHY OR TYPE, BUT LIKE TYPING IN AN ADDRESS IS NOT SOMETHING THAT'S CURRENTLY THERE, BUT YOU CAN GET TO AN ADDRESS AND EXAMINE COMPLAINTS BY ZOOMING IN. YES, MA'AM. SO IF I MAY, AND I'LL FINISH WITH THIS, MR. CHAIR. CAN WE GET A BLURB OR SOMETHING THAT WE CAN PUT OUT IN OUR NEXT NEWSLETTERS ABOUT THIS AND HOW TO USE IT?
[01:30:07]
BECAUSE THIS IS GOING TO BE A VERY POWERFUL TOOL, AND I CONGRATULATE YOU ON IT.YES, MA'AM. WE'D BE HAPPY TO DO THAT AND APPRECIATE YOUR COMMENTS ON THE LANGUAGE.
WE'LL WORK WITH CODE TO SEE IF THERE'S SOME WAYS THAT WE CAN EVEN PUT SOME NOTES IN AND AROUND THE WORD CLOSED, BECAUSE I DO UNDERSTAND THAT AS A RESIDENT, THAT FEELS VERY MUCH LIKE WE'RE DONE AND WE'RE NOT; WE'RE JUST STARTING.
I DO WANT TO JUST REITERATE TO YOU ALL FROM WHEN WE MET MY REQUEST FOR THE PUSH NOTIFICATION IN THAT SPECIFIC INSTANCE THAT WAS JUST BROUGHT UP.
SO IF I WERE TO PUT IT IN AND THIS IS ABLE TO SPEAK TO THE APP ITSELF FOR THAT TO SEND A PUSH NOTIFICATION TO THE USER THAT IT'S BEING.
ADDRESSED WITH X REFERENCED SERVICE REQUEST NUMBER.
SO THAT IT'S NOT JUST THAT IT WAS CLOSED OUT, BUT THEN IT'S ALSO REAL TIME.
IT'S NOT AN EMAIL RESPONSE, IT'S IN THE HANDS OF THAT APP.
I WANT TO REITERATE THAT POINT, BUT I'M GOING TO GO TO MR. RIDLEY. QUESTIONS.
MR. CHRISTIAN, HOW MANY REQUESTS HAVE YOU RECEIVED BEFORE THE ADVENT OF THIS DASHBOARD FOR THE NUMBER OF ANNUAL REQUESTS FOR SERVICE FOR HIGH WEED GROWTH, FOR EXAMPLE, CITYWIDE? THANK YOU FOR THE QUESTION, COUNCIL MEMBER RIDLEY.
I THINK THE DASHBOARD CAN BE FILTERED TO SHOW US THAT HERE IN REAL TIME WE CAN.
I UNDERSTAND THAT I'M SAYING PRE DASHBOARD, HOW MANY REQUESTS DID YOUR DEPARTMENT RECEIVE THAT RESIDENTS WERE REQUESTING THE TOTAL NUMBER OF HIGH WEED GROWTH COMPLAINTS IN THE CITY.
I DON'T HAVE THE ANSWER TO THAT QUESTION WITH ME.
DID YOU RECEIVE ANY? CONCERNS FOR HIGH WEEDS AND LITTER? FOR THE STATISTICS ON HOW MANY INSTANCES THE REQUESTS WERE CITYWIDE.
HOW MANY QUESTIONS HAVE WE RECEIVED TO REQUEST THE DATA? YES. SO WE GET THAT QUESTION PROBABLY ONCE OR TWICE A MONTH.
YES, AND ARE THESE RESEARCHERS OR DO YOU HAVE ANY NOTION AS TO WHY THEY'RE REQUESTING THIS AGGREGATE DATA? SOMETIMES THEY'RE NEIGHBORHOOD CHAMPIONS, SOMETIMES THEY'RE HOA PRESIDENTS OR MEMBERS.
ARE THERE REQUESTS NEIGHBORHOOD SPECIFIC AS OPPOSED TO CITY WIDE? THEY'RE TYPICALLY CITYWIDE.
THEY'RE TYPICALLY REQUESTS FOR CITYWIDE AND ALL COUNCIL DISTRICTS.
OKAY, AND ARE YOU ABLE TO PROVIDE THAT INFORMATION CURRENTLY? WE CAN AND WE DO THROUGH OPEN RECORDS REQUESTS.
OKAY. WELL, ON A DIFFERENT ISSUE, I THINK THERE HAVE BEEN A LOT OF COMPLAINTS IN MY DISTRICT ABOUT THE NOMENCLATURE USED IN RESPONSE TO SUBMISSION OF SRS, AND MANY TIMES PEOPLE COMPLAIN THAT WITHIN HOURS OF SUBMITTING ONE, IT'S INDICATED TO BE CLOSED, WHICH THE RESIDENT TYPICALLY CONSIDERS TO BE IGNORING THEIR REQUEST AND SO I AGREE, WE DO NEED MUCH BETTER INFORMATION TO INDICATE THAT WE'RE WORKING ON THEIR REQUEST, NOT IGNORING IT, AND I TAKE IT THAT'S ONE OF THE PURPOSES OF THIS DASHBOARD PROCESS.
THANK YOU FOR THAT COMMENT, COUNCIL MEMBER RIDLEY, AND THAT'S KIND OF WHAT JEREMY JUST SPOKE TO WITH THE OTHER SECONDARY ENHANCEMENT THAT WE'RE WORKING ON WITH OUR VENDOR FOR OUR ENCAPSULATE AND OUR SALESFORCE SYSTEM IS TO BE ABLE TO BETTER COMMUNICATE THE PROCESS WITHIN CODE WHEN IT GOES FROM NEIGHBORHOOD CODE TO OUR NUISANCE ABATEMENT TEAM, BECAUSE THAT'S WHERE A LOT OF THOSE COMPLAINTS COME FROM.
OKAY, AND SO WE WANT TO BETTER ARTICULATE THAT PROCESS AND LIKE TO COUNCIL MEMBER BAZALDUA POINT BE ABLE TO MAYBE SEND PUSH NOTIFICATIONS, AND SO WE'RE WORKING ON THAT AS A SECONDARY ENHANCEMENT WITH OUR SOFTWARE AS WELL.
[01:35:01]
GRACEY, THANK YOU.ABSOLUTELY GREAT JOB ON THIS DASHBOARD.
QUICK QUESTION: IN THE APP WILL THERE BE A LINK TO THE DASHBOARD INSIDE THE DALLAS APP, THE 311 APP. NOT YET BUT THAT'S AN INTERESTING IDEA THAT OBVIOUSLY WE'RE GOING TO HAVE TO CONNECT WITH 311 AND THE VENDOR, AND ITS.
SO I THINK THAT WOULD BE A GOOD PLACE TO PUT THAT, AND THEN ALSO THE ABILITY TO PUT THIS LINK ON OUR WEBSITE, I'M ASSUMING THIS IS SHAREPOINT AND ALL OF THAT STUFF CAN AUTOMATICALLY BE ADDED.
YES, WE WILL BE ADDING IT TO THE CITY'S WEBSITE AND WE CAN FIGURE OUT HOW TO DIRECT IT.
WERE YOU LOOKING MORE SPECIFICALLY LIKE FOR YOUR COUNCIL DISTRICT'S WEBSITE? CORRECT. OKAY. WE CAN LOOK INTO HOW WE CAN DO THAT.
PERFECT, AND TO THAT POINT, COUNCIL MEMBER AS WELL WE WANT TO ALSO TRY TO INCLUDE A QR CODE, MAYBE ON OUR RESIDENT ACADEMY MEETINGS, IN THE COMMUNITY MEETINGS THAT WE GO TO IN CODE, BECAUSE WE'RE OFTEN OUT AT A QR CODE TO THOSE MARKETING MATERIALS, TO WHERE RESIDENTS AND ATTENDEES AT THE MEETING WILL BE ABLE TO GO RIGHT TO THE DASHBOARD.
YEAH, I THINK I SAW IT AT THE BOND PROGRAM MEETING AND IT WAS VERY HELPFUL.
THANK YOU. THANK YOU, MR. GRACEY. MISS WILLIS.
THANK YOU. EXCITED TO SEE PROGRESS ON THIS.
WHO IS THE VENDOR THAT WE WORK WITH ON THIS? THAT'S. THANK YOU FOR THE QUESTION, COUNCIL MEMBER.
BACK TO OUR RESIDENTS WHO ARE ALREADY CALLING OR EMAILING OR FILLING OUT SOMETHING ONLINE.
THEY'RE DOING WHAT WE ASK THEM TO DO TO NOTIFY US, AND THEN WE JUST SEND SOMETHING BACK THAT IN IT'S FLAT, BLACK AND WHITE TYPE, IT'S JUST ALMOST PEJORATIVE TO THEM, AND I JUST CAN'T STAND IT, AND SO I MET WITH DIRECTOR FAST PROBABLY THREE MONTHS AGO, AND I HATE THAT YOUR STAFF IS DOING SUCH GOOD WORK PUTTING IN DETAILED NOTES THAT IS SUPPOSED TO BE MAKING IT INTO THIS COMMUNICATION SO THAT RESIDENT DOESN'T GET THE SLAP IN THE FACE OF CLOSED IT DOESN'T GIVE THEM THE DETAIL AND SO ENCAPSULATE, SALESFORCE, WHOEVER'S LISTENING, I MEAN, THIS HAS BEEN GOING ON TOO LONG AND I DON'T KNOW WHAT THE ISSUE IS, BUT I'M READY FOR IT TO BE FIXED.
I DON'T KNOW WHEN THIS CONTRACT ENDS.
DO WE KNOW WHEN THIS CONTRACT IS UP? ENCAPSULATE. OKAY.
I'D LIKE TO KNOW THAT I CAN FIND OUT FOR YOU.
COUNCIL MEMBER. I'LL GET THAT INFORMATION BACK TO YOU.
I HEAR THE SAME THING. I'VE BEEN HEARING IT FOR OVER TWO YEARS, AND SO IT'S JUST GOT SOME PEOPLE MAD AND WE ARE THE FRONT LINE THAT IS DEALING WITH PEOPLE WHO REALLY FEEL LIKE, WELL, I FILLED IT OUT AND NOW IT SAYS CLOSED, AND IT'S UP TO US TO SAY, OH, BUT THAT'S WHEN THE ACTION BEGINS. IT DOESN'T MEAN IT'S NOT GOING TO HAPPEN, AND SO WE'RE DOING ALL THE HAND-HOLDING WHEN IT COULD ALL BE DONE BY TECHNOLOGY.
SO ONE THING THAT I FIND INTERESTING IS HOW WE CAN LOOK FOR THE INTERSECTIONS OF HOW TO USE THIS WORK, AND ONE THING THAT I KNOW AGAIN, I TALKED TO DIRECTOR FAST ABOUT, BUT MR. CHRISTIAN, I WOULD ALSO SAY LIKE ONE INTERSECTION I WOULD SEE IS IF WE'RE WATCHING WHAT THESE REQUESTS ARE THAT ARE ALWAYS BUBBLING UP TO THE TOP, THAT'S A COMMS INTERSECTION.
WHAT CAN WE DO? A VIDEO EXPLAINER OR WHATEVER THE NATURE MIGHT BE, AND I MEAN, I THINK THAT WILL HELP US BE MORE EFFECTIVE AND OUR OFFICE STAFF BE MORE EFFECTIVE TO JUST START EDUCATING PEOPLE, AND THIS IS THIS DASHBOARD, LITERALLY IS THE DASHBOARD TO HELP GIVE US DIRECTION ON THAT COMMUNICATION.
ARE THERE SOME OTHER THINGS THAT YOU ALL HAD IN MIND BESIDES JUST HAVING RESIDENTS AND STAFF USE THIS? OR THERE ARE SOME OTHER THINGS THAT AS YOU WORK THROUGH THIS, YOU THOUGHT, HEY, HERE'S ANOTHER INTERSECTION THAT WOULD MAKE A LOT OF SENSE.
ABSOLUTELY, AND THANK YOU FOR THAT.
COUNCILWOMAN WILLIS. WE'RE ALREADY HAVE PLANS AND ARE TALKING WITH OUR COMMS DEPARTMENT AND OUR INTERNAL PIO DEPARTMENT IN CODE TO PUT TOGETHER SOME MARKETING AND COMMUNICATION VIDEOS TO USE THE DATA, JUST AS YOU JUST DESCRIBED, TO BE ABLE TO TELL A STORY, TO BE ABLE TO HIGHLIGHT SOME OF THE ISSUES THAT WE'RE SEEING FROM A CODE COMPLIANCE PERSPECTIVE, AND GIVE RESIDENTS EDUCATION AND OUTREACH IN REGARDS TO HOW TO RESOLVE SOME OF THOSE ISSUES.
OKAY, AND THEN A COUPLE OF QUESTIONS.
HOW LONG HAS THIS BEEN FROM INCEPTION TO THE POINT WHERE WE ARE NOW? HOW MUCH TIME? THANK YOU FOR THAT QUESTION, COUNCIL MEMBER, AND IT WAS ABOUT A YEAR OF WORK.
[01:40:01]
OKAY, AND I'M ASSUMING WE HAVE PRETTY GOOD DATA THAT YOU WOULD BE ABLE TO PULL AND THROW INTO THIS.ABSOLUTELY. WE HAVE NOT TO DIMINISH WHAT YOU DO KNOW.
YES, A LOT OF VERY DETAILED INFORMATION THAT IS KEPT BY CCS.
IS IT BECAUSE OF THE VOLUME OF ALL OF THAT DATA THAT IT'S TAKEN THE TIME TO SET UP THE FRAMEWORK, BOTH THE VOLUME AND THE STRUCTURE, A LOT OF TIMES WITH DATA PRODUCTS LIKE THIS, A LOT OF THE WORK IS AROUND ORGANIZING, CLEANING IT, GETTING IT INTO A STATE WHERE YOU CAN ANALYZE AND MANIPULATE IT.
SO YEAH, BOTH VOLUME AND ORGANIZATION AND IN ADDITION TO WHAT NICO ADDED, I JUST MIGHT ADD THAT WE HAD AS YOU MIGHT KNOW, WE LOST A COUPLE MONTHS IN MAY WHERE WE HAD NO CONNECTION TO OUR DATA SOURCES.
WE WOULD REGULARLY HOPE THAT THIS TAKES A LITTLE BIT SHORTER, BUT LIFE HAPPENED.
GOOD POINT. YES, AND THEN FINALLY, AND THIS IS SORT OF IN GOING THROUGH AND DOG-FOODING THIS IS THE TASKBAR, I NOTICED THAT YOU HAVE TO PUT IN THE MONTH, AND IF YOU PUT IN A CITY SERVICE AREA, YOU PUT IN THE ONE TASK, AND INSTEAD OF BEING ABLE TO GO THROUGH AND SAY, I WANT OCTOBER THIS SERVICE AREA AND THIS TASK AND LETTING IT ALL GET FILLED IN, IT HAS TO STOP AND ROTATE UNTIL IT GETS THAT.
SO I WOULD LOVE TO BE ABLE TO JUST SAY, LET'S LOAD IT ALL IN AND THEN HAVE IT START SEEKING VERSUS I'M GOING TO SEEK EVERYTHING IN OCTOBER, THAT I'M GOING TO SEEK EVERYTHING IN THE NORTHWEST AREA, AND THEN I'M GOING TO SEEK EVERYTHING.
SORRY. IT TOOK ME A SECOND TO CATCH UP WITH WHAT YOU'RE SAYING.
YOU'RE SAYING LIKE, ENTER ALL THOSE BARS AND THEN CLICK GO AS OPPOSED TO HAVING TO PAUSE.
YEAH, BECAUSE THAT'S LOADING AT EACH TIME.
THANK YOU SO MUCH. WE'LL TAKE THAT IN CONSIDERATION.
THANK YOU. MS. WILLIS, AND THERE'S NO OTHER COMMENTS FROM COMMITTEE MEMBERS.
I JUST WANT TO TELL YOU THANK YOU ALL FOR YOUR WORK ON THIS.
I THINK THIS IS GREAT, ESPECIALLY TO BE INTRODUCED.
I KNOW THAT IT CAN ONLY IMPROVE AND GET MORE OF A HELPFUL TOOL IN THE FUTURE.
I WOULD BE REMISS IF I DIDN'T POINT OUT THAT THE DATA YOU'VE PRESENTED US SHOWS WHICH DISTRICT HAS HAS BEEN REALLY DOING THEIR PART WITH SERVICE REQUESTS. SO WAY TO GO TO DISTRICT SEVEN.
[CHUCKLING] THAT IS ACTUALLY, BUT THANK YOU ALL FOR YOUR WORK ON THIS.
I MEAN, WE I THINK THAT THIS IS GOING TO BE JUST AS MUCH PRAISED FROM OUR MCC STAFF AS IT IS FROM OUR RESIDENTS BECAUSE THIS IS GOING TO BE AN EXTREMELY HELPFUL TOOL, NOT ONLY EXTERNALLY FOR THE RESIDENTS, BUT I BELIEVE ALSO FOR OUR STAFF AND MCC TO ADEQUATELY RESPOND TO A LOT OF THE QUESTIONS AND CONCERNS THAT REQUIRE A BACK AND FORTH FROM CODE.
SO THIS IS ONE OF THOSE UTILIZING TECHNOLOGY FOR EFFICIENCIES AND I JUST CAN'T BE MORE HAPPY.
WITH THAT SAID, WE DO NOT HAVE ANY OTHER ITEMS. THE TIME IS NOW 10:53 AND I CALL THIS MEETING OF THE QUALITY OF LIFE ARTS AND CULTURE
COMMITTEE ADJOURNED.
* This transcript was compiled from uncorrected Closed Captioning.