My Clearwater
Fleet Keeps City Rolling
It takes a lot of grit and grime to keep Clearwater’s robust
fleet operating at perfection. The city’s fleet team gets the
job done each and every day. And national agencies are
taking notice.
This past summer, Clearwater’s
Fleet Division was
recognized as one
of the “100 Best
Fleets in North
America,”
ranking
93rd in the
nation out
of 38,000
public
fleets. The
award was
sponsored
by 100
Best Fleets
in America
and Governing
Magazine.
“They’re not just
mechanics,” said Perry Conzen,
the city’s fleet manager, of his team of 37
people. “They’re technicians. Now, you have
to use a laptop and have much more in-depth
knowledge and expertise to diagnose problems
in the equipment. Whether it be a fire truck,
police car or garbage truck, there’s definitely a lot
more knowledge that’s required in the pursuit of this
work, versus years ago.”
04 MyClearwater
The Fleet Division repairs and maintains the city’s fleet of
approximately 1,700 city vehicles and equipment. This
includes vehicles and equipment for Clearwater Police,
Clearwater Fire & Rescue, Clearwater Solid Waste/
Recycling, Clearwater Gas and Parks & Recreation. That is
police cars, fire engines, pick-up trucks, dump trucks,
solid waste transfer trucks, ambulances, back hoes,
trailers, trenchers for pipelines, and small
equipment, such as lawnmowers, up to
large track machines with 60-foot booms.
The Fleet Shop is all under one roof
and includes many divisions: Fire
Department/Heavy Equipment,
Police, Solid Waste, Medium Duty
(for large beach equipment trucks),ucks),
and a small-engine shop. “A lot ot can
be happening at the same time,e, like
like
welding, servicing and repairing.ng. A
lot goes on here when it’s real busy.”
usy.”
Technicians are required to buy their
own tools. Some of those toolboxes,
when empty, cost $26,000. Then,
they have to be filled with tools
worth tens of thousands of
dollars. In order to be hired,
a technician must have a full
set of tools, which is typically
a rollaway box. It’s a job
requirement. As they progress
through the years, they buy
new additional tools, with the
city providing specialty tools and