Comanche County Commissioners exploring idea to build jail annex

Comanche County Commissioners are exploring the idea of building an annex to the county detention center.

And the best site may be the county-owned property east of the Comanche County Fairgrounds that also holds Ahlschlager Park on Southwest G Avenue.

District 3 Commissioner Josh Powers has been looking for a permanent solution to the overcrowding problems at the Comanche County Detention Center for more than a year, after helping to create what he termed a temporary solution: housing agreements with jails/detention centers outside Comanche County.

That solution is working, county officials say. Agreements with at least five other entities bleeds off enough inmates to bring Comanche County’s inmate population below the 283-inmate level mandated by state health regulations. The solution comes at a cost: an estimated $200,000 a month in fees paid to other county entities to house Comanche County inmates.

Powers said he believes that money could be better spent in Comanche County, which is among the reasons he asked commissioners for input Monday on the plan he has been exploring. Building another facility isn’t a new idea — both county and Lawton city officials have explored that option in the past — but this time the proposal has the potential advantage of federal funding.

Commissioners didn’t make any decisions Monday, but indicated Powers should continue exploring the idea.

“We can’t sustain paying out-of-county costs,” Powers said, referring to what the county pays others to house Comanche County inmates, as well as transporting inmate to and from those sites.

Powers said while the temporary solution is working, it hasn’t been without problems (he cited manning problems at some sites and jails that were not cleaned). The county has been able to address those issues, but commissioners want a long-term solution. That is why Powers and others have been exploring options.

Powers’ first idea was something suggested by others: using the now vacant Manitou juvenile detention center. But, that idea ran into a roadblock when Tillman County Commissioners passed a resolution earlier this year requiring their approval before another county could house inmates in Tillman County. Powers said while he isn’t certain the action is legal because the detention center is within the Manitou city limits, it has other problems, including its distance from Lawton.

But it is large enough to house Comanche County’s overflow while providing additional space that Comanche County could lease to offset operational costs.

That same argument holds true for Powers’ second option: build the annex on land the county already owns. Power said his goal is to build the facility without going to taxpayers for money.

His solution is land Comanche County owns between the Comanche County Fairgrounds on South Sheridan Road and the Juvenile Detention Center at Southwest 17th Street and Southwest G Avenue. Part of the land is vacant; the remainder is home to Ahlschlager Park, athletic fields the City of Lawton leases from the county. Powers said the tract is large enough to house the annex while keeping it near to a detention center already is operating. The site also has water, sewer and roads.

Powers also suggested commissioners look at a plan for using a pre-fab facility, a modular format also used by the City of Lawton when it built its jail. He said he already has approached the firm ModCorr, which builds correctional facilities that can be used for county jails, detention and holding facilities, and prisons.

He said a 210-bed facility would be large enough to hold the county jail’s routine overflow and leave about 80 beds that could be leased to others. His suggestion was federal agencies, which reimburse such facilities $85 per day per inmate. The potential is making $200,000 a month from such an arrangement, Powers said of funds that could be used to support detention center costs while repaying the cost of building the annex.

Rough estimates put that cost at $10 million: $5 million from ModCorr for the pre-fab building, installation, foundation and electrical work, plus another $5 million in costs for associated expenses, such as administrative areas and kitchen.

Powers and Jail Administrator David Weber also are exploring funding options, including plans to file an application with the State of Oklahoma for a grant from remaining American Rescue Plan Act money. That state grant could provide up to $5 million, which could be matched with a $5 million loan by the county, with the loan repaid from the costs the county saves by no longer housing its inmates in other counties. Powers estimated the monthly cost of the debt payment at $63,000 and coupled with an estimated utility cost of $30,000, the combination still would be less than what the county pays other counties. Payroll costs could be covered by the revenue the county makes by housing federal prisoners.

District 1 Commissioner Trent Logan said the idea is attractive and the land near the fairgrounds is large enough to allow for “a lot of growth,” without impacting ballfields.

“We have to find a solution,” Powers said.