Oklahoma County and the City of Oklahoma City will enter into mediation in a last-ditch effort to save a mental health facility proposed for construction alongside the new county jail at 1901 E. Grand Blvd.
The $40 million mental health facility to be funded with federal American Rescue Plan Act dollars is facing a time crunch. The deadline for incumbrance of ARPA funds is Dec. 31, but the City of OKC and Oklahoma County are already slated for a court battle early next year over whether the city’s rejected of a zoning request on the county property is binding or irrelevant.
During its meeting Tuesday, the OKC City Council took no action regarding a recent letter of counsel from the Oklahoma Attorney General’s Office offering reasons why the city was unlikely to prevail in that court case against Oklahoma County.
“Oklahoma County’s new jail project serves ‘broader governmental interests’ and, therefore, is so important that a court would likely grant immunity to the county’s determination of the new county jail site despite substantial and even compelling local interests,” wrote Deputy General Counsel Thomas Schneider. “Essentially, there will be concerns or objections raised — founded or unfounded — no matter where Oklahoma County chooses to build the new detention center. To allow concerns and objections to control the conversation would equate to an endless cycle of inaction between Oklahoma City and Oklahoma County. And no one wins, no progress is achieved.”
During a meeting Friday, county commissioners signed off on a plan for the Oklahoma County District Attorney’s Office to enter into mediation with the city to resolve the issues over the 1901 E. Grand Blvd. site.
District 3 Commissioner Myles Davidson laid out the county’s wants ahead of mediation.
“In keeping with the county’s good faith efforts throughout this process, we are going to accept the city’s request to enter into mediation with us and try to come up with a resolution for this,” Davidson said. “In that same good faith effort, I think us telling them what we’re going to come into mediation with is ideal.”
Davidson outlined four of those desires, which included mediation on the 1901 E. Grand site only. Davidson said the county has spent $21 million on the site thus far.
“We cannot enter into mediation on a different site,” Davidson said. “We will enter into it as long as a different site is not discussed.”
Both parties will come into mediation with full settlement authority, he said.
“Any settlement reached that day will be binding by signature,” Davidson said. “We will do the same.”
Third, the county is requesting the city adopt the proposed special use permit for the 1901 E. Grand Blvd. site. While the OKC Planning Commission signed off on the Grand Boulevard location for the jail, the OKC City Council later rejected a county rezoning request. The county sued the city in June, alleging it does not need municipal zoning approval to pursue its core obligation to provide a jail, particularly when OKC does not operate its own jail. The two parties are next scheduled to be in court Jan. 17, but that could be avoided or delayed owing to the mediation.
Finally, the county is requesting the city to pay all of the county’s litigation costs incurred thus far.
“We have expended the DA’s time, effort and money, and we’re asking the city to come in and pay for our litigation costs,” Davidson said. “That is a nominal, typical thing to ask for.”
Davidson said the county will construct a bus stop at the proposed site, but only if the city agrees to maintain it and offer bus service. The proposed new jail is about five miles southeast of the current jail, which is slightly west of the Oklahoma County Courthouse downtown.
District 2 Commissioner Brian Maughan said the mediation is the last chance to save the planned mental health facility he and other commissioners have hoped would be built alongside the jail.
“I am interested in going into mediation as a last-ditch effort to save the mental health facility,” Maughan said during Friday’s meeting. “I see this as the only option pending the New Year’s Eve deadline. The City Council is expected to meet before the end of the year, so therefore this is possible thanks to them coming together and agreeing to meet in mediation on Christmas Eve eve (Dec. 23), which obviously involves a lot of staff and the time they were otherwise planning to take off. I appreciate everyone’s attitude and sacrificial spirit to come forward and see if there is something that can be resolved at this eleventh hour.”
The OKC City Council is next scheduled to meet Tuesday, Dec. 31. Oklahoma County commissioners have two upcoming meetings scheduled on Thursday, Dec. 26, and Friday, Dec. 27.
OKC Mayor David Holt confirmed the city would be participating in the mediation.
“A mediation has been scheduled for next week, and the council will have elected representation present,” Mayor David Holt said. “The council looks forward to the conversation and is very hopeful it will be productive.”
