Canadian County Commissioners will present a $17.9 million blueprint for a new jail in the coming weeks to members of the steering committee appointed to study the issue.
While Distrct 2 Commissioner David Anderson and District 1 Commissioner Phil Carson, said they want to move forward with presenting the revised plan to voters, their first step is not meeting with committee members — it's determining who those individuals might be.
“I'm not sure who was on it,” Carson said during the commissioners' meeting Monday. “Who was the chairman of the committee?”
Yukon City Manager Jim Crosby served as chairman of the committee, which was formed by commissioners in June 2008, roughly three weeks after voters rejected a $24.8 million jail proposal. The board was originally composed of Crosby, El Reno resident Debbie Harrison, Piedmont Police Chief Jerry Koester, Yukon National Bank President Randy Wright, Canadian County Free Fair Board Chairman Dan Wedman, Canadian County District Judge Edward Cunningham and then-Sheriff Lewis Hawkins. The committee held its first meeting in July 2008.
Members met several times between July and October last year, and as meetings continued, the face of the committee changed. Wright only attended a few initial meetings, while former Mustang City Manager David Cockrell joined the group. The committee went on hiatus in October 2008 after learning that Sheriff Randall Edwards planned to pursue a federal study of jail operations when he took office in January. They have not met for more than a year, although the study by the National Institute of Corrections was conducted in January.
The delay facing committee members for several months was the fact there was no firm plan to consider. Edwards and Jennifer Graumann, Canadian County jail administrator, were directed by commissioners to work with architect Bill Knowles on a new proposal which could be brought before voters. Knowles, who also designed the $24.8 million failed proposal, presented the new plan to commissioners Nov. 16.
The Tulsa-based architect said the 308-prisoner capacity, 75,689-square-foot jail plan came about as the result of several months of meetings between the trio to hammer out a different type of facility. As part of that “change of philosophy,” Knowles said he decided to change from an indirect to a direct supervision layout.
Just as the proposed jail layout and costs have changed, so too has the makeup of county government and, as a result, the steering committee. In January, new elected officers came on board, including Edwards and Anderson, who succeeded former District 2 Commissioner Don Young. Cockrell also moved on in June, accepting a city manager position in Atlanta, Texas. Cunningham announced his retirement earlier this year, which becomes effective Jan. 1. Although Cunningham will retain “active district judge retired status,” after he leaves office, he said he does not know if he would remain on the jail committee.
Another question involving the county's dynamic concerns District 3. With the unexpected death of Commissioner Grant Hedrick in an automobile accident Nov. 16, his successor is uncertain. Gov. Brad Henry must call for a special election to fill the seat within 30 days, but county officials said they cannot speculate how long it will be until a new commissioner is in place. Hedrick's foreman,Troy Boling, is serving in the interim.
All of these changes pose challenges to county officials who said they want to build momentum in their move toward bringing a new jail proposal to voters. Others involved in the process said they continue to have questions not only about Knowles, but also about how to finance the project.
“I still think back to when he (Knowles) said we couldn't fix the current jail, and it has been fixed,” Crosby said. “That just puts a question in my mind.”
Knowles made a presentation to committee members in October 2008, outlining what he called deficiencies at the current county jail. Among those items were the cell locking mechanisms. Knowles said the company that manufactured the locks Folger Adams went bankrupt, and “you just can't find parts. Some can be found, but it's difficult and very expensive.”
However, Edwards said he found the part needed for the electric mechanism from a dealer in New Jersey. At a cost of about $120 each, Edwards said county personnel installed the new mechanism, with a total price tag of less than $1,000. In contrast, he said Knowles' contractor contacted him with a bid for the same parts and labor totaling more than $11,917.
“Sometimes it just takes a little digging around, rather than just relying on one particular contractor,” Edwards said Monday. “In a case like that, you're talking about a $10,000 difference, and that's one of the important components of the jail repair.”
Anderson said he understands there is no quick fix for bringing the proposal to voters. With issues like financing and the economy, he said it is up to county officials to review options and bring the best possible plan to residents.
“It's an issue that's very important, and we need to move forward on it,” he said.