WAYNESBORO, Tenn. -- Wayne County officials have launched a feasibility study to look at the possibility of building a new criminal justice center.

County Executive Jason Rich said a plan is already in place for a $3.5 million expansion of the existing jail.

"That plan would consist of a two-story addition as well as some renovations to the existing facility,'' Rich said. "To be honest, I was a little uncomfortable with that plan.''

Rich looked at some justice center plans the engineer, who is working on the jail project, had designed for another county.

"I really liked that idea. It puts everything together and really, I believe is more feasible,'' Rich said.

The price tag would be around $9 million.

The proposed facility would house 130 inmates,

all of the sheriff's department as well as the circuit court and chancery court offices.

"It would have two full court rooms and one, nonjury courtroom for general session cases,'' Rich said.

Wayne County Sheriff Ric Wilson said the proposed justice center also would address future needs of the-county jail.

"This idea is still in the very early stages, but I like what I've heard so far,'' Wilson said. "I've got 50 inmates right now, and we're licensed to house 41.

"We're literately having to turn some people away. For people who have been sentenced to serve two or three days in jail, we're giving them an appointment when to come in and serve their sentence.''

Wilson said the county has another 20 inmates that are being housed in jails in other counties.

"We've got them scattered out everywhere -- Haywood, Crockett, Marshall, Giles and Maury counties,'' he said.

Wilson said Haywood and Crockett counties are in the western part of-the state and are more than 220 miles from Waynesboro.

"We're spending $35 per day, per inmate to house them out of county. That results in more than $250,000 a year in housing costs,'' Wilson said. "That's not counting paying an officer to transport the prisoner, gasoline and the wear and tear on the vehicles."

Rich said the proposed justice center would ease overcrowding at the jail and the courthouse.

"We're overrunning (in the courthouse),'' he said. "We need storage space and people space.''

The proposed justice center would be 45,000 square feet. Rich said there is a parcel of property on the south end of the U.S. 64 bypass that could be used for the project.

Rich said that if the committee recommends moving forward with the project and the commission approves, the county would go to the bond market to borrow the money.

"All of the engineers who are looking at our situation say this appears to be the way for us to go,'' Rich said. "We're going to take a close look at the proposal to make sure this is what we need to do.''

Tom Smith can be reached at 740-5757 or tom.smith@timesdaily.com.