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Oklahoma County oversight board hears progress update on jail and behavioral care center; budget and bed count remain unsettled
Summary
Advisory board members were briefed on construction progress at the Behavioral Care Center, HOK’s recommendation to plan for roughly 2,200 beds long‑term, and Flintco’s estimate that Phase 1 can be built for about $206 million; county leaders continue to debate whether to build 1,800 beds now or plan for later expansion.
Steve Mason, chair of the Oversight Advisory Board, said the county has spent about $11 million on the Behavioral Care Center in the past 11 months and stressed the need to meet federal spending deadlines tied to ARPA funds. "We have a firm deadline of December of 2026," Mason said, and noted a penalty for missing the ARPA deadline of about "$1,000 dollars a day." The board heard schedule and cost updates from design and construction teams and discussed long‑range capacity and operating costs.
HOK architect Kirk Pardee presented the planned scope for Detention Phase 1, describing intake and support facilities, an initial housing unit of 256 beds (144 dormitory, 112 double bunk), food service, warehouse and a central utility plant to service the complex. Pardee said the full campus will provide 2,328 beds when all phases are complete and that HOK’s planning includes a 15% operational safety factor to allow proper classification and separation of inmates.…
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