I have paid close attention to the proceedings that led up to the current agreement between the church and the town regarding the clock’s placement. I have spent many hours learning about our town clock. Let me remind you that I am not a member of the First Parish Congregational Church.

I grew up in Alfred Village, and, as a child, could hear the ringing of the town clock’s hourly chime. Recently, I was back in Alfred at my old home, only a few hundred yards from the Church steeple. After hearing the bell ring out the hour, I was reminded of how this sound has not been heard in our village in many years, and could quite possibly never be heard again.

The clock in the steeple ringing the bell on the hour, like it has previously done for over 100 years, is a unique quality that makes our town special.

I visited Balzer Family Clockworks out in Freeport and took a close look at the workings of the clock, the repairs that were made, and took a tour of the clock shop. The Balzer family is passionate about their work. Tower clock works are historically hidden from the public’s view due to the fact that they are working pieces of machinery. The Balzers feel that these machines should be on display for the public to view. Their opinion is biased by the fact that they want people to view their restoration work. And I respect their opinion. Our town should accept the paid service provided by the Balzers to repair the clock, and ensure the clock is maintained and kept in working order, wherever it is physically located.

I was up in the church steeple and saw where the clock was bolted to the framework. The steeple is a steel-reinforced, timber-frame structure; has fire suppression; and is protected by a security system. The conditions in the steeple are drafty and dusty, but it could easily be cleaned up and sealed from the elements. Heating the steeple is not an issue because these clocks were designed to operate in the cold.

It appears the church, in fear of losing the clock to our Municipal Center, agreed to a deal. The current deal with the church to lease the clock for a dollar is absolving the town of any financial responsibility. By leasing the clock to the church, the town is selfishly putting the financial burden of its past lack of maintenance, future repair costs, cost of relocation to a lower level within the church, and any insurance costs, on the congregation. The town needs to take ownership of this device, ensure that it is located in its original location, and maintained properly.

All I hear are excuses as to why it’s not possible to put the clock in the steeple. I’ve heard about the steeple not being handicap accessible, but there are other public buildings in town, Robie Gym being one them, that are not handicap accessible. I’ve also heard that the law required this clock to be publicly viewable. Well, there is no reason a citizen who is interested in seeing the clock mechanism could not get a scheduled tour of the steeple, just like I did. And if any member of the public is offended by having to walk through the church on the way to the steeple, then I feel sorry for that person. How can people live in our diverse society if they cannot stand to be offended?

I urge the council to revisit the lease agreement with the church and come to an agreement that will put the clock back in the steeple where it has always been. Moving the clock to some other location will be more costly and complicated than putting it back were it came from.

This clock is owned by the town. I see no reason why all of the council members should not vote or participate in deciding where it should be located. I fail to see how any councilor will financially benefit from where the clock is located or how it is maintained. Recusal should not be used to isolate oneself from emotional votes.

I ask our council to take ownership of this device, return it to the steeple and do it right. If the Phinney family will donate the cost of the repair, the town should accept the donation, apologize to the citizens for neglecting the clock for so long, and promise not to let it fall into such disrepair again. Spend a little money, add automatic winding and a tolling mechanism, and let us preserve this unique quality of our town with a clock that resides in the steeple.

Call or write our town councilors and urge them to return the clock to the steeple and let the hourly chime be heard again.