A local developer was inspired by a beloved ’80s movie to save a longtime Clarks Summit landmark. Meanwhile, officials will move a plaque dedicated to a borough native killed on Sept. 11, 2001 to a small park.
The borough council voted last week to allow Ron Parasole, a local real estate broker contractor and developer, to dismantle the clock tower at State and Depot streets, its concrete base, and plant grass on the site, contingent upon a contract transferring ownership of the clock tower from the borough to Parasole.
Council also agreed to take possession of the plaque at the tower base in memory of Laura Lee DeFazio Morabito, a Clarks Summit native who was a passenger on American Airlines Flight 11 that crashed into the North Tower of the World Trade Center. Parasole will remove the plaque, which was erected in 2007 by community members.
Borough Manager Jennifer Basalyga said the plaque will be securely stored in the Municipal Building until it is relocated to the Finish Shop Pocket Park on Depot Street, which officials also plan to beautify.
Parasole will not charge the borough to remove the clock tower. Borough officials are still responsible for removing an electric box on the site and Basalyga said they are waiting for an updated estimate for that work.
Officials have not determined when the plaque will be moved to the park but Basalyga said she hopes it will be there by Sept. 11, the 25th anniversary of the attacks.
Parasole said this week he plans to move the clock tower once the contract is signed, which he and the borough are negotiating. Powell’s Sales, Service, and Rentals in Scott Twp. will supply equipment and Parasole’s employees will dismantle it.
He said this week he offered to dismantle the clock tower a few months ago after seeing media coverage of it and watching “Back to the Future,” which includes a scene where a group of people petition to save a non-functioning clock atop a courthouse.
Parasole plans to relocate the clock tower to a property he owns in South Abington Twp., restore it, and eventually move it to his property in the 300 block of Bedford Street, which he purchased in the fall. He envisions it being at Bedford and Center streets, where a sign for Miles Auto Parts, which sat on the site for decades, still stands, and telling time again.
“It still stays in the borough so people can still enjoy it instead being (a pile of) scrap metal and never seen again,” Parasole said.
A view through the gazebo at Finish Shop Pocket Park on Depot St. in Clarks Summit Friday, March 27, 2026. (SEAN MCKEAG / STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)
Officials decided to remove the clock tower, which the Rotary Club of the Abingtons erected and donated to the borough in 1986, because the borough doesn’t have an easement for the private property it is located on. Council members voted 6-1 last month to serve notice to Jack Decker — who owns the property on which the clock tower sits — that officials will remove the clock tower and restore the site to its original state.
Decker said this week the borough is welcome to move the clock tower and he will honor the notice, as long as the property is restored to its original condition. He added in the 37 years he and his family have owned the property, they haven’t charged the borough to keep the clock tower there.
Morabito’s brother and friend said they are happy with the plaque’s new location, which is behind behind State Street Grill — previously the DeFazio Summit Inn run by Morabito’s parents, Larry and Beverly DeFazio. The couple owned the building from 1976 to 2024.
Jeff DeFazio said he and his brother Craig are thrilled with the location, adding the family lived behind the restaurant when his parents ran it. Jeff DeFazio told his father during a recent visit the plaque is staying in the borough.
The brothers have offered to pitch in up to $10,000 to improve the park, which Jeff DeFazio said is a way to give back to the community that supported his family in the wake of the events of Sept. 11.
He said he hopes the park honors the memory not only of his sister, but also the Maria family, which operated a business that used to be on the site. The Maria family donated the lot to the borough in 2014.
Mike Parry, a longtime friend of Morabito’s, is happy Parasole offered to move the clock tower to his property. Parry proposed moving both the plaque and clock tower to the park, but the plans were met with pushback.
“It’s a win for the community in the end,” Parry said.
Borough officials are happy Parasole is taking down the clock tower at no cost to the borough and the plaque dedicated to Morabito will be moved to the park.
Council President Gerrie Carey said officials hope to dedicate the plaque on Sept. 11.
“As far as Clarks Summit Borough Council is concerned, we want to do the most respectful thing we can for the DeFazio family, the memorial and pay wonderful tribute,” she said.