Bids reopen on land offered for new OK County Jail

Last Updated on August 6, 2023, 2:59 AM | Published: August 1, 2023

OKLAHOMA CITY — The Oklahoma County Commissioners have reopened the public bidding portal for a new Oklahoma County Detention Center and Mental Health Facility.

Commissioners made the decision in a special meeting of the Board of County Commissioners Tuesday.

The Oklahoma County Citizens Oversight Advisory Board has determined that to ensure the most efficient use of tax dollars, the Board of County Commissioners should be presented with additional land options.

The reopening of the Request for Proposals allows officials to consider sites that were not submitted by the initial deadline, as well as sites that have not been submitted due to the portal closure.

Steve Mason, the chair of the Oklahoma County Citizens Bond Oversight Advisory Committee, requested Tuesday that four proposed locations submitted by the March 2023 deadline be removed from the list of potential locations.

“We are hoping to move forward with this project as quickly as possible,” said Commissioner Brian Maughan. “We have a deadline to use federal grant money that will help secure a location and build the facility, however, we need to do our due diligence to make sure that we have not left any viable option off the table.”

Successful proposed sites will be between forty (40) and eighty (80) acres in Oklahoma County and cannot be closer than one thousand (1,000) feet to any public or private elementary or secondary school. The members of the bond oversight board, the county’s engineer, and representatives from the county’s approved architectural firm, HOK, will evaluate all submitted locations.

All proposals must be submitted by 9 a.m. on August 23, 2023, and will be opened by the Board of County Commissioners in room 204 at that time.

There is a link to the Request for Proposal and submission criteria at https://www.oklahomacounty.org/departments/purchasing#bids.

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