Last Updated on January 11, 2024, 3:39 PM | Published: January 11, 2024
OKLAHOMA CITY — With more cowboy hats in the room than most Board of Oklahoma County Commissioners meetings, more black pastors than usual, plus a City of OKC Council member ready to take it all on again, it was obvious that another meeting would be dominated by jail concerns.
Added to those, a large contingent from Del City, including one of their city council members, came to the meeting to oppose a site at 1901 E. Grand Blvd that is just over the city limits line into OKC.
The room was packed, with people standing around three walls.
That wide cross-section of people had one thing in common: opposition to at least one of the sites in consideration for the new county jail.
That is, there have been objections to nearly all the other sites except for the current jail site.
The problem for the commissioners all along has been that most of the sites in consideration had their own set of opponents because there were strong long-term neighborhoods nearby.
For about the last eight to ten months, no matter what site went onto the list for consideration, more people from the county would show up and have an objection to it.
And no-one, to this reporter’s knowledge, has tried to argue that the current 13-floor, high-rise county jail downtown is just fine, and we ought to stick with it. The facility has posed insurmountable design problems from the first year it was occupied.
County voters approved a bond to replace the jail back in June 2022.
So, in general, county residents have already agreed that there needs to be a new jail.
But, it turns out that the hardest part has been to find a site that is close enough to the courthouse downtown, with enough space for a one-story facility, with adequate water/sewer services, with transportation for released detainees, that does not offend the neighbors by its presence.
That’s a tall order.
Stockyards idea opposed
The many cowboy hats in the room were from livestock company agents and leaders of the Oklahoma National Stockyards, who are new to the debate. The Stockyards are an unincorporated area located just south of the Oklahoma River between S. May and S. Agnew, down to SW 15th.
What is referred to as “Stockyards City” is a section of Oklahoma City historically associated with the stockyards and the meat-packing plants that used to be there, but just to the east of the Stockyards and in Oklahoma City limits.
Ben Hale spoke on behalf of the nine livestock commission companies that are part of the livestock exchange that makes the heavy volume of livestock sales possible each week.
Hale is the owner of the Western Livestock Commission, one of the nine livestock commission companies that operate at the Oklahoma National Stockyards, and president of the Livestock Exchange at the Stockyards. He spoke representing the interests of the commission companies.
In the public comments part of the meeting, Hale spoke out against the idea being floated for the Commissioners to declare eminent domain and force a sale of the property, which he said is owned by the Stockyards company.
He emphasized the historic significance of the Stockyards, while pointing out the continued viability of the Stockyards as a contemporary business.
The open land the Stockyards owns is along the western 1/4 of the roughly square parcel that makes up the Stockyards.
After the public comments, Free Press asked Hale why the Stockyards company and the Exchange are fighting the sale of what is undeveloped and seemingly unused land.
“Number one, it don’t need to be taken,” Hale told us. “And, number two, if it is taken, and then we need it … that pushes you out of business, because the stockyards company owns it.”
Hale said that he doesn’t own the land but is speaking up to stop the forced sale because the Stockyards company might need it in the future for “a detention pond” or other use and if they don’t have the land to use it might drive the Stockyards out of business.
Eastside concerns continue
Oklahoma City Ward 7 City Council member Nikki Nice came back once again to object to yet another site close to the historically black Douglass High School at NE 8th and MLK.
Nice and a representative of the black Eastside pastors present both emphasized the negative effect on their youth of having a jail in the area.
Previously, the pastors spoke out against an idea for putting the jail near I-35 and NE 10th. That site was then removed from the list of possible sites.
Wednesday, they were back to object once again. This time they were against a spot near the intersection of Martin Luther King, Avenue and E. Reno Ave.
This meeting was the first time the new Eastside site had been listed on the agenda, and so there was heightened concern from residents and their pastors nearby about what seemed to be a persistent drumbeat to put a jail within blocks of historic Douglass High School and Moon Middle School just a few more blocks north.
Pastor: ‘It’s just not fair to the community’
Free Press caught the group of pastors in the hallway and talked with them about their objections.
Dr. J.A. Reed, Senior Pastor of Fairview Missionary Baptist Church in the John F. Kennedy neighborhood just north of the Reno and MLK site under consideration Wednesday, commented.
“I don’t know why we have to keep coming down here,” said Reed. “What our city councilwoman said a few minutes ago, what should happen, is they should keep the jail in the area where it is. It’s a simple thing.”
We asked why he thinks they keep having to come and protest.
“[It’s] because that’s what they’ve been doing … forever. I’ve been in Oklahoma City for 61 years. I’m in my sixty-first year at Fairview church, and every time something happens, it’s always in northeast Oklahoma City. And we’re just upset today. It’s just not fair to the community.”
The other pastors in the group nodded in agreement with what Reed was saying and had no other comments.
What about the current site downtown?
Attorney Jess Eddy rose to criticize the commissioners for not working harder to examine how the current jail site could be used.
He said that the people of Oklahoma County “need to know what other interests have impacted this process about the most pressing issue Oklahoma County government has ever faced.”
Eddy said that the current site has been “essentially off the table” in the process of choosing a site for the new jail.
“I’m under the impression that the current site is not being considered because certain commercial interests with considerable stroke in the city has their eye on developing that property,” said Eddy.
“And, I’m here to object to this commercial interest overcoming this public interest,” Eddy continued. “It is clearly having a detrimental impact on this process and these communities.”
He closed by urging the commissioners to do a thorough site analysis of the current location “with all earnestness.”
So far, the current jail site is not in active consideration officially and is not on the commissioners’ list.
Board President and Commissioner Brian Maughan told Free Press Thursday that the current jail site is considered “cost prohibitive” and would involve going to a tower design.
Maughan said that the original one-story design offered as an option for the current site early when the Criminal Justice Advisory Council was doing research would involve purchasing neighboring land, which some owners are not willing to sell.
He said that they could use eminent domain to force a sale, but that at least he would not be open to purchasing any site using eminent domain “when there are other landowners in the county who are willing to sell.”
Sites taken off the list
Four of the sites taken off the list by the end of the meeting were:
- 42 acres located at Reno Ave and MLK Blvd offered for sale by Sarah Strawn.
- 71 acres of land located at 1901 E. Grand Boulevard resubmitted for sale by
- 63 acres of land located at SE 29th Street west of the Kickapoo Turnpike and resubmitted for sale by Tsalagi Development LLC, Randy Goodman, Managing Member.
- Up to 192 acres of land located between South Newcastle Road and SW 54th Street and offered for sale by the Oklahoma City Airport Trust was officially taken off the list Wednesday after Commissioners accepted the Airport Trust’s official rejection of any offer. This had been previously announced.
Sites still under consideration
The following sites continue to be under consideration:
- Up to 80 acres located near I40 and I44 in unincorporated Oklahoma County (Stockyards land);
- 160 acres located at the southwest corner of SW 74th & Rockwell offered for sale by Jason Thomas.
In addition, Maughan told Free Press that they are still actively seeking new site ideas right up until time to select one.
Free Press will continue to cover developments.
Founder, publisher, and editor of Oklahoma City Free Press. Brett continues to contribute reports and photography to this site as he runs the business.
