By Leah Justice

leah.justice@tryondailybulletin.com

The Polk County Tag and Tax Office should soon get relief from the heat after the air conditioning broke a few months ago.

Polk commissioners met June 15 and approved spending $22,000 to replace one air conditioning unit.

Polk County Manager Marche Pittman said one of the two outdoor units stopped functioning. He said the county got the second unit running and has supplemented it with portable indoor units as well as the existing wall mount air conditioners on either end of the building.

Pittman said the county scheduled the required electrical work for the new units this week and he hopes to have those fixed within two weeks.

Pittman also said there are some issues with the electrical service, which Duke Energy will have to assist the county, so an exact completion date is currently unknown.

AllSeasons Heating & A/C in Columbus will install the new air conditioning unit, with a bid of $17,455.

Commissioners approved taking the funding out of its contingency budget to go into the building maintenance and repair fund.

The county moved its tax office and added a new tag office last September on Walker Street in Columbus. The building was formerly the Polk County Early College building and originally the county’s main library.