WAGONER, Okla. — Wagoner County officials are facing a complex and expensive decision on what to do with the county jail. It's facing inmate overcrowding issues, and some commissioners wanted to see if it could be expanded.
As 2 News found out, Wagoner County residents don't mind flipping the bill if building a new jail becomes necessary. Wagoner County Sheriff Chris Elliott and some county commissioners are warming up to the idea that it needs to happen due to growth.
"Overcrowding the jail creates a lot of civil liability, and I just can't do that on the taxpayers out here if we get a lawsuit against us," Sheriff Elliott told 2 News.
At first, commissioners inquired about expanding the current jail - attached to the courthouse- to a floor or two.
At Monday's County Commissioners meeting, structural engineers said the roof of the current jail is congested with infrastructure. He says expanding the jail could be done, but it would be time-consuming and come at a hefty price.
That option is not at the top of Sheriff's Elliott's list - or Holland Clinton, who says she just got out of jail there.
"There are times you would be three in a cell - so you'd have the two bunks and the boat running in there, and the cells aren't big at all," Clinton told 2 News.
If and when a plan is formed to build a new jail, the following hurdle county officials must face is where to put the inmates during construction. At one point, one county commissioner mentioned putting up temporary tents or possibly transferring them to other county jails for $40 per inmate.
Wagoner County District Attorney Jack Thorp was also at the commissioner meeting and said putting inmates in tents for remodeling wouldn't fall under existing Oklahoma statutes or health department regulations.
County commissioners' next steps are to come up with a dollar figure of how much building a new jail would cost and how many beds they feel a new jail should have.
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