VIDALIA — The Concordia Parish Sheriff’s Office is expanding its operations into Vidalia after officials signed a lease this week to use the former Vidalia Police Department building on John Dale Drive.

Chief Deputy David Hedrick said he and Sheriff Kenneth Hedrick signed a four-year lease for the building Wednesday, which will soon be the new home for the sheriff’s investigators.

“We have been looking at expanding our offices for some time, and we didn’t want to spend the parish’s money to build another building when there’s a perfectly good building for lease,” Hedrick said. “Right now, our criminal and juvenile investigators will be out there, but we will expand our operations there over time.”

The building was supposed to be used as a substation for the Vidalia Police Department after it — and other city departments — moved to the new municipal complex on U.S. 84.

Several VPD officers, a desk sergeant, TRIAD and school resource officers were supposed to stay at the John Dale Drive building to help spread the department across the city.

Police Chief Arthur Lewis declined to comment on the lease signing.

Vidalia Mayor Hyram Copeland did not return phone messages for comment.

The police department is now housed in an 8,000-square-foot building at the municipal complex.

Hedrick said the sheriff’s office investigators would begin moving into the building as early as this week.

The Concordia Parish Sheriff’s Office employs approximately 300 people — with two correctional facilities housing more than 1,000 inmates combined and has an annual, self-sustaining budget of nearly $15 million.