By Traci Chapman/Staff writer

Jail committee members got a detailed “tour” Wednesday of the $24.8 million jail plan rejected by voters May 13, in an attempt to “find a starting place.”

In their second meeting, committee members were joined by Mustang City Manager David Cockrell and Cleveland County Sheriff Don Holyfield. Members said last week their first step was to review the proposed jail plans to determine whether to utilize that plan as presented to voters, look at some type of change to the design or start from scratch.

Sheriff Lewis Hawkins walked the group through the site elevations and blueprints of the jail designed by architect Billy Knowles. Knowles, a principal of Tulsa-based Bruton Knowles and Love, which prepared the plan, specializes in correctional facility design, Hawkins said.

“Beckham County has a similar plan designed by BKL, although it is considerably smaller,” he said.

The proposed Canadian County Jail would be comprised of 132 cells, the majority of those being two-man secured housing and seven having a capacity of up to four inmates, Hawkins said. The jail would have a capacity of 288 — four times larger than the existing 72-prisoner jail.

Before the May 13 election, Hawkins said Knowles’ two-story design would house up to 264 prisoners. Hawkins said the jail would have 63,000 square feet on the first floor, including holding cells, two medical cells for anyone with a communicable disease and two suicide watch cells.

The booking area and kitchen are also located on the first floor, as well as a large “vehicular sallyport.” A sallyport is a secure passage that has two doors — the first shutting before the second is opened — which is used for moving prisoners between locations.

The 14,000-square-foot second floor contains additional cells, as well as a secured walkway between the jail and county courthouse. Knowles said earlier this year the prisoner transfer system integrated into the plan is both more efficient and safer than the current procedure of bringing inmates up the back stairway of the courthouse.

One aspect of the building’s design discussed by committee members is the use of secure “lock-down” cells, rather than a dormitory setting or combination of the two. Many jails have gone to a dormitory layout or a combination of two-man cells and dormitories.

In Canadian County, Hawkins said of the prisoners in his facility, “probably 10 to 12 people I would classify as high security.”

Cockrell asked Hawkins if a combination of different “holding mechanisms” had been considered by Knowles in his design. Hawkins said he did not know, but reverting to a dormitory would not save county money in the jail construction.

“I don’t personally like dormitories, but they are cheaper to build,” he said. “If you have a dormitory, you always have to man the control room in that area.”

Staff and the proposed jail’s increased annual operating costs were questioned by the group. Before the May 13 election, Hawkins estimated the current 72-bed jail costs about $1 million per year to operate.

Those costs would almost triple with Knowles building, as designed with estimated annual expenses of about $2.8 million. The $1.8 million increase is mainly due, he said, to the addition of about 29 full-time employees, as well as the $96,000 utility cost estimate.

Hawkins said he has 17 full-time and three part-time employees, as well as a jail administrator, assistant jail administrator and a jail physician, who is paid through a separate contract. Hawkins said to run the larger jail effectively, that number would need to grow to about 40 jailers, five support staff, a nurse and the current physician.

The county owns the land for a new jail adjacent to the county courthouse. The 264-foot by 330-foot site, which includes a parking lot used for the courthouse, has room for the proposed facility and a second phase, which would provide 48 more cells capable of holding 112 prisoners.

The sheriff said about $1.5 million of the facility’s $24.8 million cost is for creating new parking lots for the courthouse, as well as a redesign of the courthouse entry where the secure overpass would intersect both buildings.

Crosby said visitors scheduled for the next meeting — planned for Wednesday in Piedmont — include Logan County Sheriff Randy Richardson, jail inspector Don Garrison and Knowles.
Logan County saw the failure of a jail measure but was able to “convince their residents it was needed,” ultimately garnering the support for a new jail.

Garrison heads the state department responsible for inspections at the jail, and members said they hoped he would “shed some light” on May violations lodged against the current jail and his recommendations for the county’s future jail population.