Oklahoma County Jail Construction: Controversies, legal battles, and rising costs

A timeline detailing the major milestones, legal battles, and rising costs surrounding the construction of a new Oklahoma County Detention Center, as county commissioners face challenges and community pushback.

Thursday, January 23rd 2025, 10:48 pm

By: Carrie Winchel, Matt McCabe

The job of building a new Oklahoma County Detention Center has been at the center of many meetings, debates, protests and even lawsuits over the past three years. Here is a timeline detailing major milestones as county commissioners face the consequences of a long wait and the rising costs inflation brings.

Oklahoma County voters approved a bond to fund a new jail in June 2022

The $260 million jail bond passed with nearly 60% of the vote, agreeing with commissioners that a new jail was needed to replace the more than 30-year-old facility in downtown Oklahoma City.

Report on conditions at the Oklahoma County Jail released in March 2023

The report from a multi-county grand jury cited problems such as inmate deaths, drugs in the jail, and unsafe facilities at the 13-story building. This report renewed a push for a new county jail.

Related Coverage on the report:

The search for a new jail location brings many options

Commissioners began to look at possible locations for the new Oklahoma County Jail in 2023.

Some possible locations included land near the Will Rogers International Airport (Then the Will Rogers World Airport) and property near Stockyards City.

Neighbors in northeast Oklahoma City spoke against a possible jail location near Northeast 10th and I-35. The Stockyards possibility was also met with opposition.

Ultimately, in Feb. 2024, commissioners decided to build the new Oklahoma County jail at 1901 East Grand Boulevard, not far from the Del City city limits.

Just days later, Del City Councilors voted to explore legal options, as protests from citizens there continued.

Del City Mayor Floyd Eason said he and his residents were adamantly against the new jail location on East Grand Boulevard, and said it would put the jail too close to Del City’s homes, schools and nursing homes.

Oklahoma City Council denied the jail’s zoning permit in May 2024

Even after members of the Oklahoma City Planning Commission approved a permit for the County Jail site at Grand Boulevard in a 5-2 vote, the plans fell apart in the next step.

City Councilors voted to deny the special permit for the proposed location.

Original Story: Oklahoma City Council Denies Proposed Jail Location In Vote

Oklahoma County sues Oklahoma City over denial of zoning permit in June 2024

In the lawsuit, the county claimed its sovereignty over the issue and said it had a duty to provide a safe jail.

The county asked the court to block the city from denying any zoning or permits that delay or prevent the county from building a jail and mental health facility at the proposed site along East Grand Boulevard.

Budgets bring a reality check for commissioners in Sept. 2024

It was in Sept. when commissioners voted to allow the Bond Oversight Committee time to evaluate potential ways to bring in more funding for the jail.

At the time, they told News 9 the current chunk of funding would only cover 700 beds in the new jail while a recent count of detainees in the current jail sits at 1600.

"It can't be a surprise to you that the price of lettuce is double what it was two years ago. Similarly, so are construction projects," Commissioner Brian Maughan said.

Cost concerns continued at the Oct. 2024 budget board meeting

Read More: Budget Board Meeting Sparks Debate On Funding New State-Of-The-Art Jail In Oklahoma County

Plans for a state-of-the-art facility were presented at the Oklahoma County Budget Board meeting in early October.

However, county leaders warned that if they can’t bridge the nearly $300 million shortfall, the Department of Justice may have to step in and construct the facility at an even higher cost to taxpayers.

The county said, at the time, it aimed to have the jail built within the next three years to prevent federal intervention.

Oklahoma Attorney General Gentner Drummond weighs in in Dec. 2024

Attorney General Gentner Drummond issued a formal opinion regarding the lawsuit between the county and the city. Drummond sided with the county and concluded Oklahoma County has legal immunity from Oklahoma City’s zoning regulations in the ongoing dispute over the location of the new jail.

Original Story: Oklahoma County Jail Update: Oklahoma AG Says County Can Build Jail Without City Approval

The opinion clarified while Oklahoma County is not a "superior sovereign" to Oklahoma City, the county’s statutory obligations to construct and operate a jail outweigh the city’s zoning concerns.

Oklahoma County dropped the lawsuit against Oklahoma City in Jan. 2025.

ARPA-funded mental health center faced a looming deadline in Dec. 2024

Oklahoma County Commissioners wanted the health center to be on the same property as the jail, though the ARPA funds from the federal government did not require it. The money had to be allocated by the end of 2024, and the health center had to be finished by Dec. 2026.

County Commissioner Brian Maughan told News 9 on December 31, 2024 that the Attorney General’s ruling cleared the way for the vote on the mental health facility on the day of the deadline for the money to be allocated.

New sales tax in Oklahoma County becomes a possibility after bond oversight board backs plan in Jan. 2025

Members of the Citizens Bond Oversight Advisory Board voted unanimously to recommend a county sales tax to help fund the construction of a new jail.

Board chairman, Steve Mason, said the group became aware about a year ago the voter-approved bond would not cover the full costs of the project.

"It's a difficult situation because the option of doing nothing, we have this inhumane jail. It's had two deaths this year," Mason said. "It's in the paper twice a month about 'it's not a great place to be.' And we have the overriding threat of the Department of Justice coming here. They've been talking to the community, the Board of County Commissioners, for about 18 years, with this overriding threat, at some point, the Department of Justice may come in here and say, 'enough is enough.'"

The current bond for the project is $260 million, but county commissioners estimate the total cost to exceed $700 million. The proposed sales tax would bridge the funding gap necessary to complete the project, board members said.

Next, Oklahoma County Commissioners will review the measure before it can be presented to voters in an election.