HARRISON — The issue of whether the town tower clock should be moved to a safer and more accessible place was raised at Thursday night’s selectmen’s meeting.

While no decision was made, there was strong interest in researching what the town’s options are, and both Selectmen Richard St. John and Chairman Bill Winslow voiced support for moving it.

Last week, Town Manager Bud Finch and St. John met with Rick and Linda Balzer of Freeport who were in town to repair the clock. Balzer Family Clock Works had restored the clock, located in a tower in the Block building on Main Street, in 1998.

The Balzers urged relocating the clock because it is not properly protected from the elements. Also, access to the tower requires going up a ladder from the second floor, through a hatchway, then crawling along a board in the attic floor to reach a narrow opening into the tower room.

“Part of the difficulty is it’s not a town-owned building,” St. John said. He added that he was also unaware until last week’s publication of a story in the Sun Journal that the town had paid for the tower to be built in 1922 and money was raised through donations to buy the clock.

In addition to the access problem, blown-in insulation in the attic gets into the gears and water comes in through the slats.

“It’s criminal to leave it there,” St. John said. “Where it is now, is completely unacceptable,” he said.

Winslow said he knows about the access problems, having maintained it for a period of time.

“It should be moved,” he said.

Selectman Matthew Frank urged that the Balzers be asked for a recommendation.

Finch said the Balzers left the town with some good documentation, including what the options are for relocating it.

“There are a variety of actions other towns and cities have taken, including setting the clock in the town square, encased in glass,” Finch said.

“Any decision would require a thorough analysis of what it’s going to cost. But it needs to be better protected somehow,” he added.

St. John suggested it would be “relatively inexpensive” to move the clockworks inside the town office, encase it in glass and put the face of the clock on the top of the building.

“We could display it right here,” he said. “People could see it rewind itself. It’s a piece of mechanical art. It’s a real shame to hide it where no one can see it.”

Frank suggested contacting representatives from the town’s historical society for their suggestions on where the clock might be relocated.

Finch suggested the selectmen schedule a workshop to look into the matter further.

In other business, Finch announced he will be on vacation until Jan. 8 but can be reached by cellphone while he is away. It was agreed that the Jan. 5 meeting will still be held in Finch’s absence, unless it appears there is no business to handle, in which case Winslow will cancel the meeting.

Finch said he expects to present the proposed budget at the Jan. 19 meeting.