Flathead County officials are looking into purchasing a former Walmart building that has been sitting vacant in Evergreen since 2010.

They have a plan for the site, but are still in the preliminary stages of negotiation.

“When the idea was proposed, it was pretty interesting,” said Flathead County Sheriff Chuck Curry. “We’re always looking for new and innovative ways to save taxpayers some money.”

Curry is referring to a potential solution to overcrowding in the county jail. The sheriff’s office, in addition to the detention center, could relocate to the former Walmart building.

If the project moves forward, county officials would repurpose the 90,000 square-foot site.

“Kind of like putting Legos together,” said Curry. “There are lots of new technologies that can be more cost-effective than an actual brick-and-mortar structure.”

The county would issue further study and community input prior to buying the site. Flathead commissioners told NBC Montana that they have yet to determine a purchase price for the project.

If the county does buy the site, the former Walmart building could be a long-term solution to overcrowding in the jail.

In 1987, the jail was built to house 63 inmates. Currently, the detention center regularly holds over 100 people.

The jail has become so crowded law enforcement officials often have to turn away nonviolent offenders when there isn’t enough space.

“We’re trying to look a ways into the future,” said Curry. “Not just (to) solve our immediate problems for five or six years, and then leave the problems for somebody else further down the road.”

County commissioners said it costs between $15 million and $22 million to add an additional 100 beds to the jail.