City inspectors took temperatures Thursday morning at the troubled Barclay Square apartments in Pleasant Grove and found that the air conditioning meets city code requirements.

City Council member Dwaine Caraway, who represents that part of southeast Dallas, said he believes the apartment owner and city inspectors "are on a good track." Temperatures in the apartments ranged from 81 to 73 degrees at 11 a.m. Thursday, he said. The outside temperature at that time was between 86 and 90 degrees.

City codes require temperatures to be 85 or lower.

"The owners appear to be working well with us, and there is no quarrel there," Caraway said Thursday afternoon.

Several tenants confirmed that the air conditioning had improved Thursday afternoon after several weeks of oven-like conditions inside their homes.

"It's been working better," Robert Garza said about 4 p.m. when it was 103 degrees outside. "It was not working before."

The inspections followed a court hearing Wednesday in which state District Judge Gena Slaughter ruled that she did not have the legal authority to order the apartment owners to improve the air conditioning.

Manny Alvarez, the tenants' attorney, acknowledged that he lost in court. But he said the improved temperatures inside Barclay Square apartments made the court battle worthwhile.

"All I was looking for was relief for the tenants, and if that has been done, that was the purpose of the lawsuit," he said.

Texas Bay Barclay Square Limited Partnership is listed in Dallas Central Appraisal District records as the owner of the apartment complex. It is one of several real estate partnerships controlled by San Francisco-based Bay Equity Real Estate Acquisitions.

Ken Chaiken, a Dallas attorney who represents the apartment owners, said his clients moved to improve the air conditioning as soon as they learned about the problem.

"It was fixed and fixed right," he said.

Jimmy Martin, assistant director of code compliance, said similar air-conditioning controversies arise in Dallas "two or three times" each summer.

"We try to jump on those situations really quick," he said.

Martin said a tenant called to complain about the air conditioning at Barclay Square during the last week of June. A city inspector went to the site on June 25, he said, and determined that temperatures in some apartments were well above 85 degrees.

The inspector issued a notice of violation, Martin said. And on June 26, the apartment complex obtained 14 window air conditioners and began repairs on compressors for the central air-conditioning system, he said.

Chaiken said every tenant who asked for a window unit got one. Temperatures were high, making some units uncomfortable for several days because part of the air-conditioning system was taken offline so workers could repair it, he said.

"It was a little warmer in some units than you would have liked," Chaiken said.

Caraway said he is satisfied that the apartment owners moved quickly to correct the problem. But he said he will hold a community meeting at the apartment complex "to discuss issues the tenants may have and to try to keep things together."

Martin, the code compliance officer, said his department will be keeping an eye on Barclay Square, too.

"We are not washing our hands of the matter," he said. "We are still handling it."

Staff writer Matthew Waller contributed to this report.