Is the hunt for a new jail in Oklahoma County costing taxpayers money? Architects say it is

Oklahoma County needs to decide soon where to build the new jail, a citizens oversight board decided Tuesday

Even though the board did not recommend a particular location, it voted to tell Oklahoma County's Board of County Commissioners "time is of the essence."

But when commissioners met the following day they were addressed by more than two dozen people arguing that at least one potential location at 1901 E Grand Blvd. — a site that could accommodate a design architects and the jail's staff prefers — would not be a workable location.

Jail operator Oklahoma County Criminal Justice Authority and designers REES and HOK would prefer a location large enough to allow for a single-story jail to be built.

Two options were before commissioners Wednesday — one brought forward by Brian Maughan proposing to remove Stockyards City land from consideration as a jail site, and one brought forward by Myles Davidson proposing to pursue negotiations to buy the Grand Boulevard land.

After an executive session lasting about two hours, the commissioners voted to recess their meeting until later the same day, choosing to send Davidson to meet with Oklahoma City officials with questions about what locations the city might be willing to appropriately zone for a new jail — if any.

Could the new jail be located downtown? Yes, with added construction and operational costs

Curt Pardee, a principal with HOK, discussed challenges associated with building a new jail downtown with bond oversight board members Tuesday. Farooq Karim, the director of design with REES, gave commissioners the same information when they met Wednesday.

They said only about 10 acres of land immediately to the north of the jail's existing 8-acre site is immediately available to be purchased. Oklahoma County also would need to acquire land between the jail and Classen Boulevard to make room for future growth.

More: 'Fish or cut bait': Clock ticking on OK County commissioners to select site for new jail

They said a jail with 1,800 beds built north of the existing building downtown would:

• Take longer to build because of a lack of laydown space for construction materials, because of risks tearing the old building down would pose to the new building and because of time and costs it might take to acquire the needed land. "The existing site already is completely used. It would just make it more difficult to work around," Pardee said.

• Be at least four stories in height with two tiers on each level and require multiple elevators, something Oklahoma County would prefer to avoid. "Elevators have been a big concern for the county," Pardee said.

• Need a deep foundation because of poor soil, adding more expense to the project. "If this is a $300 million project, it could add $30 million in costs and likely more. It is something to consider," Pardee said.

• Restrict opportunities to use natural lighting. "it is important as we are talking about how to best treat those who are receiving behavioral health care that they receive the most natural light as possible," he said.

• Require the closing of a portion of Robert S. Kerr Avenue. "It would take some time to do that," Pardee said.

• Lack needed room to muster inmates if the main building had to be evacuated for some reason.

• Make it more difficult to keep a behavioral health center for both detainees and other, non-arrested patients proposed as part of the new project (and being paid for by federal American Rescue Plan Act dollars) physically outside of the secure building. "You don't want a behavioral health center inside of the jail," Pardee said.

• Jeopardize the use of the federal funds, which must be allocated by the end of 2024 for a project that must be opened by the end of 2026. "We have to move forward so we can meet those deadlines," Pardee said.

"Those are issues with the existing site and why we feel like it makes a lot of sense for the county to look elsewhere," said Pardee.

Pardee and Karim also showed the board and commissioners potential design layouts HOK could pursue on a large, relatively flat piece of property that would allow for separate public entrances for the behavioral health center and jail, plus showed them renderings of what Oklahoma County's new jail could look like from the outside.

"It is important to understand jails today are different than they were 30 or 40 years ago," Pardee said.

Community activist Jess Eddy, a proponent of building the new jail downtown, called the presentation a "hatchet job" designed to deter commissioners from following their best option, given a new jail there would remain close to the courthouse, a large police presence and numerous social service groups that work with detainees after they are released from the building.

"The downtown location was not supported with the advantages. The last time I spoke with Bob Ravitz, he said downtown is the only way to go," Eddy said.

Commissioners' meeting prompts renewed concerns from Del City

After holding a community forum at its city hall on Tuesday, various elected and appointed leaders representing Del City addressed commissioners Wednesday to voice their continued opposition to having a jail built just outside of their community.

Previously, the community has presented various reasons why Del City opposes placing a new jail at 1901 E Grand Boulevard.

Loyd A. Berger, Del City's police chief, issued a release Tuesday stating he believed a jail there would "decimate the economic development of this city, facilitate a sharp increase of the homeless population in the vicinity, and put a strain on city resources that would be financially unsustainable for a city of our size.

"As the police department, our primary goal is to ensure the safety of our citizens who reside here. Let’s be clear, this proposed location would cause a potentially unprecedented threat on the public safety of our residents," Berger said.

On Wednesday, various Del City council members, members of the Midwest City-Del City board of education, that school district's superintendent and numerous area residents addressed commissioners to share the same concerns.

Kyle Gandy said a jail on Grand Boulevard would be about 1,500 feet from where his 98-year-old grandmother lives.

"Every time I have a conversation with her she is crying, wondering what this is going to do to her community," Gandy said. "This is something that would destroy our community."

Del City council members Michael Dean and Scott Tatum questioned whether building a jail on Grand Boulevard would violate state restrictions against sex offenders residing within 2,000 feet of a school.

Tatum also told commissioners he believed some people being held inside the county jail were very evil and posed a significant public threat — a comment he later apologized for after it drew a stern rebuke from Commissioner Carrie Blumert, who reminded speakers most detainees in the county jail are just ordinary people who have not been convicted of a crime who were arrested after making a bad decision.

"Don't build this on the back of our kids," said Gina Standridge, a member of Midwest City-Del City's school board.

Del City Vice-Mayor Pam Finch agreed, saying a jail on Grand Boulevard would kill Del City's economic growth and endanger children who attend schools nearby.

"It shouldn't be about the money. It should be about the people," Finch said.

Del City Councilwoman Claudia Browne told those who attended the forum she felt like the commissioners were pitting one part of Oklahoma County against another if if moved forward to approve both items before commissioners Wednesday.

"Is it because we are poor, or you don't like us? Because we are all brown? I don't want to fight the Stockyards, but it seems to me cattle are more important than us," she told them.

"This is a very passionate community. We care about our neighborhoods, our schools and our identity. That is really what this all comes down to today," Rick Cobb, superintendent of the Midwest City-Del City school system, told commissioners Wednesday.

Robert Koon, who told commissioners he had lived at SE 21 and Bryant Avenue for 47 years and had done everything he could to support Del City, said the last time Oklahoma City had looked at the Grand site to do anything was when it built Hamilton Courts, a public housing project opened there in 1969, which ultimately was closed in 1980 after widespread problems involving its maintenance and crimes.

"You all know what happened to that."

Oklahoma State Rep. Andy Fugate, D-Oklahoma City, told commissioners Oklahoma City has neglected areas in its community outside of Del City's city limits for decades.

"Our signature improvement from Oklahoma City is what we call trash mountain, at SE 59 and Bryant. While other parts of Oklahoma City have flourished, we have been abandoned," Fugate said. "Today, we are here once again, like it's Ground Hog Day."

Fugate said Oklahoma City's closest police station is miles away from the Grand Boulevard site, compared to one being right next door to the current jail site, and said that while there are schools close to the current jail, that's not the same.

"Those kids don't walk to school. Ours do," Fugate said.

Price, Fugate told commissioners, should not be the driving factor behind the county's decision.

"Preying on a tiny community is simply wrong. It's always wrong," Fugate said.

Why is time important in building a new county jail? Construction costs are climbing

Stacey Trumbo, Oklahoma County's engineer, told board members construction costs in Oklahoma climbed 23% in 2023, according to an engineering periodical that tracks that data.

Jeff Bradley, global director of HOK's Justice practice, agreed, telling board members: "It's millions of dollars every month" while the hunt for a jail location by Oklahoma County continues.

The Citizens Oversight Bond Advisory Board, with Pat McCoy absent, unanimously supported member Sandino Thompson's motion to urge Oklahoma County's Board of County Commissioners to decide where to build the new jail soon.

"It's not like we can tell them what to do, but if it is helpful that we line out we do concur with what we have been told about some of the challenges the current timeline poses," he said.

Thompson said that without selecting a site, pricing and schedule won't be firmed up, so making a decision soon could help control costs.

"We have given our recommendations for locations, and they have a challenging decision to make there," he said. "We need to give them affirmation that we are at the point where we need to try to control costs and not lose access to the ARPA funds."

This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Jail project costs climb as county continues search for jail location