Vidalia — The Concordia Parish Police Jury will need approximately $300,000 to replace the aging air conditioning system at the old parish courthouse.

At the jury’s meeting Tuesday, jurors approved payment of $1,490.20 to Natchez Heating and Cooling for work done to get the old system — a chilled water system that uses cast iron pipes — back up and running.

Last month, the jury declared the situation an emergency, noting that temporary fixes are likely to be just that — temporary — and the building’s tenants, which include the Concordia Parish Council on Aging and the parish extension service, could face significant heat during the summer months.

“We have it working now,” Police Jury President Melvin Ferrington said. “It is old, and it is pretty well worn out, and eventually we are going to have to replace it with a new unit in there.”

Ferrington said the new unit is probably going to cost approximately $300,000. The jury has applied for $250,000 in emergency funding from state and federal sources, he said.

At one point, the holdup on repairs to the old system was because of the need for a single part.

“That unit is so old and outdated, there is just not that many parts available for it,” Ferrington said.

During the meeting, the jury also approved payments to Jordan, Kaiser and Sessions — the parish’s engineering firm — for engineering services and presented the family of Glen Daniels a resolution of appreciation for the late parish extension agent’s work.

Daniels, 63, died earlier this month. He was the parish extension agent from 1983 until his retirement in 2011.