County officials hope to begin repairs on the bell tower of the Clark County Courthouse next month.

Wednesday, the Clark County Fiscal Court unanimously approved the low bid of $751,015 to repair and replace the deteriorating bell tower. The low bid was submitted by Structural Systems Repair Group of Cincinnati.

Clark County Judge-Executive Henry Branham said the county received one other bid, from Misstate contractors of Marion, Ohio, for $824,805.

Branham said the winning bid also included an alternate of $21,194 to add gold leaf to the cupola. The gold leaf would be paid for by a private donation to The Greater Clark Foundation.

The county is planning to issue bonds to generate revenue for the project. The Administrative Office of the Court, which fills the top floor of the courthouse, previously agreed to reimburse 44 percent of the project cost.

Branham said he hoped work would begin in August. The first step would be to remove the current deteriorating tower and replace it with a temporary roof, which should cure issues with leaks from the roof.

The rest of the work should take about six months to complete.

The court still has to approve the contract and the bond issue.