Oklahoma County oversight board hears progress update on jail and behavioral care center; budget and bed count remain unsettled

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. "We added 30% onto the current bed need, and that's how we get to our current projected total bed need for 2030," Pardee said, citing a planning target in the low‑2,200s.

Pardee and other presenters reviewed recent population history and variability: the 2025 year‑to‑date monthly average was about 1,532 inmates, monthly peaks have exceeded 1,800 in some months, and the county routinely houses 150–300 Department of Corrections (DOC) inmates who are awaiting transfer. HOK applied an operational safety factor that produced an immediate bed need near 1,762 and a 2030 planning figure of roughly 2,221 beds. Pardee warned that building too small risks reopening the issue soon after occupancy: "You don't want this place to be full the day you open."

Board members reiterated the advisory group’s earlier recommendation of an 1,800‑bed build and discussed tradeoffs. Several members noted the modular design allows future expansion if funding becomes available; others said funding constraints and likely voter appetite could make an 1,800‑bed approach more practicable in the near term. The board did not take a new formal vote on bed count; Steve Mason said the ultimate bed count will be decided by the Board of County Commissioners.

HOK also presented operating‑cost estimates drawn from staffing and budget models. The firm estimated the annual operating budget needed to run an 1,800‑bed facility at about $62,000,000 in current dollars, compared with the county’s present operating budget near $40,000,000. Pardee emphasized that capital planning must account for ongoing operating costs.

Mike Atkinson of Flintco briefed the board on Phase 1 construction budget scenarios and bond funding options. Atkinson said a prior full‑scope estimate was about $698,000,000; the Phase 1 scope under current discussion is estimated at roughly $206,000,000 (excluding furniture, fixtures & equipment and some fees). Flintco suggested a potential ballot ask of about $525,000,000 in additional tax funds so that, when combined with existing bond capacity, the total program could reach approximately $725,000,000. Atkinson said Phase 1 work could begin in March and be operational independently for several years if additional funding is delayed.

Chair Mason and staff discussed meeting logistics and timing; Mason indicated he would leave early and asked staff whether the December 23 meeting should move to Dec. 16 or be deferred to January. No further votes were taken on project scope or bond questions at the session. The board approved routine minutes from Oct. 21, 2025 earlier in the meeting and adjourned after the presentations.

What happens next: staff will circulate updated materials requested by board members; the advisory group may convene a special meeting in mid‑December if additional information arrives, and the Board of County Commissioners will ultimately consider budget, scope and any ballot questions.