BATH (AP) — A Maine church is looking to mollify neighbors for whom its bell tolls too loudly.

Neighbors of the First Baptist Church in Bath say the bell began ringing louder than it used to after the church tower’s clock was worked on about a year ago.

Shadi Towfighi, owner of the Kismet Inn, likes the bell when it rings hourly during the day. But it’s a nuisance at night when it keeps her guests up, she said.

Her inn is on the market, but a prospective buyer has put a deal on hold until the bell issue is resolved, she told the Times Record (http://bit.ly/HJvuVT ).

“I would just like to see it turned off overnight,” she said. “Maybe from 10 p.m. to 9 a.m.”

Church and city representatives said tests will be done in the next couple of weeks looking at different materials and how the bell is struck in an attempt to muffle the noise.

“A lot of townspeople like the bell,” said City Councilor Carolyn Lockwood. “But if we can solve the problems for the immediate neighbors, everyone benefits.”