Commissioners approve sale of remaining $215 million in bonds to continue detention center construction
The Oklahoma County Board of County Commissioners voted to sell the remaining bond capacity—about $215,000,000—to continue construction of the county’s new detention center after hearing a recommendation from the Citizens Bond Oversight Advisory Committee and a lengthy discussion about how the county will pay future operating costs.
The sale was recommended by the Citizens Bond Oversight Advisory Committee at a meeting the day before; Steve Mason, chair of that committee, told commissioners the funds would be used to complete a middle portion of the project that includes intake, diversion space, a kitchen and laundry and would speed intake and get officers back on the streets faster. “We recommend using the remaining bond ability. It’s about $215,000,000 to continue with the county new county detention facility,” Mason said.
The measure matters because the commissioners and oversight committee said the portion of work funded by the bonds would create defined intake and diversion areas and support a planned 60-bed behavioral health facility funded in part by American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) money. Supporters said those elements would improve diversion and reduce time officers spend processing detainees; opponents and some commissioners warned the county still lacks a clear plan to pay operational costs if voters later reject additional funding.
Mason told the board the middle piece is required for the behavioral-care component to function: “The behavioral care that is being built with the ARPA money, approximately 44,000,000 needs intake. So this middle piece that would serve both the jail and behavioral care is needed for behavioral care to function.” Commissioners asked whether continuing construction now risked leaving the county with added operational expenses if voters did not approve future funding. One commissioner said, “Do they want to continue with a jail that’s inhumane? I don’t think we need to make that decision as politicians … It needs to be the voters.” Another commissioner argued stopping now would mean losing the contractors and consultants already retained and that restarting later would be more expensive.
Discussion also referenced an estimated $9 million in annual operations savings once parts of the project are relocated, and the possibility of Medicaid reimbursements tied to the siting of the behavioral health component, which proponents said had been studied. Board members repeatedly noted that final decisions about larger funding gaps would require voter involvement. After debate, a motion to sell the remaining bonds was made and seconded; the motion carried with one abstention recorded in the meeting minutes.
The vote starts the process to commit the bond proceeds to continue construction, but commissioners acknowledged additional steps remain: presenting the larger funding question to voters for approval of the overall completion funding and determining how to cover new operational costs if voter approval is not obtained.
County staff and the Citizens Bond Oversight Advisory Committee were present to answer technical and budget questions; several commissioners emphasized that continued work is intended to be a cost-saving, interim approach to maintain retained contractors and advance diversion capacity while the funding strategy for full completion is resolved.
If approved by voters later, commissioners said, the bond-funded work will connect with the behavioral health facility funded by ARPA dollars and other funding sources to form the complete project. The board did not identify a specific statutory citation for operations funding during the discussion.
Ending: The sale motion carried; the board recorded one abstention and directed staff and oversight partners to continue planning and provide further information about operations and voter timelines.
