Marathon may sue fluoride tablet company

By Casey Krautkramer

The Village of Marathon City Board last Wednesday voted unanimously to authorize village administrator Steve Cherek to proceed with litigation against KC Industries for breach of contract and warranty on its New Wave Fluoridation System, pending approval by the village’ utility commission.

Cherek estimated the village spent around $70,000 to have the new fluoridation system installed in the summer of 2023. The village has not been able to get the system to run correctly because the Wisconsin DNR won’t approve the type of hot water heater New Wave told the village it needs to properly dissolve the company’s fluoride tablets in the water supply. The village wants to recoup the money it spent on the New Wave Fluoridation System because the company hasn’t honored its warranty on the product, Cherek said.

Cherek said he doesn’t fault the DNR’s decision to not approve the type of water heater the company is requesting because the company hasn’t proved that it works.

“The DNR wants substantial evidence from the manufacturer that the water heater source is going to actually keep the stabilized level of fluoride dissolving of the fluoride tablets because everything in their study has shown the tablets don’t get to the concentration level needed to properly fluoridate the municipality,” he said.

Cherek said KC Industries installed the same fluoridation system in another state, and a heater dissolved the tablets, but a chemical component in the tablets was bonded by a cooking oil agent that left a black residue in the fluoride tank.

Cherek said the DNR would let the village return to the way it used to fluoridate

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the water, by adding liquid fluoride, but it would require the village to build an enclosed chemical room onto the water plant so the fluoride is housed separately from other chemicals to avoid potentially toxic mixtures.

Cherek said it’ll be up to the utility commission to decide whether it wants to fluoridate the water in the future. Adding fluoride to the water does cost the village more money in staff wages because an employee is required to check the fluoride level in the water supply every day, including on weekends, he noted.

The utility commission plans to have a joint meeting with the village board to discuss the fluoride issue on Wednesday, Oct. 30, at 4 p.m.

Other business

■ The board decided the village will no longer spend money for exterminating rodents in the south ditch line on South Road. Trustees left it up to homeowners on South Road to get rid of food supplies on their lawns that attract rats. The board recommended that landowners on South Road not have their bird feeders out for two years and make sure they are cleaning up animal waste on their lawns.

Cherek said the village paid Green Pest and Tick Control $4,000 to exterminate the rats in the ditch, but now a homeowner is saying the rats are back. According to Cherek, the village and town of Marathon are doing a better job of cutting the tall grass in the ditch so the rats will migrate somewhere else.

■ Board members accepted Marathon Fire Chief Mike Tylinski’s resignation, effective at the end of this year. Tylinski has been fire chief for 17 years and he plans to stay on the department as a volunteer firefighter. Cherek told the village board he’d check with Tylinski to find out what the fire department’s bylaws are for replacing the fire chief. Trustees said they are okay having the fire department recommending a new fire chief for them to approve.

■ The board approved a 3.3 percent pay increase for full-time village staff in 2025 after meeting in closed session. Cherek said he is continuing to work on the 2025 union labor agreement.

■ Trustees expressed appreciation for a donation from Menzner Hardwoods and the Raymond and Marie Goldbach Foundation to purchase three permanent digital speed signs in the village, which Cherek said should help reduce vehicle crashes. A beacon with flashing lights will also be installed for the crosswalk on STH 107 between Menzner Hardwoods’ office and the production plant.

■ Cherek provided the village board with an update on the new baseball/softball park project on CTH NN. He said the village has paid its contractors roughly $2.8 million so far, and it has another $1 million or so left to pay out.

For some reason, Cherek said the project architect had quartz countertops, which aren’t freeze resistant, installed by the vendor in the ballpark’s concession stand. He doesn’t believe the village can do anything about it now other than wait for the quartz countertops to crack in the future and then replace them with either linoleum or stainless steel countertops that will hold up in cold weather.

Walking trail going in

County Road NN will be closed next week for construction of the 4th Street walking trail, which will include new sidewalk and a pedestrian tunnel under the road.

The work is expected to start Monday, Oct. 14 and last approximately five weeks. The road will be closed just east of Spring Valley Drive to the entrance of the baseball/ softball park. Motorists are asked to follow the marked detour route and to drive safely.