Some offices of the courthouse can be warm and toasty in the winter while others can be cold. In the summer, some areas are nice and cool while others are like a sauna.

The antiquated air conditioning and heating system in the old courthouse has been a problem for years. Recently, a Trane air conditioning representative studied the facility and came up with a proposal for a new system.

The price tag is $915,000.

Mike Stanton, the Trane rep, speaking to Clarke County Commissioners Monday agreed it was high but also noted that the county has spent over $100,000 in repairs to the system over about three years.

Stanton said the current system uses an inefficient gas boiler and a chiller system. Hot and cold water are piped throughout the courthouse to heat and cool it. The problem is, there are no individual controls for different offices. The system is either on cool or on heat and does not take into consideration the different parts of the big building.

Stanton's proposal is for a stateof the-art Mitsubishi unit that is all electric with computerized controls.

He said the gas bill would go away, the water bill would go away and the electric cost would be lower than what the county pays now.

"It will almost pay for one half of what it will cost," Stanton told commissioners.

A seven-year lease is available at an interest rate of 4.44 percent and would cost the county $14,461 a month.

Stanton said he could provide a list of others who have the system in place. He named the county hospital in Lucedale, Miss. as a recent customer.

James McLean, maintenance superintendent for the Clarke County school system, sat in on Stanton's presentation at the request of commissioners and will review the proposal.

County attorney Bruce Wilson asked McLean if specifications could be written for such a system to be bid. McLean said they could but would have to be detailed.

Stanton said there are legal ways to buy the system without having to bid it and said he was opposed to bidding the work. "I have put work into it and somebody else comes in here and bids it for $5,000 less" and gets the job, he explained. "You never get what you need," by taking a low bid, he argued.

Neither commissioners nor the county attorney commented on his observations.

McLean said he would study the plans and get back with commissioners with a recommendation.