Johnson County’s Criminal Justice Coordinating Committee met Wednesday to discuss plans for a new criminal justice center.

Talks about a new building have been going on for well over a decade, but officials are now saying enough is enough.

“We’ve looked into all kinds of alternative programs to get by,” said Pat Harney, the chairman of both the Johnson County Board of Supervisors and the Joint Emergency Communications Center Policy Board. “We’ve dealt with different ways of transporting and handling prisoners, but we just can’t do that anymore.”

Harney said the supervisors are contacting numerous architectural firms to do preliminary work and get estimates. Plans so far call for a $39 million bond — which does include costs of remodeling — though that cost may be lower when designs are completed.

“We hope to have things ready to put before the voters in 2012,” Harney said.

— by Brian Albert