IID celebrates completion of new services shop.
IMPERIAL — Imperial Irrigation District’s original Fleet Services shop located in its Imperial headquarters was constructed in 1922, and has since been unable to stand the test of time — eventually lacking proper lighting, mechanical systems, electrical systems and up-to-date fire alarms.
Due to these deficiencies, IID proposed a plan in 2016 to build a new services shop, and, after a construction of time of approximately 12 months, celebrated its completion Wednesday morning with a ribbon-cutting ceremony.
IID staff, board directors and construction employees gathered to give recognitions for the newly built 61,700 square-foot shop, located on the northeast corner of IID’s yard, which was completed on-time and under budget.
“On reflection of all the big initiatives and what I perceive as lasting contributions that have been made during my time as general manager, one of the most important is probably this building,” said IID’s General Manager Kevin Kelley during the ceremony.
The new shop is home to IID’s 48 Fleet Services employees, who are responsible for the acquisition, management maintenance and disposal of approximately 800 vehicles and heavy equipment units, explained IID’s Media Commutations Officer Marion Champion.
“This includes light duty pickup trucks under one ton, heavy equipment vehicles, line trucks, generators and off-road type vehicles,” said Champion.
Also housed in the shop is IID’s Machine and Welding Unit, which plays a major support role to IID’s energy generation facilities and substations as well as water operations.
“Our fleet of service vehicles is expected to be ready and available every day, 365-days-a-year,” said IID Board President Bruce Kuhn. “With nearly 7,000 square miles of combined water and energy service territories, this amounts to millions of miles a year put on our fleet. Keeping these vehicles ready is a gargantuan task, but one our humble employees take on every day so that we can better serve the IID customer.”
IID’s original Fleet Services shop in 1922 housed mules that were used to help dig and dredge IID’s earthen canals. Commonly referred to as the mule barn, the building was a wooden frame structure that went through numerous changes over the years as operations evolved.
The new shop was under project development from November 2016 to January. Actual construction and implementation ran from January to November, which was lead by local companies A & R Construction and Duggins Construction Inc.
“This is truly a local effort that we should all be proud of,” expressed Duggins Construction President Russell Roben, who further explained that the project’s overall contract was made up of 80 percent local participation.
“That’s over 9 million dollars that stays right here,” mentioned Roben. The budget, Major Work Authorization No. 100644, was approved by IID’s Board of Directors in September 2016 with an approximately $15 million construction cost.
“This project is a great example of what our local community can do when we partner and work together,” said IID’s General Services Manager Jennifer Goodsell.
The final move-in process for employees and remaining equipment is set for March 2018, after which the new building will begin to be used.