Blog: City Blog

New 900-Square-Foot Impound Building Offers Small Comforts for Employees, Improved Customer Service

Today (Friday, Nov. 20), Mayor Indya Kincannon toured the City’s new Impound Building, 3407 Vice Mayor Jack Sharp Road, and talked with the Fleet Services Department employees who staff impound operations.

Mayor Indya Kincannon (center) talks with Fleet Services' Shane Walters, Nicholas Bradshaw, Keri Collins and Donisha Russell.

Mayor Indya Kincannon (center) talks with (from left) Fleet Services' Shane Walters, Nicholas Bradshaw, Keri Collins and Donisha Russell.

The new building is just 900 square feet. But for the 10 City Fleet Services employees who staff the Impound Lot 24/7, the small building is a big deal.

The old building, which will be razed next year, was an extension of a concession stand from a 1990s BMX track. It was literally falling apart.

“It had gotten untenable,” says Fleet Services Director Nicholas Bradshaw. “Formerly being a concession stand, there was no interior access from the office to the restroom – employees and customers had to go outside to enter the restroom.

“Even worse, there had been some settling over the years, so the floor was sloping. There were cracks in the walls, and the roof leaked. It had gotten so bad, the doors wouldn’t shut.”

There are even spaces where daylight was visible through gaps in the block walls.

Bradshaw says the new building offers better customer service.

For example, there are now automated gate controls that all employees can access. Before, if an employee was helping a customer, he or she would have to stop and deal with opening the gate if a tow truck arrived and needed access to the impound lot.

In the old building, there wasn’t even heating or air-conditioning in the customer vestibule. In the new climate-controlled building, visitors won’t be cold in the winter or hot in the summer.

“The new building is not plush by any means,” Bradshaw says. “But it’s a huge difference for the employees who had been working in an uncomfortable office setting, or for customers with business needs.”

Here are a few photos of the vestibule and front counter of the new building, and below that are photos of the old and the new buildings.

Vestibule area, where customers come to get an impounded vehicle. In the old building, the area wasn't heated or cooled.

Vestibule area, where customers come to get an impounded vehicle. In the old building, the area wasn't heated or cooled.

Front window, where Fleet Services employees assist customers

Old versus new:

Old Impound Building, with cracked floors and leaky roof

New Impound Building, with interior restrooms and climate-controlled customer area

Posted by evreeland On 20 November, 2020 at 3:44 PM