Oklahoma County sues City of OKC over land for new county jail site

The Board of County Commissioners (BOCC) for Oklahoma County has filed a lawsuit against the City of Oklahoma City over sovereignty of the land where they plan to build the new county jail.

OKLAHOMA CITY (KFOR) — The Board of County Commissioners (BOCC) for Oklahoma County has filed a lawsuit against the City of Oklahoma City over sovereignty of the land where they plan to build the new county jail.

The lawsuit comes after the OKC City Council voted "no" on the proposed jail site at East Grand and SE 15th Street back in May.

In the suit, the BOCC says while they've tried to respect the city's zoning interests, it falls on the county to make sure the jail is built, so they are now moving forward with claiming sovereignty over the land.

“Let me be clear, I don’t want to fight with the city, and that’s why we’ve gone through all these painstaking efforts to avoid that,” County Commissioner Brian Maughan told News 4 in May. “However, if you force us into the corner where we have no choice, I’m not sure we have an option.”

Time is also an issue for the county, since 85% of funds for the new jail have to be spent within the first three years, and the other 15% must be used in the following two years. It has been about 18 months since the bond was first issued.

News 4 will continue to provide updates as this story develops.