By John Estridge
Franklin County Commissioners pledged to fix the courthouse’s bell tower no matter what.
It is leaning somewhat precariously. Not an estimate based on fact, but the figure $250,000 was used in the recent past to describe what it might cost to repair it.
County engineer Larry Smith inspected the bell tower, but he suggested having someone else do it as he was not sure what was causing the bell tower to lean.
“I went up there and took pictures,” Smith said. “It’s really tough to see what’s going on.”
He said there are four anchors that come down into the wooden superstructure of the dome. He said there is about an inch gap beneath the washers. Smith said it made him think that something up there had shrunk or rotted.
Smith also has not been able to find a structural engineer to come look at the situation. That needs to be done so the county can receive an estimate on what it will cost to fix the situation.
At the recent county council meeting, councilperson Rebecca Oglesby asked some questions about the situation. She asked if the county would be better off by removing the bell tower, if the county wants to repair it, how much it will cost and if the bell tower is dangerous to the public, until it can either be removed or repaired.
Commission Vice President Tom Linkel addressed those questions at the commissioners meeting with both Linkel and Commission President Tom Wilson adamantly stating the bell tower will be fixed.
“Will you repair it?” Linkel asked. “I fully intend to repair the bell tower. I think it’s too historical for the county not to repair it.”
“I agree totally,” Wilson said.
“We’ve all thrown some numbers out, but it’s nothing official,” Linkel said. “We’re guesstimating is all we’re doing. Until we get somebody, an engineer who can tell us … we can’t even put out a bid yet, because we don’t know how to bid it.
“Her next question was could it fall down?” Linkel continued. “I guess anything could happen, yes.”
Wilson said a tornado or a bad windstorm could hit and blow it off.
According to Linkel, there are some minor roof repairs that need to be done also.
“Nothing major as far as I know,” Linkel said, and Wilson agreed.
But again, there is not enough information at hand for estimates to be made and bids put out for all of the work.
Smith then said there appears to be some rot at the base of the dome, but it does not seem to be structural in nature. However, he said the dome itself is not leaning. It is the cupola on top that is leaning, he said.
