AUGUSTA — Working parents have been left scrambling for child care on hot, humid days this summer because air conditioning units in the child care program classrooms at the Buker Community Center could not keep up.

Augusta officials said they have heard from parents concerned that the child care program is unreliable.

The city is working on a plan to replace residential air conditioning units with heat pumps, at a cost of about $108,000. The units could be installed by next summer.

On four days this summer, officials have closed the city’s child care program at midday out of concern the classrooms at the former elementary school, which was built in the 1950s, were expected to exceed state child care licensing standards. Classrooms must be maintained at between 68 and 80 degrees.

Bethany Sproul-LeBrun, the city of Augusta’s child care director, said on some days, the heat index, or “feels like” temperature, which factors humidity into the temperature, exceeded 100 degrees inside classrooms.

Parents or guardians of the 130 children enrolled in the program at 22 Armory St. had to come get their kids.

“It was a huge burden for parents. We have a lot of parents who, if they don’t work, they don’t get paid,” Sproul-LeBrun said. “So we tried to do a half day at least, so a parent only misses a half day of work. But no matter how you slice it, it’s a burden, a situation no one wants.”

West Side resident Gabrielle Berube Pierce told city councilors last week that though the child care staff is “fantastic, smart, caring and flexible,” the building is not equipped to handle the increasing number of hot and humid days and, therefore, not adequate to provide reliable child care. Berube Pierce said she and her husband have four children, two of whom are enrolled at Augusta’s schools and in the city’s child care program.

“This summer, we had the experience of not being able to have consistent, reliable child care,” Berube Pierce told city councilors at their Aug. 22 meeting. “We were very fortunate in our family to be able to take the kids and rearrange our schedules and make things work, but I know that it is a service relied upon by hundreds of families in Augusta.

“As the Earth gets hotter, it’s going to be more important that not only the child care center, but all of our educational institutions in the city, have adequate HVAC (heating, ventilation and air conditioning) systems. So I’m very supportive of that. I’m very supportive of you all raising my property taxes to do that.”

City councilors said they hope to fix the problem without increasing property taxes. City Manager Jared Mills has recommended they first look into tapping sources other than the city’s general fund to pay to retrofit the classrooms with modern heat pumps to provide needed cooling.

Dan Mastrogiorgio, the city’s facilities director, has proposed installing eight wall heat pumps with four outside condenser units, with updated electrical components. He said each of the four condensers could accommodate two heat pumps, so the building would get the eighth heat pump, in addition to the seven classroom units, to put where staff members at the Buker Community Center think would be most needed.

The Augusta School Department previously had heat pumps installed in its section of the Buker Community Center, which houses adult education programs.

Sproul-LeBrun said the residential air conditioning units were not enough to cool the building and would often trip electrical breakers.

She said the child care center had to close for part of two days last summer due to excessive heat, and the summer before that, for a day.

“It’s trending. Now, it’s happening more often,” Sproul-LeBrun said. “Heat illnesses can happen very fast in children. Their bodies don’t regulate heat as good as adults do.

“We’re blessed with the space we have and the support in the community, when we’re trying to keep up with changing times, and changing climate, in an old building. I can’t say enough about the support we have from administration and the City Council. If the kids need it, they find a way.”

All of the city councilors have expressed support for moving forward, only debating what funding sources might be used to pay for the improvements.

“I’m very much in favor of going ahead on this, and think providing safe, consistent child care is one of the most important things we do,” At-Large Councilor Stephanie Sienkiewicz said.

Mills, the city manager, said Augusta might have enough in an account set aside for, but never spent on, capital improvements to the Buker building. If so, the proposal to add heat pumps could go to city councilors for approval as soon as their Sept. 5 business meeting.

Mills said if there is not enough in the account, the city could consider using some of its remaining funding from the American Recovery Act Plan.