Chesterfield County, Virginia's new fleet facility is officially operational. The ribbon was cut on the county's new fleet services and radio shop buildings on March 23, 2023.

The county highlighted its ribbon-cutting and gave an inside look at the facility in a video shared to its Youtube page.

Going Green in Chesterfield County

The 34,000-sq. ft. facility features roughly 9,000 sq. ft. of solar panels.

"By using clean, renewable energy, the county will be reducing the impacts on the environment and achieving ongoing cost-savings at the same time," Chesterfield County Board of Supervisors Chair Kevin Carroll said.

The building includes 16 53-ft. long bays, with more than 22,000 sq. ft. of dedicated shop space. The division's nearly 90 employees oversee approximately 3,200 vehicles including light-, medium-, and heavy-duty vehicles, trailers, and off-road equipment. It also oversees around 700 school buses, according to a blog post on the county's website.

The new facility will serve as the primary location for 25 employees, including fleet management, supervisory staff and administrative support, as well as heavy shop technicians and parts room employees. Motor pool operations will also be housed there.

A 900-sq. ft. on-site training area that can seat 40 people will be used for OEM classes, first-aid, and extended staff meetings. Additional spaces for training and study for testing, as well as showers and changing room facilities with lockers for on-site staff, is also available. There is also a secured records room to store pertinent vehicle information, as well as a conference room that can seat up to 10 people. The facility also features a 2,500 sq. ft. parts room and a 1,200-sq. ft. tool room.

"This building represents the cornerstone of fleet services and reinforces what my team strives to do every day to be the best and most dynamic fleet operation in the industry through continuous improvement with an emphasis on principles that include teamwork, responsibility, and most importantly customer service," Fleet Services Division Manager Craig Willingham, CAFM, said.

A New Home for the Radio Shop

The county's newly renovated Radio Shop is now located where the county's heavy vehicle shop once stood, next to the new fleet services facility. The radio team works on two-way radio maintenance and installation in vehicles throughout the county.

The vehicle installation team expanded to six heavy vehicle bays to allow team members more room to safely and efficiently perform the installation of radios, lights, sirens, and other equipment in the county's public safety and maintenance vehicles.

"This is not just a win for the fleet services side of the shop, but I know there's a lot of radio techs here as well because the building that co-located both sides of the operation is now being expanded, enhanced, and really dedicated to a really important function of our radio system," Chesterfield County Administrator Dr. Joe Casey said. "It is a lifeline for many of our first responders. And with the new public safety communications system and the technologies involved, that's probably going to be one of the highest tech sites amongst Chesterfield County — private or public."