The Lauderdale County Board of Supervisors discussed ways on Monday to ensure a polling place isn’t too hot this August.

The conversation started during the supervisors meeting after District 4 Election Commissioner Gloria Dancy raised concerns about the Frank Cochran Center and its faulty air conditioning units.

The building was hot when poll workers manned the center last year, she said.

Poll workers’ shifts can start as early as 6 a.m. and last until 8:30 p.m.

“My poll worker almost had a heat stroke,” Dancy said.

“It’s an emergency. That’s the reason I’m here today. I can’t ask these people to go in that building in August.”

The building is an event venue that plays host to wedding receptions, family get-togethers and parties. It has been used as a polling place for years and belongs to the City of Meridian.

District 4 supervisor Joe Norwood said in an interview that something will have to be done.

“Right now we just want to make sure that we get the air working at the Frank Cochran Center so [that], in the month of August, when it’s the hottest part of the year, the poll workers won’t have to worry about it being extremely hot in there,” he said.

“We have to do whatever we have to do — whether it’s moving in portable air conditioners (or) something of that nature, we’re going to make it happen.”

City of Meridian Public Safety Director Doug Stephens said he is aware of the issue and is working to fix it.

“We had some issues with these units,” he said. “We are in the process of trying to find someone to tackle the project and give us some budgeting numbers.”

The units were first installed when the building was erected, Stephens said.

Sometimes the air conditioning works, other times it does not, he said.

“Any time we turn them on, they may not work.”

Norwood’s idea of portable air conditioning units may be a solution if the current units are not replaced or fixed by the time voters go to the polls, Stephens said.

“It could be possible,” he said, adding that conversations with county government will happen “in the near future.”

Voting will start in seven weeks with party primaries on Aug. 6.