Lawton City Council wants to analyze an idea for a city jail trust authority

The City Council wants some help in deciding whether a trust authority is the best option for operating the municipal jail.

Council members agreed with Ward 8 Councilman Randy Warren Tuesday that it is a good idea to seek Requests For Proposals (RFPs) from entities or individuals with expertise in jail operations to help make the decision. The directive isn’t a decision that Lawton is heading for a trust authority to operate the jail; rather, it is an exploration to see if the idea is feasible and how it might work, Warren said.

Now, the municipal jail operates out of the new Lawton Public Safety Complex on Railroad Street and is a division of Lawton Police Department. The jail houses those charged with misdemeanors; those with felony charges are transferred to the county jail. But council members have had tentative discussion in past years about whether they want to be in the “jail business” and how the city and county might combine resources to operate a joint facility that would be more cost effective for both governmental entities. Both existing jails face multiple challenges, including overcrowding (the reason the municipal jail was built in a modular format, meaning it can be expanded by simply adding a new pod).

Warren said his goal with the RFPs is getting different entities to provide information on what Lawton would need to do to create a jail trust authority, outlining advantages and potential drawbacks. Warren said while he has discussed the proposal with county elected officials, those officials are not ready to move forward.

“It’s important for us to do so,” he said, adding Lawton could establish a system that would allow other entities to join with them in future years. Entities that could provide information to Lawton on that process would allow city officials “to navigate the course.”

Warren said what he initially had in mind was a trust authority similar to the Lawton Water Authority, a function of the City Council that meets as needed on details pertaining to the City of Lawton’s utility system. But the city also has trust authorities that are a combination of council members and residents, such as the FISTA Development Trust Authority that oversees the FISTA Innovation Park for military defense contractors being developed in Central Plaza and the retail businesses still operating there.

“That is part of the whole discussion, how we need to set it up, if we need to set it up,” Warren said of the investigative process, adding his vision is an authority or trust comprised of council members and residents with backgrounds in areas needed for an entity operating a jail.

City staff will bring its recommendation back to the council for action.