The Mahanay Bell Tower was not the tallest item in downtown Jefferson Wednesday. A crane was in place on N. Wilson Ave, to the west of the tower, to allow workers to remove and then re-install bells needing repair on the tower.
The maintenance project has been under consideration for several months. County engineer Wade Weiss told the county supervisors during the summer that four of the bells hanging on the outside of the superstructure at the top of the tower weren’t working due to lightning strikes to electrical coils in the ringing mechanism of the bells. The count was soon up to six.
Weiss said that the design of the superstructure, with the small bells hanging on the outside, leaves them prone to lightning strikes.
The repair project was delayed in hopes it could be done at the same time as hoisting chillers to the roof of the courthouse for HVAC project. Those two schedules didn’t mesh.
The county supervisors at their Nov. 24 approved moving forward with the bell tower repair project. The repair was done by Verdin Company, the same company from which the bells were purchased.
Costs quoted by Verdin were $8,170 for eight hours of crane rental, $6,139 for parts, $3,750 for labor, and $1,350 for general maintenance to be done at the same time, for a total of $19,405. The six bells were removed, taken to the county secondary roads shop and repaired, and then hoisted and mounted back on the tower.
