By Traci Chapman

Although the committee studying the county’s need for a new jail has not met formally in several weeks, members have been working independently to move the process forward.

Sheriff-elect Randall Edwards said Tuesday he has met with some committee members individually, as well as county officials, to “get a handle on the situation so we can move forward as quickly as possible.”

Edwards also has gone beyond the confines of the county, he said, speaking to Oklahoma Jail Inspector Don Garrison and Warden Hector Ladezma at the Federal Correctional Institution in El Reno. Garrison and Ladezma told the incoming sheriff about programs that could help officials determine the best course of action for a new jail, Edwards said.

One resource available to the county, Edwards said, is an assessment provided by agents of the National Institute of Corrections, a federal agency that provides training and assistance to correctional agencies.

“This program is an invaluable resource for us,” Edwards said. “They will provide agents to come and conduct an assessment of both our current jail and our future needs, and all of the services come at no cost.”

Edwards said he had contacted the agency and tentatively scheduled an assessment for the first two weeks of January, immediately after he takes office. The process takes three to four days, he said, and it would not hold up any action by the jail committee charged with studying the county’s options after a proposed $24.8 million jail was overwhelmingly rejected by voters May 13.

“The voters obviously said we were trying to follow the wrong course,” Edwards said. “I have a lot of faith in what the jail committee is doing, and I want to work closely with it to move this process forward as soon as possible. I don’t think there’s any question we need a new jail, and we need to keep working in that direction.”

While Edwards said he is open to “all suggestions” about a new jail, one idea proposed by Sheriff Lewis Hawkins – to utilize the county’s current 72-bed jail as a storage building – is “out.”

“I absolutely will not agree to just taking that building and using it for storage,” Edwards said. “There is no reason we can’t make the needed repairs to that building and continue to use it to house prisoners in conjunction with a new facility, as well,” he said. “Obviously, we need more than 100 beds – which is what (jail inspector) Don Garrison told me is our limit. However, that building is not that old, and it shouldn’t just be demolished or used for storage.”

After meeting with Garrison, Edwards said he is “more confident” about the county’s posture with the inspector’s office. A May 14 report cited the jail for problems, including overcrowding and water leaks. Edwards said Garrison assured him as long as the county is looking for solutions to its problems, “we should be OK.”

Edwards said his next step would be to gain county commissioners’ approval for the federal assessment, which is required by NIC. A letter signed by two of the three commissioners is necessary to schedule the session, he said.

District 3 Commissioner Grant Hedrick said he plans to meet with committee members and begin attending those meetings, and said he would review Edwards’ assessment request.

“It’s a win-win situation,” Edwards said. “We get these free resources and objective view at our situation, but we don’t have to follow the recommendations. It won’t hold up the process because there is no way anything will get to a vote of the people before January, and it’s always good to have as much information as possible.”

The next meeting of the jail committee has not yet been set, but members have been working “behind the scenes” to obtain information needed to move forward, chairman Jim Crosby said.