Abandoned vehicles being hauled out of Sun Valley

The Washoe County Sheriff’s Office and Sun Valley General Improvement District have been working since mid-summer to remove a plethora of abandoned vehicles in Sun Valley, although plenty of work remains.

During a presentation to Washoe County commissioners on Tuesday, Sheriff’s Lt. Dennis Hippert identified three recent operations involving junk vehicles in Sun Valley.

Hippert said 17 abandoned vehicles were removed in mid-July from the junction of Aloha Way and Klondike Drive with the help of three inmate work crews who filled two 30-yard dumpsters each.

Another 27 abandoned vehicles were removed in early September from six targeted areas and crews last week began targeting Leon Drive, removing five vehicles and more are expected.

When abandoned vehicles are reported, Hippert said they’re given 72 hours to be removed. If they remain in place, he said they get towed by one of six contracted companies that would keep such vehicles on their lot until a junk title certificate was issued by the Nevada Department of Motor Vehicles. Said vehicles would then belong to the towing company, which could dispose of them.

“However, we had some unique challenges as everybody else did due to the COVID-19 DMV shutdown,” Hippert said. “This basically prevented the tow companies from removing any vehicles previously from their lots, giving them no additional room or space to remove any additional vehicles from the community. Their storage space issue in that regard resulted in a very large, unsightly amount of abandoned vehicles throughout Washoe County.”

The Sheriff’s Office then began doing title searches and getting junk title certificates so abandoned vehicles could be disposed of without sitting on towing lots for extended periods, Hippert said. Sun Valley GID is providing funds for towing.

Commissioner Kitty Jung said she’d like to hear from the Sheriff’s Office about what its priorities are in regard to this issue and what resources are needed when it comes to next year’s budget.

“The only way we’re going to stay on top of this is to stay on top of this,” Jung said.