Clock tower for 100th

By Cole Parkinson
Vauxhall Advance
cparkinson@tabertimes.com

With the town of Vauxhall turning 100 this year, plenty of celebrations are continuing to be planned as the date approaches.

One of those ideas to celebrate the centennial is to construct a clock tower in downtown Vauxhall to commemorate the town’s 100 years of existence.

Stemming from Centennial Committee discussions, the idea to build a clock tower between 407 and 415 2 Ave North has continued to pick up steam as the weekend date celebrations comes closer.

Several different options for a potential clock in Vauxhall were brought forward to council during their regular meeting on Feb. 18.

Three different clock sizes were proposed with two different base sizes of the tower, each of which had different costs.

A six foot wide base tower could have clocks sized 36” ($40,874) or 42” ($43,097) or it could be an eight foot wide base with a 36” clock ($42,499), a 42” clock ($44,722) or a 48” clock ($47,600).

“If you put a small clock into a larger tower, it would look out of proportion,” explained Joerg Klempnauer, president of the VDCC. “The tower would have a grated floor with an access door and the clock is accessible from the inside.”

As far as funding for the project, the committee has acquired $6,300-$10,000 from the Ag Society, $4,000-$6,000 from Columbia Seed, $6,000-$10,000 from Heritage Grant and individuals can make donations as well. In the best-case scenario, the group expects to need an additional $14,874 to finish the project and in the worst-case scenario, $31,300.

“The Ag Society guaranteed us between $6,300 to $10,000. The higher amount would come from the less amount we get from other parties. If we get sufficient funding we would go with the $6,300. We put in $4,000 to $6,000 as Columbia Seed,” added Klempnauer.

Other potential grants are also being explored by the group moving forward. Before proceeding, the group wants to nail down a final location for the tower and then get access through municipal planning to work on the town-owned property and begin construction if approved by council.

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