JACKSONVILLE — With a nod to Hemingway, the City Council decided Tuesday the answer to the immortal "for whom the bell tolls" question is that it must toll for a church’s congregation.

After a debate between representatives of the First Presbyterian Church and the city’s Historical and Architectural and Review Commission, the council opted to overturn the commission’s decision that the ancient bell stay in the belfry of the original church. In a 4-2 vote, the council supported the church in its appeal to bring the bell to its new 10-acre site outside the city’s historic core.

"I feel it should go to the new church," said Councilwoman Liz Kellogg. "I feel it’s very important."

Before the public meeting, City Administrator Paul Wyntergreen said staff stood by the Historical and Architectural Review Commission’s decision.

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"The integrity of the historic bell is listed as inventory in our historic landmark document," said Wyntergreen.

George Kramer, speaking as the church’s historical consultant, said he was uncomfortable asking the council to overrule a HARC decision — a commission he’s worked with for 15 years, he said. But Kramer urged the council to consider the commission’s purview and the bell’s "association."

"Is the association of the (bell’s) heritage for the congregation or the building?" he asked. "Traditionally, bells go with the congregation."

Kramer also argued that moving the bell was consistent with the "backstory" he created for the new 18,163-square-foot church project designed to comply with the city’s request that the church change its original plan from one large structure to three smaller buildings.

Also, he said, the bell could still be heard as part of the "aural landscape" of Jacksonville.

HARC member Bill Stanton argued the commission’s ruling should stand. To overturn the decision would be to set a grave precedent for a town that is listed on the National Historical Register, he said.

"C.C. Beekman went to San Francisco to get this specific bell," said Stanton. "If we start destroying our history, we’ll open the door to removal of other exterior and interior features."

Stanton suggested that if the church wanted to maintain it’s aural history, it could make a recording of the bell and take it to the new church.

Church attorney David Ingalls said the church is specifically forbidden from playing amplified music at their new location.

Council members Doris Crofoot and Dick Ames also opposed removing the bell from the old church. Ames likened the proposed removal to taking an engine out of an old car.

Crofoot agreed.

"Keep the bell in the church," she said. "If you take one item, it’s not the same."

But Pastor Larry Jung said the 125-year-old bell "represented a great deal to our congregation."

"The bell’s going to be rung every Sunday (at the new church)," said Jung. "At the old facility, it will not be rung."