OKLAHOMA CITY (KFOR) – Oklahoma County District 3 Commissioner Kevin Calvey is passing out surveys to his constituents, asking if they’d assist utilizing the county’s roughly $150 million in American Rescue Plan Act funding on constructing a brand new county jail.
“Look, that is only a administration factor, not a cash factor,”Calvey informed KFOR again in March 2019.
That’s the reason why Calvey needed a jail belief to take over operations of the Oklahoma County Detention Heart from the sheriff’s workplace.
He pushed for it. He obtained it, and he continued to inform Information 4 that the problems with the jail have been by no means a “cash downside.”
Now, two years later, Calvey is hand-delivering a survey to a few of his constituents. It reads partially: “Oklahoma County is receiving over $150 million in federal funds. It appears to me that we must always construct a brand new jail with our federal funds, however I’d like YOUR enter.”
The survey continues: “Ought to we use these federal funds to construct that new jail, or as an alternative use these funds on numerous grants and social applications, and as an alternative increase taxes to construct a brand new jail, as some have recommended?”
“I’m definitely open to utilizing a few of our ARP cash to construct a brand new jail,” District 1 Commissioner Carrie Blumert informed KFOR on Thursday.
ARP stands for the American Rescue Plan. It’s a $1.9 trillion financial stimulus invoice that President Biden signed in March.
“I believe everyone seems to be in settlement that we want a brand new jail as rapidly as potential. I believe Commissioner Calvey’s survey is likely to be leaping the gun a bit bit, as a result of we do not even know if utilizing the cash in that means is authorized,” Blumert stated.
District 3 commissioner Brian Maughan informed Information 4 he agrees, because the county continues to be ready on tips from the Treasury Division and a authorized opinion from the District Attorneys Workplace about how the funds may be spent.
“I am hopeful that we’re ready to make use of it underneath the infrastructure portion of it for serving to us get someplace on a jail answer, whether or not that be a annex or satellite tv for pc facility, or high to backside model new jail,” Maughan stated.
Commissioner Calvey didn’t reply to our a number of requests for an interview or a remark about it on Thursday.
For the reason that jail belief took over operations of the jail final July, the Oklahoma State Department of Health discovered several “repeat deficiencies,” in accordance with one in every of their latest report. These embrace medical and psychological well being screenings not being carried out, inmates not being fed thrice a day and a mattress bug “infestation.”
In the end, the jail misplaced its certification to accommodate juveniles a couple of weeks in the past.
“The commissioners within the 80s and 90s actually rushed the method of constructing the jail and they didn’t do their due diligence, and we now are coping with it 30-35 years later, and we don’t need that to occur once more,” Blumert stated.
