Southwest Oklahoma Juvenile Center proposal draws drama

House Appropriations and Budget Committee Vice Chairman Trey Caldwell represents both Comanche County and Tillman County in the Oklahoma Legislature.

Aware of jail overcrowding issues in Comanche County and the negative economic impact the Southwest Oklahoma Juvenile Center’s closure had in Manitou, Caldwell has proposed repurposing Southwest Oklahoma Juvenile Center as a detention center.

“Southwest Oklahoma Juvenile Center was closed in 2022 as the result of legislation passed in 2017,” Constanzia Nizza, the chief of staff for the Oklahoma Office of Juvenile Affairs, told NonDoc in an email. “[HB 2387] authorized OJA the bonding capacity necessary to build the Next Generation campus at Central Oklahoma Juvenile Center in Tecumseh and required OJA to consolidate all secure-care operations to one campus.”

Caldwell, who has supported other plans to repurpose the center in the past, said he suggested the facility in Manitou as a possible detention center when he heard Comanche County was considering building a new jail.

“My role was really trying to take a resource we know is out there and try to get the most out of our proverbial tax dollar for Comanche County residents. That’s been my goal and aspiration,” said Caldwell (R-Lawton). “With a little bit of rehab money, you could make that facility an adult detention center. That would create 20 to 25 jobs in Tillman County, which would be a positive net gain.”

Under the two counties’ current contract, the Tillman County Jail houses Comanche County detainees for a rate of $42.50 per person per day.

“We had been housing inmates over in Tillman County for quite a while. We were doing it prior to me coming in, we usually had about 75 inmates at any day over there,” said Comanche County Commissioner Josh Powers. “It was averaging out to $80,000 to $90,000 a month from Comanche County paying Tillman County. Tillman County was getting that money for housing the inmates.”

Should the Manitou facility be repurposed as an additional detention facility, Powers said the Comanche County Detention Center would remain open and functioning.

“Manitou is too far to have everybody at because we have court going on. You still want your [detainees] that are needing to see the judge on a regular basis (to be close). But the ones that have trial three or four months out, or six months out, or a year out, those could be housed in a facility that’s a little further away. That’s kind of how we prioritize the [detainees] we have right now,” Powers said. “We have some of them further away. Those are the [detainees] that have court dates that are further out, or ones that have a court date that can be done virtually, not one where they have to actually be present.”

But shortly after Comanche County representatives toured the Manitou facility, Tillman County’s commissioners passed Resolution 1732 in April to require any other county to obtain commissioners’ approval before operating a detention center within Tillman County.

The resolution, which Powers called a “selfish” attempt to block Comanche County’s use of the facility, underscored a lack of communication between the two counties’ commissioners about the idea.

“Since we have other contracts with other counties throughout the state, I directed our jail administrator to start moving our inmates to other counties that had that space available,” Powers said. “Tillman County is still on the list, but they are at the bottom of the list in priority when it comes to the placing of our inmates.”

Levi Krasser, District 3 Tillman County commissioner, confirmed that the resolution was passed in response to Comanche County’s inquiry about the use of SWOJC in Manitou.

“The reason we passed Resolution 1732 was strictly for the safety of our sheriff’s department,” Krasser said. “It’s also for the safety and protection of the constituents of Tillman County. We were just concerned about how many inmates they were bringing, what level they were bringing and how they were going to make the facility safe. That was our main concern behind this.”

While communication between the two sets of county commissioners has been lacking, Krasser said their jail administrators have spoken about the Manitou idea.

“Comanche County pulled some, not all, of their prisoners. We still have some of theirs. The ball’s kind of in their court,” Krasser said. “If something does happen, all the resolution says is, ‘Hey, just keep us in the loop on what’s going on.’ If this deal is going to happen, we want to know. Obviously it affects us.”

Powers said Tillman County is financially motivated for Comanche County to keep sending detainees to the Tillman County Jail instead of a revamped SWOJC in Manitou.

“What that is to me is that’s Tillman County commissioners trying to hold the Comanche County taxpayers hostage and keeping us from finding a better or more economical solution to our inmate housing problem,” Powers said.

Powers questioned the legality of the resolution.

“I don’t even think it’s legal because it’s property that’s in the city limits of Manitou. Our negotiation with the City of Manitou (…) doesn’t have anything to do with the county,” Powers said. “So the county commissioners may be overstepping their authority and not even having authority to block something that happens inside the corporate city limits of the town.”

Although the commissioners in both counties had yet to discuss the issue by the time of their July interviews for this article, Krasser and Powers addressed each other’s comments in interviews and emails with NonDoc.

“They already have our blessing. If they want this facility, they can do it. All we want is a seat at the table,” Krasser said July 5.

Powers responded to Krasser’s quote via email July 8 and expressed lingering irritation about the Tillman County resolution.

“As far as them having a seat at the table, our arrangements would be between Manitou and Comanche County. I am not sure if their resolution is even legal as I stated before. If they had some legitimate concerns about this, wouldn’t a call from them before they took the time to pass a board resolution seem more reasonable?” Powers said. “I’m sure at this point they can see where this all went wrong. Commissioner Joe Don Dickey, from Tillman County, contacted Rep. Trey Caldwell about their resolution before they passed it. Caldwell told me, he advised them strongly against it for this exact reason. It seems now their actions may be having some negative effects on them they did not think to calculate. If they have questions, they have my phone number and are welcome to call any time. For now we will work on a solution that does not include Tillman County.”

Despite tensions between the county officials, use of the Manitou facility is still a possibility.

“I haven’t taken the Manitou facility off of the table, but I’ve shelved it for now. I’m looking at other potential solutions,” Powers said July 3.

Powers said he is not ready to discuss the other possible solutions yet.

Dickey, a longtime Tillman County commissioner, said it would be best to speak with Krasser about the situation since he is chairman of the board.