The bell isn’t ringing.
People who visited the Historic Bridge Street Pier boardwalk recently might have noticed caution tape around the clock tower near the entrance.
The tower’s bell system, added in 2003, was surveyed recently by Verdin Co., an Ohio-based clock and tower specialist, at the behest of the city.
The surveyor determined the bell posed a danger to public safety.
In a March 28 email, Brain Straits, regional manager at Verdin, informed Bradenton Beach public works director, Tom Woodard, that the bell is dangerous and should be replaced.
“You don’t want the bell falling,” Straits wrote. “A good storm could really cause a problem. We can’t say how long it will hang in there but we do suggest that you turn the bell off. The force of the striker hitting and vibrating the bell just makes it worse.”
Woodard told The Islander April 6 that “the boardwalk is still open. You can’t walk underneath the bell but you can still use the boardwalk.”
Woodard also addressed the issue during an April 7 city commission meeting and noted the city already allocated funding for repairs to the tower.
“Just so you know, it is not about to fall,” Woodard said. “I’ve had my staff go up and look at it. It’s not going to fall but we wanted to err on the side of caution.”
Strait, in his email, described an $11,985 proposal for repairs: “A new striker and components will be updated with … materials that will hold up even better in the salt air. We will also use stainless steel and will galvanize other steel parts. This will ensure the longevity of all the new equipment. We will use the existing Verdin MCC3 controller for both the clocks and bells. This will help keep them synced together.”
The city could upgrade the software, too.
City workers have been climbing and setting the clock systems by hand but, with a software upgrade, they could program the clock remotely.
Commissioners voted unanimously to approve the proposal from Verdin for the $11,985 repair.
“It’s long overdue for work to be done on the clock tower,” Mayor John Chappie said. “The opportunity is now with season almost gone.”
Repairs will begin in about a month.