Gilroy
– The days of abandoned vehicles in Gilroy are numbered.
More of the vandalized, leaking cars that are parked on city
streets and left there indefinitely are being red-tagged.
By Lori Stuenkel
Gilroy – The days of abandoned vehicles in Gilroy are numbered.
More of the vandalized, leaking cars that are parked on city streets and left there indefinitely are being red-tagged. And since the Volunteers In Policing (VIPs) stepped in to speed up the process, those tagged vehicles are likely to disappear in a matter of days rather than months.
“We try to get out there right away,” said Sharon Fuqua, a volunteer with the Gilroy Police Department who is in charge of reporting abandoned vehicles.
Technically, owners have 72 hours to move their car after a warning tag is posted on its windshield. But sometimes, the process will move even swifter.
“If it’s a hazard or something – the engine is leaking, it’s clearly a total wreck – a lot of times we’ll just grab it and go,” Fuqua said.
Community Service Officer Gary Muraoka, who is in charge of abandoned vehicle abatement among other responsibilities such as blight and parking enforcement, set up a way to create abatement reports on the computer.
The computer-based form is just one of the ways vehicle abatement has been streamlined to keep ditched and damaged cars off the curb.
During the first quarter of 2005, 420 cars were red-tagged, and 76 were towed, which Fuqua estimates was double what GPD handled in the past.
Before this year, the tag-and-tow process often was backlogged because of Muraoka’s numerous responsibilities and the time involved in abating problem vehicles. He still sees that the vehicles are actually towed, but the VIPs speed things up by ensuring the car has been identified properly and at least 72 hours prior.
Muraoka declined to comment for this article.
The process to remove an abandoned vehicle, including recreational vehicles, begins with either a report from a resident, or a visual identification by police officers, community service officers, of volunteers. Fuqua oversees six to nine police volunteers – who generally work eight to 10 hours each week – working in teams of two to three, who tag between 15 and 20 cars each week. One day a couple weeks ago, they tagged 35 cars in one day.
In the interest of efficiency, Fuqua and Muraoka designed a new red warning tag that makes it easier to report cars to the state. An officer or VIP takes down the vehicle’s information on the peel-away sheet, and checks off a list of conditions the state says must be present on an abandoned vehicle, such as a missing engine, leaking fluids, flat tires, missing license plates and debris. The conditions correspond to a point system. Four points means the vehicle can be towed; the average abandoned vehicle in Gilroy racks up eight points, Fuqua said. The sticker placed on the windshield tells the owner when the vehicle must be moved, and whether it will be towed because it hasn’t moved in 72 hours, is abandoned, or has expired registration.
Fuqua inputs the information into the computer and obtains all relevant information from the Department of Motor Vehicle records, another recently added duty. She is the only VIP with DMV access.
She prints daily reports, and VIPs check cars once more after 72 hours have passed. If they are still there, Muraoka reports them to Gilroy tow companies and they are removed.
“This is all about making money for the city, and I like to make (Muraoka’s) job easier,” Fuqua said.
The state reimburses each county that participates in vehicle abatement, and monies are distributed according to population and the percentage of vehicles abated. The amount Gilroy receives was not available by press time, but is in the thousands of dollars each year, according to Fuqua’s estimates.
If a vehicle owner wants the car back after it’s been towed, it will cost $140, plus $40 for each day it’s been in the lot, said an employee of Marx Towing. After a month, the vehicle is handed over to a scrap yard.
As volunteers help the GPD clear away vehicles, Fuqua said she is actually noticing that fewer get reported, which she attributes to the large number that have already been towed.
To report an abandoned vehicle, call 846-0320.
