Del City students express concern over possible jail location so close to their community
OKLAHOMA COUNTY, Okla. (KFOR) – Wednesday morning’s Oklahoma County Commissioner meeting drew in another big crowd again, but this time, even students showed up to voice their concerns, hoping to strike their town from the list of possible jail locations.
“A prison that close would cause pain, parental concerns and a loss of business,” said Jevon Cooper, Del City High School student.
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“The average income per family in my city is barely above the federal poverty line. We do not have the resources to accommodate these changes. Our city has worked really hard to improve our community,” said Lilyanna Reece, Del City High School student.
On Wednesday morning, there was no motion to remove any jail sites from the list of possibilities at the meeting. That’s because they were not on the agenda.
Right now, the current jail location in downtown Oklahoma City and the site at East Grand and 15th Street in southeast Oklahoma City remain on the list.
City leaders, educators, moms, business owners, pastors and now even students from the Mid-Del community pleading again with county officials to remove the jail site in Southeast Oklahoma City off the list for good.
“Listen to the kids. They are our future,” said Jim Hightower, giving public comment.
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Many of the public comments referred to the current jail site. People are asking why that location isn’t being heavily considered.
“I’m fed up with coming down here and fighting to have this removed from the list, from your list. And you know, what we’ve got is the current jail,” said Hightower.
The current jail location is the only other location up against the site in southeast Oklahoma City. But Oklahoma county officials say there are a lot of reasons that site is not a viable option.
“We’d have to have about 12 or so people willing to sell. If not, we got to do eminent domain and take it away from them. Then we’d have to build about ten and 12 stories tall… It’s so limited in space and people look at it and they think, well, this is easy… We don’t have the money to go up,” said Myles Davidson, Oklahoma County Commissioner.
Oklahoma County Commissioner Myles Davidson says it’s been hard finding locations that can meet their specific requirements and the location in southeast Oklahoma City is their best option right now.
“I actually supported removing Grand initially because I didn’t want it that close to the school property. But working with the school and finding solutions and bringing those solutions forward, I think it’s the best spot that we’ve got right now,” said Davidson.
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Oklahoma County Commissioners are hoping to find solutions to the objections the Mid-Del community has focused on. If the jail ends up on the property in southeast Oklahoma City, county officials would work to increase Oklahoma City Police presence surrounding the jail site and add public transportation.
Davidson says they are even talking with the surrounding school district to come up with a solution.
“Those are issues that we’ve addressed. We will be providing transportation. We will be able to place a bus stop. These people will not be staying in the area. They will be going back to where they came from… We’ve looked at adding, let’s see, a substation from Oklahoma City Police Department. We’ve spoken with them. We’ve spoken with Crooked Oaks schools about moving their facilities, their $24 million bond issue. They’re in support of that,” said Davidson.
Oklahoma County Commissioners say time is running out to make a decision. They have to use ARPA funds by the end of this year. So, they do plan on making a decision very soon. However, there could be more locations added back to the list of possibilities next week.
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