By Sara QuamRock County Commissioners voted to take the next step toward building a new Law Enforcement Center Friday.Through a unanimous vote, commissioners directed County Attorney Don Klosterbuer and County Administrator Kyle Oldre to negotiate a contract with Paulsen Architects, Mankato, to develop plans for a new LEC.Commissioners haven’t voted on the actual project or how to fund it yet.The new LEC will probably go on county-owned land between the Family Services and Highway Department buildings on Blue Mound Avenue.The project is estimated to cost $2,122,252 with about half of it coming from bonding, the other half from reserves. Commissioner Jane Wildung said she is still against a new building project, favoring a remodeling of the current 1900 structure instead."I’m going to vote against a new construction project, but it’s my obligation to support researching the board’s options," Wildung said."I think the board needs to know what they’re getting into. If they want to do it, they’d better do it right."She said she will still be involved in a new building process as a member of the Building Committee. Also, she said, she wants to make sure the building is high quality and corners aren’t cut to save money in the short term.She uses the Rock County Family Services building (built in the 1980s) as an example."We put more money into the Human Services since it was built than we did in 100 years for the Law Enforcement Center," Wildung said.The county has plans to replace windows and doors in the Human Services Building within a few years.Commissioners still maintain that they don’t want to tear down the existing Law Enforcement Center and are trying to find an appropriate use for it.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 training and community 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.The surface of a new building would be stucco and brick. The roof would be pitched, so all mechanical systems would be inside.