Okla. County Commissioners Ask City To Act On Jail Site, While Del City Plans Legal Attack

Oklahoma County Commissioners were very vocal following Wednesday’s meeting, calling on the city of Oklahoma City to decide on the county’s proposed jail location near Del City.

This, as a pending lawsuit, threatens to stall the project altogether. “We need them to rise up and act on this one way or the other, really quick so that we know where we stand,” said Commissioner Brian Maughan.

Oklahoma County Commissioners know they stand united in their plea to the city council to approve a zoning request by the current owner of 1901 E. Grand Boulevard, where they hope to build the new county jail. “It has not been through planning commission yet, but we are being told from multiple sources that it is going to be continued, they're going to wait as long as they can to take it up and we really don't want that,” said Commissioner Carrie Blumert.

Commissioners say the wait puts them at risk of losing $50 million in federal funds. “We want the city to act and act as expeditiously as possible because of what's at stake, not only the $50 million but we also have the timeline for the bond,” said Maughan. “People wonder why we've already sold the bonds, it's because you have to have the money in hand before you go make an offer.”

However, they can’t make an offer until the city approves zoning. “It's a very difficult thing to vote on, they've seen how difficult it was for us to vote on and everything that's happened around it,” said Commissioner Myles Davidson. “It's one of those things they don't want to take up and we need them to take it up and we need them to lead and do the right thing.”

“We've waited a year now and that's not just because of this site, for several months we were waiting on the city to act on the airport land and that's who kind of put us in this position now, we're sort of behind the eight ball,” added Maughan.

As commissioners wait on the city, they also face a legal hurdle. “We're going to hit every button that we can hit,” said Floyd Eason, Mayor of Del City. We're fighting this thing like our lives depended on it because they do.”

Eason says the city has hired three law firms to fight the location that sits just 800 feet from the heart of his city. “We want to stop this jail from being right up against our neighborhood,” Eason said. “How would you like to have a jail in your neighborhood.”

Eason says the pending lawsuit will challenge several issues including the legality of placing a jail near nursing homes, daycare centers, and schools. “There's not another site that has as dense a population as we have with the one on Grand,” said Eason. “This location selection has been flawed from the beginning and our citizens are unified to fight this.”

If the site does not move forward, commissioners will look into backup locations. “We are continuing to drill on other sites, they are the same sites we've looked at before,” Davidson said. “We're not ready to say what those are yet but there are other sites, and we are moving forward.”

Oklahoma City released the following statement on Wednesday regarding zoning for the proposed site.

“A special permit application for the proposed Oklahoma County jail facility was filed with the City of Oklahoma City on Thursday, March 14. We are required to mail notices to property owners within 300 feet of the proposed special permit boundary at least 20 days before the Planning Commission meeting. We are moving the request through the process. We will send another statement when we have hearing dates for the Planning Commission and City Council meetings.”

Meanwhile, Del City is planning a town hall meeting regarding the jail on Tuesday, March 26 at 6 pm at the Del City Community Center.