County adding more jail site options
Owners of two properties suggested by Oklahoma City to Oklahoma County as potential jail locations are interested in selling their land.
Commissioners have those sites and others to consider this week as pressure mounts to select a location for the new jail and mental health center to avoid losing up to $50 million in federal funds earmarked for the project.
The agenda for the Board of County Commissioners’ Wednesday meeting shows Jason Thomas is offering the county about 160 acres owned by TBP Holdings bordered by SW 74 on the north and Rockwell Avenue on the east as a potential location.
An evaluation by Oklahoma City indicated the site could be problematic because of a lack of available sewer service.
The other property, 42 acres just northwest of the intersection of Reno Avenue and Martin Luther King Avenue owned by Northcutt Jacob Properties Inc. is being offered by Sarah Strawn, the preliminary agenda shows.
That land, generally 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, has a truck wash, hotel and restaurant fronting Reno and Martin Luther King, a recycling facility that operates near the railroad tracks on its northwest side and an Oklahoma Gas and Electric Co. substation on its west side as neighbors.
Oklahoma City indicated that site might be problematic because Douglass High School is located just a half mile north of the location.
Neither proposed site has an offered sale price included as part of the preliminary meeting agenda.
Other locations still on the county’s list include:
h Up to 192 acres located between S Newcastle Road and SW 54 offered for sale by the Oklahoma City Airport Trust (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).
h A 63-acre parcel initially offered for sale for about $7.5 million near SE 29 and the Kickapoo Turnpike owned by Tsalagi Development.
h Up to 80 acres on the west side of Stockyards City, a location that Commissioner Myles Davidson prefers.
While Oklahoma National Stockyards President Jerry Reynolds and several area property owners object to Davidson’s Stockyards idea, the commissioner said he believes bringing a jail to May Avenue’s east side between SW 15 and SW 8 could help the area grow.
The county could use ARPA funds previously designated for building the mental health treatment center as part of the jail to drill a water well, install a new water tower and upgrade water and sewer services inside of the Stockyards City district, Davidson said.
The ARPA funds could be used to build parking for the center and to equip it with furniture and fixtures, “things we could stockpile,” he said.
Beyond that, building a new jail there could save taxpayers money because no city permits would be required and because the county could save at least $300,000 annually in operations costs, just through water-related savings.
The project could bring up to $600 million of new investment into that area (including the jail and mental health center), primarily through the relocation of bail bond and attorneys offices located near the jail’s current location, the commissioner said.
Meanwhile, Oklahoma County could establish a tax increment finance district for its current jail on Shartel Avenue to potentially generate revenue it could use to operate the new facility, he suggested.
Stockyards City entities fear the county’s use of eminent domain in assembling a location there, one local representative said.
Ben Hale, president of the Oklahoma City Livestock Exchange – a group representing the nine commission firms operating there – said the county’s use of that power would have a profound impact on the livestock commission firms, and in turn, the surrounding businesses that benefit from sale-day traffic, as well as the thousands of livestock producers who rely on the venue.
“If our business can’t be successful long-term, what happens to the restaurants and shops in this historic district?” he said. “What happens to the cattlemen and cattlewomen who depend on us? A decision like this has far-reaching consequences, and there must be a better option.”
While the use of eminent domain may not be commissioners’ first choice, Davidson said he isn’t sure yet it would be needed, plus said commissioners have been willing to use it in the past when they needed to acquire land to improve roads, bridges and for other projects.
Oklahoma County already has pushed past the point of return on being able to use the $50 million of American Rescue Plan Act funds toward building a new mental health facility as part of a new jail, Davidson believes.
COVID-19 related supply issues for both materials and labor have pushed the county beyond being able to get the project completed by the end of 2026, he said, given he expects actually building and completing even just a new mental health center will take two years, at minimum.
“My concern is, the construction piece of this is a moving target at all times — weather will slow down the construction of this like nobody’s business. We have to be mindful of that. I don’t know if we are any closer to picking a location today than we were six or nine months ago,” Davidson said.
“That deadline has come and gone. I think we need to look at other ways to use that ARPA money to benefit us in building a new jail (and its mental health component) so that we don’t lose that money,” Davidson said.
“We have to govern. We have to lead. We have to choose to make the difficult choice and put it into the best location we can for all citizens of the county. Going to the Stockyards is a no-brainer to me,” he said.
“The construction piece of this is a moving target at all times. ... I don’t know if we are any closer to picking a location today than we were six or nine months ago.” Commissioner Myles Davidson