TBO.com - TBO is Tampa Bay Online

Suncoast Pasco News

Port Richey To Construct City-Owned Impound Lot

ADVERTISEMENT

By KLINT LOWRY | The Suncoast News

Published: December 16, 2008

Updated:

PORT RICHEY - The City Council paved the way on Tuesday for the installation of a new city-owned impound lot that could be ready by the end of January.

The Council approved last week an $11,000 bid by Hudson-based Hendrickson Fence and Rail to install 540 feet of fencing, topped with barbed wire, and a pair of 16-foot gates to an area behind City Hall adjacent to the police station entrance.

The area needs no preliminary groundwork, so work is expected to begin immediately to install the fencing.

City Manager Richard Reade indicated an impound lot should easily pay for itself within the first year. Until now, the city has been relying on privately owned lots to store impounded vehicles.

Because of this, the city has been losing out on $15 to $25 per day per vehicle in potential storage fees. Reade told the Council, based on 2007 impound rates, a city-owned impound lot will mean $12,000 - $15,000 a year in revenue for the city.

The idea of the city having its own impound lot has been floating around City Hall for a few years. Police Chief David Brown said he has been pushing to make it happen since becoming chief last spring. The city's 2009 fiscal budget included $12,000 for the impound lot fencing. The budget also figured in $2,000 in police impact fees for the lot's security system.

City IT Manager Kevin Hamm said repositioning some of the existing security cameras at City Hall will cover part of the security aspect. The lot, Hamm said, will have 13 paved spots, and "about three times that" in unpaved area.

This should easily be enough room, Hamm said. Looking back at past records, the city might occasionally have as many as 20 impounded vehicles, but usually they have 10 or 11 at any given time.

Besides being a revenue generator at a time when it is much needed, Brown said, the lot will be an asset to the Police Department and the city in a number of ways.

"It's a tool we've been looking at for quite a while," Brown said.

Most impounds are for things like drunk driving arrests and other traffic-related incidents. Occasionally, though, there are cases where evidence preservation in a vehicle is an issue, and having their own lot literally in their own back yard will make that a much more secure and convenient proposition.

Access to the lot will be controlled inside the police station at the dispatcher's post, Brown explained. Exact records will be kept of who, including police officers, enters and exits the lot and when.

The lot can also serve to keep police and other city-owned vehicles safe.

Also, Brown mentioned, City Hall is a West Pasco staging point for weather emergencies. The lot can be used to park Florida Power and Department of Environmental Protection vehicles in those situations.

Share this:

Loading Comments...

Email Print

ADVERTISEMENT