By Sara QuamCounty Commissioners have more information to help them decide what to do with the Law Enforcement Center — whether to rebuild or remodel.Building a new facility by the Rock County Highway Department on Blue Mound Avenue would cost about $2,122,252.Remodeling and adding on to the existing Law Enforcement Center would cost about $2,465,669.Both plans have allowances for new furniture and fixtures, contingencies and inflation costs because the work won’t be done in 2005.Bryan Paulsen, architect, presented the two plans to the Rock County Board Tuesday.One of the biggest issues for commissioners is finding a new occupant for the existing LEC if they do rebuild.County Administrator Kyle Oldre said, "There’s going to be a lot of discussion for the board and a lot to work through."Commissioners may decide in as soon as a month and are meeting more to look over plans and to get public input. If they make that decision, work could start in the spring of 2006.The County Board passed a capital improvement plan recently, giving it the authority to bond for more than $1 million to spend on any LEC project.Other than the two options of rebuilding or remodeling, commissioners may also decide to do nothing.RebuildingThe county owns land between the current Highway Department and Human Services buildings that could provide the site for a new LEC. The preliminary plans give a new LEC 9,280 square feet.The space would include interview rooms, a secure entrance and exit, more office space and additional storage. It also has space for a community meeting room and holding cells for prisoners.It has more windows and a single floor plan, so work space would be brighter and more efficient there.Paulsen said the construction can be done mostly in wood. Some parts, for security, will be other materials, but wood saves money in most cases.The surface of a new building would be stucco and brick. The roof would be pitched, so all mechanical systems would be inside.The design allows for easy future expansion, if that is ever needed.Paulsen said the positives about building new versus remodeling are: obuilding new is the less expensive optionothere is room for expansion in the futureothe horizontal design is more efficientoBlue Mound Avenue provides good access othere is a community meeting roomogreater square footageRemodelingPaulsen said the positives about remodeling versus new are:othe existing facility is next to the courthouseousing it saves a historic buildingorelocating servers and dispatch equipment won’t be necessaryothere may not be another appropriate use for the building if it is not the LECThe surface would be a pre-cast, textured concrete made to match the Sioux quartzite of the old LEC. The rooflines would be separate and the original structure will be preserved as much as possible.The plans for remodeling and expanding the existing LEC give it almost 11,000 square feet, but much of that is not usable space.Paulsen said, "Your net to gross square footage is really whacked and you’re still compromising your goals because things are not on the same level."He said those efficiency issues are always problems when renovating instead of building new.An addition to the LEC gives it a secure garage entrance and holding cells, two major needs in the department now.A consideration in remodeling the existing facility is how operations will continue during the work.