MOUNT VERNON — For those who are wondering, yes, the county knows the clock on the courthouse clocktower is inaccurate.
The south side facing High Street is about two hours off; the west side facing Public Square is a few minutes off.
County Administrator Jason Booth said that four different rods keep the time. Due to the cold weather, two of the plastic components cracked, throwing off the timing mechanism on two sides of the clocktower.
The county has called for repairs, but with the holidays, it is not known when the repairs will be made.
A complete modernization of the cupola is already slated for 2023.
“You can’t get parts for the mechanisms anymore,” explained Booth. “The glass is cracked. It really needs a lot of TLC. We are working with the architects with it being a historical building.”
To get a thorough evaluation and specs for the architects, the county hired a company to take drone footage of the courthouse and clock tower. The company visited the site several times.
“It’s amazing the [mechanism] box that runs all of this,” Booth said.
The county will submit renovation plans to the state since the courthouse is a historical building. Plans call for erecting scaffolding as soon as the weather breaks in the spring. Crews will take a look at the roof, bricks, check windows and gutters, and tuck point the courthouse.
Booth said there is no estimate of cost as yet because the architects have not completed specifications and drawings.
“It’s an iconic building; it’s the logo of the county,” Booth said of the courthouse. “It will be a pretty big project for 2023.”
