Wagoner County Jail sees progress in long list of necessary repairs – KTUL

A holding cell in the booking room at the Wagoner County Jail, in this picture taken March 9, 2017./KTUL

WAGONER, Okla. (KTUL) - Tax dollars are hard at to work to repair a long list of maintenance issues at the Wagoner County Jail. Sheriff Chris Elliot said the biggest problem is plumbing, also mentioning not one cell is 100 percent operational.

You might have a jail cell that has hot water but no cold water. you might have a jail cell where the toilets not flushing properly. As were repairing things were also finding other issues, said the sheriff.

Elliott said theyve had to move inmates to different pods and cells while pipes for sinks and toilets get fixed, though most days are tough considering the jail is at its capacity of 120 inmates.

We were actually having to put jugs of cold water in the jail cells for them, insulated jugs of cold water, so if the inmate needed to drink some water in the middle of the night, they would have access to water, said Elliott.

The sheriff pointed out these were problems he inherited when he took office in July 2016 after a special election. Elliott said progress is moving along, as theyve already made several plumbing repairs and upgraded everything in the kitchen.

Were not at 100 percent operational, not yet because were waiting on parts. But every inmate now has access to good, clean drinking water without having to go to a jug and theyve got access to good, clean functioning toilet facilities, said the sheriff.

There still is, however, speculation around townraising the question why tax dollars werent being used to maintain the jail before.

It was the top thing on my priority list that weve got to get this deal fixed. how it got therethats just a conjecture. You would have to talk to the people in the previous administration, said Elliott.

The sheriff mentioned the maintenance problems sheds some light on an issue theyll have to deal with in the futurespace. Elliott said the jail is at capacity most nights and theyre often squeezing in an extra 15 to 20 inmates. Elliott said Wagoner is the second fastest growing county in Oklahoma, and with more people comes more crime. He said the current jail wont be sufficient to hold more people in the near future and the area may have to look into options to build a new jail that can last 25 years.

Focusing on the task at hand now, Elliott hes working closely with the Wagoner County Commission to turn things around, realizing the repairs are going to take time. However, the sheriff said he still wants to assure the public their commitment to the project.

I want everyone to know the jail is safe, secure, the inmates are safe, theyre secure. Were just starting to fix all the smaller, nagging problems, said Elliott.

Repairs have cost about $20,000 so far. Elliott said they dont have a certain timeframe when the upgrades will be done because each repair requires specialized parts made for correctional facilities. These parts take about two to three weeks to deliver.