Oklahoma County hires contractor to build new jail; considers new sites

Oklahoma County has hired a contractor to work with architects to build the new county jail, despite not knowing where it will be built or exactly how it will be designed.

On Tuesday, the Board of County Commissioners followed staff's recommendation to hire Flintco to work with HOK to get the project built within budget. The amount Flintco will be paid is still being negotiated.

Commissioners on Tuesday also voted to eliminate two potential locations from a list of five currently being considered after hearing from landowners in Luther and Stockyards City. The board also heard from elected officials and residents who told commissioners they would prefer the jail stay downtown.

More than a dozen people addressed commissioners, with many arguing locations near where they live and work are just too far away to provide adequate services jail detainees need after they are released from the facility.

Commissioners voted unanimously to remove 60 acres of land located at 17501 NE 150, not far from Luther, from its list.

They also voted 2 to 1 to adopt a motion by Commissioner Carrie Blumert to eliminate 1901 E Grand Blvd. as a potential site. The land had been offered for about $5.42 million by Willowbrook Investments LLC and Garrett & Co. Resources LLC.

Blumert cited concerns aired by Del City and Crooked Oak schools officials and various residents when making her motion. Commissioner Myles Davidson supported her, remarking he felt Oklahoma City was trying to force the county into using that land.

Commission Chairman Brian Maughan voted no, saying he wanted to keep the site because he believed Oklahoma City likely would rezone that land for use as a jail.

More: Del City officials: Proposed jail location would 'cripple' and 'tarnish' city

Residents, leaders push back against new Oklahoma County jail locations

Most addressing the commission Tuesday criticized either proposed jail locations far away from the city's center or building the jail within Stockyards City.

Residents like Dustin Lashley, of Newalla, said the location the county is considering at SE 29 and Kickapoo Turnpike makes no sense, comments echoed by Choctaw Mayor Chad Allcox.

"Residents of Choctaw and Harrah have a tough time as it is getting support for infrastructure needs and emergency services," said Lashley, who added costs to get detainees to and from court and to get them away from the jail after their release would be "significant and wasteful."

That issue — where detainees might go after their release — was mentioned by many Luther area residents who spoke Tuesday. Others said jail deaths might increase because a jail there would be so far away from emergency medical services.

The NE 150 site was 6 miles away from the nearest convenience store, Luther area resident M.E. Nelson said.

"What are you all going to do? Just pack them a lunch and give them a bottle of water and tell them to have a good day?"

As for Stockyards City, Oklahoma National Stockyards President Jerry Reynolds told commissioners his company has no interest in selling land it owns between the cattle sales facility and May Avenue to Oklahoma County for use as a jail.

"The property currently is slated for future projects that are critical to our long-term growth and success," Reynolds said. Several other business owners in that area also argued against putting a jail there.

After Tuesday's votes, sites still active on the commissioner's list included up to 192 acres of land located between S Newcastle Road and SW 54 offered for sale by the Oklahoma City Airport Trust (though, Oklahoma City's Airport Trust on Dec. 21 rejected an offer from Oklahoma County to buy a portion of that land for $2.5 million), the Stockyards City land and the land at SE 29 and the Kickapoo Turnpike.

Before taking votes to eliminate the other two locations, Commissioner Maughan joined other commissioners in thanking those who took time to address the group before it retired into executive session to consider its options.

But he also warned it could be difficult for Oklahoma County to find a location that would please everyone, given it needs to find a willing seller with assurances the land can be properly zoned.

Schools will be a tough issue to avoid, given there are public, private, charter and even home schools spread across the county, Maughan said.

"I've never considered the presence of nearby schools to be a kill switch," he said. "No matter where we end up going, it is likely there will be a school nearby."

Oklahoma City suggestions of other potential jail sites could change potential list

Maughan also said Tuesday the county's list of potential locations could change, based in part upon a list of 10 other sites Oklahoma City provided to the county it believes might be suitable for jail locations.

The county has worked since getting the list to identify property owners to see if they have any interest in selling, Maughan said.

"Some of these are owned by LLCs, and we have been attempting to get to an actual person who could be an influencer or a decision maker," he said.

Certified letters to those parties have been mailed, Maughan said.

Oklahoma City identified 20 undeveloped and/or underdeveloped sites encompassing a mix of private and public properties inside of Oklahoma County using parameters of minimum parcel sizes of 30 acres, contiguous undeveloped land under similar ownership and a travel time of about 15 minutes or less from Oklahoma County's courthouse, then cut that list to 10 based upon how adjacent properties were used, how close they were to schools and flooding concerns.

It further classified those 10 properties into two tiers.

Tier 1 sites were ones the city deemed most suitable for zoning purposes, while Tier 2 sites might be more difficult to zone or could be harder to use because of flooding, access or environmental issues.

Maughan stressed this week that none of those landowners yet responded to inquiries about whether they might be willing to sell their properties.

Tier 1 sites include:

• About 67 acres owned by Oaks Technology Park, LLC. Its owner previously offered to sell the land to Oklahoma County as a jail location for about $37.8 million. It was later stricken from the county's list.

• About 450 acres owned by the city of Oklahoma City bordered by Sooner Road, NE 50, Air Depot and NE 36. About 300 acres of the land is unused and often floods during high-water events. The southeast quarter-mile section currently is used by the Oklahoma County Sheriff's Office as a training site.

• About 109 acres owned by HL American Investments LLC bordered by Newcastle Road and SW 59 on the south, Rockwell Avenue on the east and State Highway 152 on the north. Much of that land is inside of a 100-year flood plain.

• About 147 acres owned by the Huston Family Revocable Trust on the south side of Newcastle Road and SW 59, bordered on the east by Rockwell Avenue.

Tier 2 sites include:

• 134 acres owned by 1948 Cornerstone LLC on the northwest corner of Britton Road and Eastern Avenue. This location most recently was the planned site for Kimray's new production facility before that project was shelved. Millwood Public Schools' campus is less than two miles away.

• About 78 acres owned by Wimpy 25 LLC on the east side of Interstate 35 bordered by Thomson on the north, Coltrane Road on the east and Britton Road on the south. Part of the land is within the 100 year flood plain and another portion is a designated flood zone during heavy rain events. The land is less than 1.5 miles away from Oakdale Public Schools' campus.

• About 118 acres owned by Naija Development Group LLC, Plethora Investment LLC and the Barker Terry L Trust on land bordered by Sooner Road on the west and NE 63 on the north.

• About 56 acres owned by Northcutt Jacob Properties Inc. and DL Holdings LLC on land bordered by a creek that runs into the Oklahoma River on the west side of Bath Avenue, Reno Avenue on the south, railroad tracks on the north and N Martin Luther King Avenue on the east. A truck wash, hotel and restaurant fronting Reno and Martin Luther King already exist on the southeast corner of that mile section, while a recycling facility operates near the railroad tracks on its northeast side. An OG&E substation exists on its west side. Douglas High School is just a half mile away from the location.

• About 155 acres owned by TBP Holdings bordered by SW 74 on the north and Rockwell Avenue on the east. The site could be problematic for sewer services and is about two miles away from an elementary school in Mustang.

• About 690 acres owned by the city of Oklahoma City on land bordered by Air Depot on the west and Interstate 240 on the north. The land, part of which is used as a training center for Oklahoma City's police department, is close to Tinker Air Force Base.

The county remains willing to consider other locations Oklahoma County landowners offer, even ones that might have been previously considered and eliminated but are resubmitted with lower sales prices, Maughan said.

"It is just not up to someone who receives this in the mail room to wad it up and throw it away. These things that come seemingly out of nowhere or things you feel like have already dealt with, there is a reason those things have re-entered the conversation here," he said.

As for building a new jail downtown, Maughan said Oklahoma County would have to use eminent domain to take the land it would need and said building a new jail there would leave it facing the same types of long-term issues that plague the current jail, which has logged numerous health and safety violations and detainee deaths.

"What I am opposed to is going back to another tower. What the public may not understand is that so many of the problems you hear about with our current jail are tied to the fact that we currently are in a high-rise facility," he said.

"It wouldn't matter if you built a brand new one, you would be back into elevator issues and all kinds of things, from the quality of the food and its temperature by the time it arrives to the inmates, something the Health Department cares about — I mean, it is just stuff you never would have even thought about.

"Across the country, best practices have been to try — if land is available — to try to do one-story jail, and that is something I am committed to, personally," Maughan said.

This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: OK County selects contractor for new jail, considers additional sites