Pontotoc County is the latest to provide evidence of why Canadian County commissioners need to look elsewhere for advice when it comes to building a new jail.
A new 200-bed jail is about to open in Pontotoc County. The jail will replace a 46-bed jail that had been threatened with closure by the state jail inspector. The cost for the new jail is about $8 million. When contacted with this news, Canadian County Commissioner David Anderson said, “That's a far cry from the figure we've been dealing with.”
Indeed.
In May of 2008, Canadian County voters rejected a proposal that would have built a 262-bed jail at a price tag of close to $25 million. That plan was developed by former Sheriff Lewis Hawkins in cooperation with Tulsa architect Bill Knowles. Hawkins is no longer in the picture and Commissioners Anderson, Grant Hedrick and Phil Carson should politely let Knowles know that neither is he.
A new jail in Cleveland County also demonstrates how out of touch the May 2008 Canadian County proposal was. The jail in Cleveland County costs about the same as the project proposed here, but it will provide double the number of jail beds.
With Pontotoc County now providing another comparison for Canadian County leaders, it's obvious they will have to put together a no-nonsense plan before they ask voters to consider another jail proposal.
Several banks in Pontotoc County are financing the jail project there. The Pontotoc Public Facilities Authority worked to develop the local bank financing, saving the project 6 percent in bond underwriting fees. That seems to us to be good government.
Could similar financing work for Canadian County? Could the Pontotoc plan be duplicated here?
It's obvious these questions as well as others deserve some very serious attention.
Canadian County probably needs a new jail, but the people who live here have proven they won't invest in a project that doesn't add up.