County commissioners explore new locations for jail, eye mental health facility plans
County Commissioners are considering their next steps in the search for a location for the new jail after the city recently rejected their bid for a location ne Oklahoma County Commissioners are considering new locations for the new jail after a city council rejected their bid for a location near Del City. The site near the Stockyards could also be used as a new mental health facility. While the jail may not be an option at this location, Commissioners believe it could still house a new facility. The $50 million in ARPA funds for the construction of the new mental healthcare facility could be lost if the county does not allocate it to this purpose. However, community advocates argue that the mental health facilities should be separate from the new jails.
Опубликовано : 10 месяцев назад от https://www.facebook.com/foxokc, Katie Arata в Health
County Commissioners are considering their next steps in the search for a location for the new jail after the city recently rejected their bid for a location near Del City.
A site near the Stockyards could be the potential home for a new jail, Commissioners met on Monday morning to talk about all options moving forward since litigation and a city council vote threw the Del City location into limbo.
It has been years since Oklahoma County voters approved a $260 million bond to build a new correctional facility. However, the location for the jail and mental health facility is still up in the air.
County Commissioners approved a site, 1901 E. Grand Blvd. in February, but OKC City Councilors denied their request in May.
While the jail may not be an option at that location, Commissioners say the site could still house a new mental health facility,
"$50 Million is at stake and we want to go forward, we don't want to lose that opportunity," said Oklahoma County Commissioner for District 2, Brian Maughan, "This is a place that's appealingly permissible to build on for that purpose, so we'd like to at least not lose that."
Commissioners have until December 31, 2024, to allocate the $50 million in ARPA funds that will be used to construct the new mental health facility, or the county could lose that money,
"It obviously always could be reallocated, but we were trying to keep it for this mental health component," Maughan said.
As for the new jail, commissioners say they are exploring all options including the Grand Blvd. location despite the city council's rejection,
"But as opposed to losing it altogether, I wanted to go forward today and at least move on that," said Maughan.
But community advocates say they want the mental health facility to be separate from the new jail,
"Don't arrest people and put them in the system as criminals and then talk about their mental health needs, deal with mental health first," said Mark Faulk with the People's Council for Justice Reform, "If you continue to criminalize homelessness, poverty, mental health, and drug addiction, you will continue to have over-incarceration."
Other locations for the new jail that county commissioners are considering include a site at SW 74th Street and Rockwell near the airport and a 40-acre plot near Reno and Exchange in the Stockyards.
Темы: Social Issues