OKLAHOMA COUNTY (KFOR) - The next home for the Oklahoma County Jail is still up in the air. On Monday morning, Oklahoma County Commissioners dug deeper into their “plan B.”
After progress has stalled on their original pick, north of the airport, commissioners say they are waiting on a response from the Federal Aviation Administration to approve the location.
In the meantime, county officials added three more sites to the list.
Oklahoma County Commissioners are looking at a property on East Grand Boulevard, the current jail location, and a site at Northeast 10th Street and I-35.
That third location is one many surrounding neighborhoods oppose. Several community members told officials on Monday morning, there’s no place for a jail in their community.
“The neighborhood that I grew up in, the neighborhood that I still live in, is being considered basically as a dumping ground for something that no other community wants. It is very, very disappointing,” said Kevin Maxwell, third generation living in Northeast Oklahoma City.
Neighbors in Northeast Oklahoma City shared their concerns with county leaders about the possibility of building a new jail at Northeast 10th and I-35.
“You have at least five neighborhoods that are affected, three are very historical,” said Denyvetta Davis, represents 18 northeast Oklahoma City neighborhoods.
However, County Commissioners say they are still hopeful on the airport location.
“Well, I can tell you that there was not a discussion executive session about the Northeast location,” said Myles Davidson, Oklahoma County Commissioner in District 3.
Commissioner Myles Davidson adds they are looking at properties near the Stockyards but stressed, “We will not be asking the stockyards to close down one of the largest cattle operations in the country... I hope people understand that we would not, as commissioners, directly impact a multi-billion-dollar industry to the state of Oklahoma.”
Davidson said other properties near the airport are being considered as well.
“There is sections of it that have been long in disrepair that I think we might be able to look at to work with some people to maybe purchase,” said Davidson.
Davidson adds they are looking at all options as other Oklahoma County property owners have expressed interest over the weekend.
“We're just allowing people to contact their commissioners and say, hey, I've got a piece of property. And that's really kind of the way that it's going,” said Davidson.
Meanwhile, those living near the proposed I-35 and Northeast 10th site say a jail would be detrimental.
“The Northeast community, has been working for a long time to build up their community, their vitality, to build their economic infrastructure and to build up their neighborhoods. When you put a jail in the middle of a community, it has the effect of deterring economic investment and reducing property values. And so, it's just not something that we can afford as a city... The Northeast community isn't the richest community in Oklahoma City. And so, I would ask Oklahoma City to think about a jail being proposed for Nichols Hills and what kind of kickback that would cause,” said Jess Eddy, community advocate.
State Representative Jason Lowe said the current jail site seems the most reasonable.
“The current location is a specific location for the county jail. We have done it before as far as building next to current sites,” said Jason Lowe, House Representative.
Commissioner Blumert told KFOR she is not in favor of the location.
“I’ve been pretty open that I will not vote for that or support that,” said Carrie Blumert, Oklahoma County Commissioner in District 1.
Blumert also issued a statement saying she will make a motion at the next meeting to strike the northeast Oklahoma City location off the list.
As I have stated previously, I am opposed to locating the jail at any site within Northeast Oklahoma City. I remain confident we can find a site that meets the needs of all stakeholders without inflicting continued harm on Northeast Oklahoma City.
This location, as well as others, are back on the agenda because we are still awaiting word from the FAA and Oklahoma City on our offer to purchase land at the airport. While I have never wavered in my opposition to locating the jail in Northeast Oklahoma City, and I have no intention of reversing course now, I have received calls, emails, and heard from citizens at our BOCC meetings about this once again appearing on our agenda.
In order to further make clear my opposition, I will offer a motion at our next BOCC meeting to strike that verbiage from our agenda and once and for all put to rest any notion of locating the jail in Northeast Oklahoma City. I trust my colleagues feel the same way.
Commissioner Carrie Blumert, District 1
Oklahoma County Commissioners hope to choose a location by the end of this year as the clock is ticking to use federal funds.
On Friday, the FAA sent KFOR a statement saying, “The FAA is reviewing the Oklahoma City Airport’s request regarding the proposed Oklahoma County Jail project.”
They also said, “Land use requests are complex and require review of the local zoning, non-aeronautical airport land uses and grant assurance compliance.”
