PARKERSBURG - The state Division of Motor Vehicles will vacate its temporary location at West Virginia University at Parkersburg by Wednesday as the search for a permanent location continues, a DMV official told the Wood County Commission Monday morning.
Pete Lake, West Virginia Division of Motor Vehicles director of regional office and call center services, appeared before the commission to give an update on the search for a new permanent location for its regional offices. The Dudley Avenue DMV site was closed in March on short notice after it was learned repairs needed to be done to the roof and structure. The building's owner had declared bankruptcy. The building has since been sold at auction.
''We will be vacating our temporary location at WVU-P this week so they can prepare for their fall classes,'' Lake said. ''The temporary office there will be closed Wednesday evening at 5 p.m., and we will be transitioning a move to a new temporary location.''
That location is expected to open next week or the week after. The location was not announced at Monday's meeting as negotiations were still ongoing.
Services will still be offered at the Wood County Sheriff's Department/Assessor's Office in the Judge Black Courthouse Annex on Market Street, including driver's license and identification card renewal services; vehicle registration renewal services; boat renewal services; and doing duplicate registration cards.
Lake said it will be the intention to move all of the services at the Judge Black Annex to the new temporary location in the coming weeks. However, there will be no break in services offered as those will remain at the annex for the time being, he said.
Fact Box
In Brief
The state Division of Motor Vehicles will vacate its temporary location at West Virginia University at Parkersburg by Wednesday as DMV officials are looking to set up a new temporary office to handle all services people have been requiring in this area.
A new temporary office is expected to be set up in a new location locally, which will combine the services of the temporary office at WVU-P and the services being offered at the Judge Black Annex downtown at one location.
The search is continuing for a new permanent location for the regional DMV office for Parkersburg.
''We want to put all of DMV back under one roof, which will enable us to go back to full service, including title work and motorcycle testing,'' Lake said. ''We will be back to providing the services we provided at the original Parkersburg DMV offices.''
Driver's license testing will resume at a new location in approximately two weeks, with the expectation all DMV services will be offered, including vehicle titling. In the meantime, customers may utilize other regional office locations, including Clarksburg, Spencer, Point Pleasant, Moundsville and Kanawha City, for their driver's license testing and vehicle titling.
''It is hard to believe it has been about five months (since the Parkersburg DMV office closed),'' commission President Blair Couch said.
Commissioner Steve Gainer asked why they were still looking at temporary sites and not a permanent site.
Officials originally hoped to have a new permanent location secured by Oct. 1, but Lake said that is not going to happen as available space is still a concern to house all of the needed services.
''We are still looking at that,'' he said. ''It has been readvertised in an effort to make sure we touch everyone who might have been missed and give everyone an opportunity to propose a new site.
