He Santa Cruz de Tenerife Town Hall has ensured that the acts of vandalism about him Flower clock of the García Sanabria park involve repairs that cost annually between 3,500 and 5,000 eurosaccording to a report from the company that is in charge of its maintenance.
The document indicates that the expense for each repair may vary between the 265 and the 530 eurosdepending on the time each one of them takes.
The mayor José Manuel Bermúdez has specified that the acts of vandalism that occur in sculptures, furniture and historical heritage represent a continuous disbursement of the municipal coffers, “money that in the end is contributed by the residents of the municipality.”
He also recalled that there is a municipal ordinance “that provides for sanctions for a minority that does not respect what belongs to all citizens.”
Faced with this situation, the Councilor for Public Services, Carlos Tarife, has announced that he will ask the Superior Court of Justice of the Canary Islands to install surveillance cameras in the area to identify those who manipulate the clock blades and to be able to impose the appropriate sanctions.
The mayor has reported that this type of act occurs between 8 and 10 times a year“for which reason the possibility of placing posters that inform about the cultural and historical importance of this emblematic clock is being studied.”
The Flower Clock has an anti-vandalism system to avoid breaking the internal machinery, but if the needles are manipulated and forced to remove them, they remain loose from the gear. When this happens, checking and time setting work is required, which can only be carried out by specialized personnel.
In each repair, the plants are removed to make a corridor that allows the passage of personnel, so it is necessary to disassemble the clock to check and repair the damage.
