The Crenshaw County Courthouse will soon be getting a new air condition system to replace the current system, which has been in place since the 1950s.

“We can’t get parts for it, and it’s been patched and patched until it just doesn’t work anymore,” Crenshaw County Commission Chairman Ronnie Hudson said.

The entire courthouse was closed for two weeks during the month of July because of the heat inside the building when the air system went out. Fans in all the offices and open windows are still a common sight in the courthouse.

The estimated cost of the new air system will be around $120,000, which was budgeted in the 2009 budget in the capital improvements fund.

Hudson said they’ve advertised for bids already and are waiting to see who can do the most work for the best price.

“Some contractors say they can redo the heating and the cooling systems for that same price, but then we’ve found out that a couple of them just wanted to patch the heating system, not put in a new one, and we wouldn’t want that. So, we’ll have to see what bids come in.”

The new air system should be installed in November or December of this year.