The Elmira City Hall clock tower is working again after many years of neglect and a $3.7 million restoration project.
The restoration to repair damage to the municipal building’s century-old clock tower and roof began last year. The initial cost for the project was $3.5 million. The extensive damage to the roof added $176,000 more to the final cost.
Elmira Mayor Daniel Mandell said that some residents were concerned about the funding coming from their taxes.
“I'd have to explain to them exactly that it was a need because of the damage to the roof,” said Mandell. “The fact that the clock tower restoration and the repair of the roof [was coming] from grant money, not directly out of local taxpayer money. And once they understood, they understood this was a good choice by the city of Elmira to actually restore it and actually preserve some history for the city with a clock tower.“
City officials used a combination of funding from a $600,000 New York State Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation grant, $2.9 million American Rescue Plan Act funds and $176,000 from capital interest money to pay for the project.
Initially, city officials considered taking the clock tower down instead of repairing it. However, the cost would have been similar to restoring it, according to Mandell.
“It's a reality, that it's something that we're not going to have to worry about in our lifetime,” he said. “It's going to be there for decades. And I'm just so happy we're able to save it. It's just a beautiful part of City Hall, and it's a great thing.“
Mandell said while the clock tower is now in working condition, there are still some minor masonry repairs left to do on the building at City Hall and regular maintenance and upkeep going forward.