Lincoln County commissioners have voted to give the go ahead for final design plans for a jail expansion.
They also voted to ask BKL, an engineering and architectural firm, to let commissioners know what it would cost to engage them to prepare cost estimates and plans for an OSU Extension Building.
Their actions came during a special commissioners meeting last week.
Sheriff Charlie Dougherty said the day following the special meeting, “It will take six to eight months to design the plans. I still want to change some stuff,” he stated, noting, “I know they have to stay within jail standards.”
He explained, “The final design will give us a more accurate cost and at the same time they will provide us a list of contractors. We’ll hire a construction manager who will determine the contractors.
“Not everyone will work on a jail,” he added.
District 3 Commissioner Lee Doolen, who is chairman of the commissioners, pointed out that during last week’s special meeting Dougherty said, “It was the right thing and the best thing we can do now.”
During a commissioners meeting last December, Dougherty said, “We’ve been back and forth a whole bunch.”
He noted, “We began looking at this when we had a major sewer line problem with the black cast iron pipe that was put in when the jail was built in 1969. We’ve had some sewer problems with an eightfeet section of the line.”
The sheriff said, “Logan County took 14-16 inmates for a week, at no cost to the county, while a major repair was completed. We have to replace that whole line. We started looking to see what our best options are since we’ve had to make other repairs.”
He stressed, “We have one half of the jail that was built in 1969 and the other half in 2000. We’re trying to be good stewards of the county’s money.”
Dougherty pointed out at that time, “I currently have three times the female inmates I’m supposed to have.”
He explained that a committee was formed to look at the jail issues, comprised of himself, District 2 Commissioner Marlin Miller, Virgil Wilson, in charge of maintenance and facilities, and others in the courthouse.
“I’m licensed for 80 inmates. I’ve had as many at 134 which is the record. I have 90 right now,” he said, as of last Friday (Feb. 24).
He pointed to being more selective since Covid.
“We’re looking at addressing the sewer line and replacing it with PVC pipe. We have ventilation issues in the north, south and maximum cells, too,” he added.
The sheriff pointed to remodeling everything with the exception of the 2000 version. “We’ve been transparent with this,” he remarked.
It’s estimated the option the committee is looking at will cost around $4 million. “A 20-bed add-on along the south side of the courthouse where recreational area is now is where the addition would be,” he emphasized.
To fund the project the committee anticipates using left over ARPA funds, both the sheriff and Doolen confirmed last Friday.
“Part of the process would be to move the OSU Extension Center out of the courthouse and to the fairgrounds to a facility they’ve proposed.
“We’d move the District Attorney’s Office to where the Extension Center is now and then my administrative offices would move to where the DA’s office is now. We would remodel the area where we currently are that would give us some more beds.”
Dougherty said that would give the jail a total of 34 additional beds to what it has now. “We’re still going to need the additional beds,” he said.
Dougherty’s office contracted with BKL, an engineering and architectural firm in Tulsa.
The sheriff said, “We have to meet the American and Oklahoma jail standards and the health department’s standards. Anything we do has to meet the new standards.
“We have to take all of this into consideration.”
He noted “The county has some money right now. I think $4 million can work. It will fix most of the problems. “I’m pretty excited about,”Dougherty said.
Regarding the new building for the OSU Extension Office, Doolen said Friday that during the special meeting commissioners “gave BKL a synopsis of what we are looking for. They are to let us know what it cost us for them to do that.”
Doolen noted, “We hope to have that by the end of March.”
During an October meeting of commissioners, they were told the office needs to be out of the courthouse and in another place.
One who spoke to the commissioners said that day, “Meetings with some of our clientele have to be confidential.”
The proposal calls for putting the new building south of the existing livestock barn at the fairgrounds. “It would be a 9,600 square feet building with a 4,400 square feet conference area. It will include five offices, it would be all under one roof,” the OSU official said.
Doolen said Friday that, “We discussed a building that would be a smaller facility that is expandable.”
“It’s the county’s building, it would be state of the art and have a full demonstration kitchen. It would allow us to offer income producing events,” commissioners were advised in October.
Estimated cost of the building, commissioners were informed, is $1.6 million but OSU officials are asking for $1.8 million in county ARPA funds to include other costs.
Commissioners were informed in October the building would take around four to six months to construct once ground is broken.