Saint-Genis impound lot for abandoned vehicles, Digi Mart USA News (Saint-Genis, Pays de Gex, France): The municipal council of Saint-Genis unanimously approved the principle of using a public service concession to set up an automobile impound lot, according to a report from La Voix de l’Ain. The proposal was presented to elected officials on Tuesday, November 3, during an evening session of the council in the town hall meeting room.
Saint-Genis is among the communes in the Pays de Gex most affected by abusive parking and so-called “ventouse” cars, which are left in place for long periods. A count carried out by municipal services, including the municipal police, recorded more than 200 such vehicles in recent months.
The town’s first deputy mayor, Michel Dutkiewicz, said the commune is regularly confronted with obstructive, abusive parking on public land and with abandoned vehicles that require an impound procedure.
Because the town has no suitable site for the facility and lacks the material and human resources to operate one, the service will be entrusted through a public service delegation to an approved impound keeper. The operator’s duties will include towing, storage, return of vehicles, transfer to the department of state property, or destruction of vehicles across the entire municipal territory.
Candidates in the tender must hold a prefectoral approval, operate a fenced and guarded site, and be able to intervene quickly. The total cost of the operation is estimated at 213,000 euros over five years.
To keep the fee paid to the provider down, the more than 200 vehicles already identified in the town as abandoned will not be included in the contract with the future operator. According to the report, that aspect of the problem will be handled separately, though still with the same operator.
Mayor Sylvie Durand said the initiative, although backed by the executive, was driven by municipal services. She said she supports the trial the town will carry out, noting that other communes have already tested similar measures and that the issue is difficult to manage.
The report quotes former mayor Hubert Bertrand expressing concern about the difficulty of managing the impound data. The mayor said the town counts more than 250 such vehicles and that services are working to have them removed, with the main challenge being to prevent long-term parking and vehicles that remain in place.
The municipal police chief, who took up his post in August, said a census of all vehicles was conducted after officials, residents and staff observed the problem. He described vehicles parked in lots in poor condition, with flat or deflated tires and, in some cases, no license plates.
He said an impound facility would give residents parking spaces when they return from work and could help curb arson and feelings of insecurity, citing vehicles with broken windows, flat tires or children playing inside.
