PORT ANGELES — Almost a year after the gifting agreement was signed and five months after a judge threw out a lawsuit challenging the project, work on the city’s water fluoridation plant is ready to begin.
Port Angeles issued building permit No. 41 last week for the fluoride storage and feed facility project, which has an estimated cost of $377,300.
The Washington Dental Services Foundation, through its contractor CH2M HILL, will build the fluoridation plant at the city’s Ranney Collector, then present it to the city as a gift.
Port Angeles gets its drinking water from the 60-foot-deep Ranney Collector well adjacent to the Elwha River.
The city serves about 8,000 water customers with a system that provides 11 million gallons of water per day.
The city will be responsible for maintaining the fluoridation system for about $10,000 annually.
“We’re excited that after all this time, we’re one step closer to providing the benefits of fluoride to the community,” said Sean Pickard, government affairs director for the Washington Dental Services Foundation.
The City Council voted 6-1 in February 2003 — with Councilman Larry Williams dissenting — to accept a Washington Dental Services Foundation grant for installation of a water fluoridation system and public education efforts.
The council voted 5-2 in September 2004 — with Williams and then-newly elected Jack Pittis dissenting — to uphold an environmental permit for the project.
The council voted 5-2 in March 2005 — with Williams and Pittis again voting “no” — to accept the gifting agreement with the foundation for the fluoridation plant.
Both Williams and Pittis proposed a public vote on the issue.