Photo Provided Monroe County Officials are hoping to repair the courthouse clock.

WOODSFIELD — After months of it being inoperable, Monroe County officials are hoping to repair the courthouse’s tower clock.

The Monroe County Board of Commissioners discussed plans to repair the courthouse’s clock and tower bell Monday morning.

Chris Simon, maintenance worker for the county, met with Commissioners Carl Davis, Mick Schumacher and Tim Price to discuss the repairs and upgrade costs. Davis said the clock’s motor is “burned up” and will need to be repaired in order for the clock’s striker to resume working. He said the striker, which connects to the tower’s bell, has not worked for the past few months.

After consulting with Smith Bell & Clock Services, an estimated cost of $6,000 was given to complete the repairs and upgrades needed for the tower.

Davis said although the bell does need to be in working order, now is not the time to undertake the entire set of upgrades through the clock service company.

Simon told commissioners he knows of an artisan between Cambridge and Zanesville, Ohio, who can rebuild the motor for between $600-$800.

Due to recent circumstances and lack of funding amid the coronavirus pandemic, commissioners decided to forgo the complete repairs and focus on simply fixing the clock’s striker for the time being. Simon will confer with the repairman to ensure he is able to complete the motor rebuild. He will then consult with commissioners when a definite price is confirmed in order to move forward with the repair.

“The proposal included a lot of upgrades, but we opted not to do so right now,” Davis said following the meeting. “Now is not the time to put a lot of money into it.”

If the rebuild is within the estimate of $600-$800, he said they will move forward with the motor rebuild.

“We’ll have it looked at to see if it can be fixed,” he said.