City council approves Rotary donation just in time - West Liberty Index
by RotaryClub WestLiberty on Friday, August 7, 2009 at 5:51pm
by Sara Sedlacek • November 29, 2006
Members of the Rotary Club flooded City Hall, awaiting the approval. The Rotary spoke with the Parks and Recreation Board and the board approved the donation. Ruben Galvan, Parks and Recreation director, spoke to the council about the clock and the donation.
"My original plan was to fundraise for the clock," Galvan explained. "Then some of the members of the Rotary said that they would purchase the clock for the city."
Galvan told the council that he had seen the clock. He took a trip with members of the Rotary Club to the factory in Rock Island, Ill. where the clock is going to be built.
"You can’t really appreciate the detail work on that clock," he explained as he passed around a photo of it. "It’s a gorgeous clock."
Galvan said that while they were touring the factory they saw four clocks that other Rotary clubs were donating to other communities.
"We need to take advantage of the great organizations that we have in this community," Galvan said. "This is a great gift from a great organization to be given to the city."
Mayor Clifford McFerren agreed.
"You know, that’s what I like about our civic organizations in town," he said. "They really step forward and do very nice things."
The Rotary Club was the last group to fix up Ron-De-Voo Park and, according to the council, it seems only fitting that they should have their name on it once again. The clock, from the Fancy Street Clock & Light Co., L.L.C., stands 11.5 feet tall and will have a matte black finish. The clock will say "West Liberty" on the top and the face of the clock will contain the Rotary Wheel. It is the classic two-dial model pedestal clock. The clock will cost $5,790.00. The city will initially pay the $5,790.00 and the Rotary Club will then reimburse it for the full amount, $1000 of which Rotary member Conrad Gregg has donated from his own pocket.
"I always wanted a clock somewhere in the city," Gregg said when his donation was acknowledged. The council and Rotary thanked him graciously for his donation.
It will take eight to 10 weeks for the clock to arrive in West Liberty. Each clock is custom made and the factory does not stock any of the items that are used to build the clock.
The clock will be located next to the wall of West Liberty Pharmacy, between the bushes by the fence. The preparation work for the wiring for the lighting was done with the hopes of acquiring the clock.
The Rotary Club is funding the clock with, in addition to the money donated by Conrad Gregg, money given by the Howard Waters Trust, which is providing 20 percent of the project. A grant from Rotary International is paying $2000 and the West Liberty Rotary Club is paying $2000. The Rotary is also donating this clock in honor of John Rohner, former mayor of West Liberty and Rotarian who contributed a lot to West Liberty.