►
Description
On the latest episode of Chesterfield Behind the Mic, we talk to Craig Willingham of Fleet Services to learn more about the division, the scope of its mission, the way it impacts the overall organization, and how the new 34,000-square foot facility it just cut the ribbon on recently will improve things for the entire group.
Credits:
Director: Martin Stith
Executive Producer: Teresa Bonifas
Producer/Writer/Host: Brad Franklin
Director of Photography/Editor: Matt Boyce
Producer/Camera Operator: Martin Stith and Matt Neese
Graphics: Debbie Wrenn
Promotions and Media: J. Elias O’Neal, Elizabeth Hart, and Jackie Wilkens
Music:
Hip Hop This by Seven Pounds
Inspiring Electronic Rock by Alex Grohl
Guest:
Craig Willingham, Fleet Services Division Manager
Recorded on location by Communications and Media
Chesterfield.gov/podcast
Follow us on social media! On Facebook, like our page: Chesterfield Behind the Mic. On Twitter, you can find us at @ChesterfieldVa and on Instagram it’s @ChesterfieldVirginia. And you can also watch the podcast on WCCT TV Thursday through Sunday at 7 p.m. as well as on weekends at noon on Comcast Channel 98 and Verizon Channel 28.
A
Good
morning,
good
evening,
good
afternoon,
wherever
it
is
that
you
are
and
wherever
you
may
be,
thank
you
very
much
for
making
us
a
part
of
your
day.
I
am
Brad
Franklin
the
creative
content
right
here
in
Chesterfield
and
I'm
very
glad
to
tell
you
the
Chester
behind
the
mic
is
on
the
air
once
again
now,
as
you
can
see,
if
you
look
around,
we
are
not
in
the
studio
we
are
not
outside.
We
are
inside,
though
it
is
very
spacious
here.
This
is
the
new
Fleet
Services
headquarters
facility.
However,
you
want
to
describe
it.
A
A
We
were
going
to
talk
through
this
specific
facility
and
sort
of
how
it
changes
things
for
Fleet
here
in
a
few
minutes,
but
before
we
get
into
that,
Craig
I
want
to
talk
a
little
bit
about
I,
always
like
to
start
with
a
little
bit
of
a
conversation
about
the
guests
and
sort
of
where
they
came
from
how
they
came
to
be
sitting
across
the
table
from
me.
If
you
will
I
I
would
make
a
joke
about.
A
B
So
I
arrived
in
Chesterfield
in
May
of
2018
prior
to
being
at
Chesterfield,
I
was
at
VCU
I
was
the
fleet
manager
there
and
then,
while
I
was
there
I
also
took
on
Transportation,
so
that
was
not
only
for
the
academic
Campus
in
Overland
Park,
but
it
was
also
for
the
hospital
right.
So
that
was
you
know,
24
hours,
you
know
Transit
morning
noon
and
night.
B
You
know
being
on
a
on
a
University
campus
was
really
neat
and
also
very
challenging,
because
you're
dealing
with
students,
sometimes
parents,
right,
Stu
staff,
right
faculty
and
then
hospital
employees.
It
was
a
myriad
of
things,
but
you
know
on
top
of
that
doing
the
fleet
side.
You
know
you
were
dealing
with
multiple
departments.
B
Biology
police,
so
you
get
to
exposed
to
a
lot
of
different
people,
so
that
really
kind
of
helped
me
coming
on
board
here
to
Chesterfield
is
that
you
know
I've
been
in
touch
with
a
lot
of
different
people
here,
since
I
came
in
2018
right
prior
to
that,
I
was
at
City
of
Richmond
for
five
years
before
VCU.
So
you
know,
being
here
at
Chesterfield,
is
is
a
dream
country,
true,
because
this
is
an
awesome
place
to
be
here,
and
this
is
a
this
is
a
great
team
that
we
have.
A
A
Don't
think
that
a
lot
of
people
have
a
good
way
to
sort
of
get
their
arms
around
the
size
of
your
group.
This
all
of
the
the
different
things
that
fleet's
responsible
for.
So
let
me
ask
it
to
you
like
this:
how
would
you
kind
of
describe
fleet's
role
in
Chesterfield
and
and
how
would
you
kind
of
put
your
arms
around
the
enormity
of
of
the
division
as
a.
B
Whole,
so
what
Fleet
Services
does
here
in
Chesterfield
is
we
do
all
the
maintenance
and
repair
for
all
the
County
vehicles
and
also
the
public
school
buses
and
their
facilities
pieces
as
well.
Basically,
every
every
vehicle
that
the
county
has
We
Touch.
We
also
do
fueling
infrastructure.
We
have
our
own
fuel
sites,
so
we
can,
you
know,
buy
things
or
buy
fuel
at
a
reduced
cost
and
save
taxpayer
dollars.
That
way.
We
also
have
a
motor
pool
program.
B
Some
departments
don't
have
vehicles
but
have
needs
every
once
in
a
while
that
we
can
be
like
our
own
in-house
Enterprise
and
do
that,
and
we
also
do
some
other
ancillary
services
like
vehicle
disposals
onboarding
right.
We
do
the
title
and
Licensing
here
for
all
the
County
vehicles
as
well.
So
it's
a
myriad
of
things-
and
you
know
with
an
operation
that
we
have
here
here
in
Chesterfield-
it's
a
very
large
operation
compared
to
some
other
places
right
because
everybody,
even
though
they're
in
Fleet,
they
all
do
it
different
ways
right.
A
A
And
in
terms
of
sort
of
I
mean
I
know
you've,
you
said
2018,
so
I'm
just
curious.
You
know
you.
You
got
a
little
bit
of
time
before
the
pandemic.
You
got
obviously
through
the
pandemic
and
now
we're
kind
of
like
I,
don't
know
if
you
want
to
call
it
out
of
the
pandemic
or
whatever,
but
you've
gotten
a
little
bit
of
all
three
of
those
flavors
so
to
speak
and
I'm
just
curious.
How?
Even
in
the
time
you've
been
here,
how
you've
seen
Fleet
sort
of
change
for
Chesterfield.
B
That's
that's
an
interesting
question
because
I
was
I
was
thinking
kind
of
things
in
three
phases:
yeah
pre-covered,
then
in
the
middle
of
covet,
and
here
the
last
few
months
kind
of
getting
out
of
it-
and
you
know,
prior
to
covid,
things
were
running
pretty
much
automatic
things
were
more
predictable,
yeah
getting
your
parts,
we
have
an
in-house
Parts
operation.
We
can
kind
of
talk
more
into
that,
but
that
was
predictable.
Ordering
Vehicles
was
more
predictable
right.
A
A
A
A
B
Forth,
but
just
even
how
we
even
did
things
we
still
had
to
to
operate.
Our
shop
still
ran
right.
We
still
had
Public
Safety
vehicles
that
were
still
on
the
road
right.
Even
though
some
some
Vehicles
were
down.
We
still
had
to
run
operations,
we
had
to
do
it
differently.
We
had
to
separate
people
into
different
shifts,
and
you
know
kind
of
change.
Our
hours.
A
B
Was
it
was
very
trying-
and
you
know,
but
we
I
feel
that
we've
got
through
it
now
that
we're
kind
of
out
of
it
there
are
still
some
things
that
we're
still
kind
of
contending
with
right
as
a
result
of
it
right.
So
there
are
some
supply
chain
issues.
There
are
some
issues
with
vehicle
ordering
or
costs
have
gone
up.
A
B
A
A
To
pick
up
more,
like
you
mentioned,
Public
Safety,
there's,
obviously
more
law
enforcement,
Personnel,
there's
more
Fire,
EMS
personnel
and
I
can
imagine
that
as
the
county
has
grown
so
too,
his
Fleet
in
terms
of
sort
of
that
growth.
How
would
you
kind
of
describe
that
growth
and
do
you
feel
like
it's
kind
of
gotten
to
a
place
of
I,
don't
want
to
say
leveling
out
in
terms
of
the
growth
of
Fleet,
but
just
in
general?
How
has
that
that
that
growth
sort
of
impacted
the
division
so.
A
B
A
A
B
Than
we
typically
do,
but
that
may
level
off
in
the
in
the
not
so
distant
future,
but
I,
don't
really
know
exactly
when
that
will
be
yeah,
but
typically
as
as
your
organization
grows
or
your
population
grows.
So
does
your
responsibilities
and
Chesterfield's
growing.
It's
been
growing
for
for
quite
a.
A
A
B
A
Here,
yeah
and
I
can
imagine
to
the
demand
to
get
the
thing
to
get
the
vehicles
back
on
the
road
right
to
get
them
in
here
and
get
them
out
of
here
as
fast
as
possible.
I
can
imagine
that
that's
part
of
the
big
picture
too.
One
of
the
things
that
has
obviously
changed
over
time
has
been
the
maybe
the
diversification
so
to
speak,
of
the
the
vehicle
Fleet
right,
because
you've
got
a
lot
of
different
types
of
vehicles.
A
One
of
the
things
that
that
I
know
you're,
really
proud
of
in
in
your
division,
is
the
the
number
of
achievements
outside
the
organization
and
being
one
of
the
top
green
Fleet.
Obviously
that's
a
a
bigger
piece.
I
would
imagine,
as
time
goes
forward
and
I'm
just
curious
to
get
your
thoughts
on
sort
of
the
the
role
that
green
Fleet
plays
both
here
in
Chesterfield
and
in
terms
of
Fleet
in
general.
So.
A
B
Mobile
command
center.
All
that
and
one
thing
that
has
changed
and
actually
Chesterfield
kind
of
got
into
this
several
years
ago,
was
going
into
alternate
fuel,
we're
a
big
proponent
of
liquid
propane.
We
have
approximately
85
vehicles
or
so
that
are
powered
by
liquid
propane.
Excuse
me
most
of
those
are
school
school
buses
and
when
we,
you
know,
promote
that
and
go
for
these
assessment
programs-
or
you
know
some
people,
some
fleet,
people
call
it
contests
or
whatever.
But
you
know
to
promote
how
green
your
operation
is.
B
Right
is
something
that
you
can
hang
your
hat
on,
or
hang
your
organization's
hat
on,
and
fortunately
through
departments
like
public
schools
and
the
Sheriff's
Office
and
general
Services.
You
know
we've
been
able
to
kind
of
buy
into
that,
because
there's
a
lot
of
ancillary
benefits
with
that
too
right
and
that
type
of
you
know
buy-in
kind
of
helps
us
with
that
type
of
recognition.
But
it's
more
than
just
you
know,
just
propane
we're
now
into
electric
school
buses
right.
I
have
four
that
are
in
our
Fleet.
B
We're
looking
at
that
to
see
if
there
might
be
some
Avenues
to
kind
of
expand
into
that,
but
there's
also
you
know
we
use
synthetic
oil
instead
of
conventional
oil.
We've
been
doing
that
for
a
long
time.
So
there's
a
lot
of
different
things
that
we
do.
You
know
to
try
to
look
at
things
more
from
a
Greener
aspect,
and
you
know
we
were
able
to.
You
know,
promote
those
and
get
recognized
for
it.
A
How
many?
But
before
we
get
into
that,
let
me
let
me
start
here
how
many
people
do
you
have
in
in
terms
of
all
of
the
different
locations,
because
again
I
want
to
really
kind
of
drill
into
the
into
the
scope
piece
of
this,
because
I
think,
if
you
just
think
of
just
this
one
building
I
mean
this
is
a
significant
piece
of
the
puzzle.
But
there's
a
lot
more
of
the
puzzle
than
just
this
building
we're
going
to
talk
about
here
in
a.
A
B
Have
much
smaller
fleets
but
some
have
multiple
locations,
and
so
do
we.
We
have
five.
We
have
you
know
this
new
facility.
Here
we've
got
our
light
shop,
which
is
down
the
street.
We've
got
our
main
Bus
Shop
over
at
Courthouse
by
Bird
high
school.
We
have
a
another
bus
shop
at
Wamsley
by
Manchester,
Middle,
School,
okay,
and
then
we
have
a
small
satellite
operation
about
a
six
Bay
shop
over
at
utilities,
which
is
on
Public,
Works
Road.
B
So
five
in
all-
but
you
know
this
facility
here
is
one
that
you
know
you
say
is
a
game
changer
and
it
is
in
a
lot
of
ways.
It's
it's
taken
a
while
to
get
here.
We're
really
excited
that
we're
here,
I
know
just
for,
for
my
own
reason
that
I
haven't
had
an
office
really,
you
know
a
permanent
office
in
about
three
years
so
and
what
we
had
before
was
an
office
trailer.
So.
A
B
Certainly
an
upgrade
for
me
that
I
actually
have
a
permanent
home,
so,
but
this
this
location
here
is
is
is
certainly
it's
impressive
and
you
know
you
mentioned
the
radio
shop
with
what
we
did
was
the
former
heavy
shop
next
door
light
and
heavy
were
in
the
same
building.
So
we
call
that
Consolidated
right.
That
building
has
been
there
for
40
years.
B
There
was
a
need
to
kind
of
grow
into
a
larger
space
for
the
heavy
shop,
but
also
do
the
same
thing
for
the
radio
shop,
so
they
had
a
smaller
building
that
was
on
site
here.
So
when
we
moved
out
to
come
here,
they
moved
in
and
had
a
renovation
of
the
heavy
shop.
So
they
gained
more
space.
They
get
a
little
more
breathing.
B
B
A
I
can
imagine
there
are
lots
of
challenges
with
having
things
spread
out
so
I,
obviously,
having
that
more
space
in
in
various
locations
is
a
huge
benefit,
and
now,
in
terms
of
this
facility,
take
me
through
sort
of
the
timeline
you
mentioned.
It
had
been
sort
of
a
long
time
coming
now.
This
is
the
site
of
the
former
fire
training
grounds.
Yes,
sir,
take
me
through
a
little
bit
of
sort
of
how
this
came
to
be
how
how
we're
sitting
in
this
really
nice
facility.
B
So
some
of
the
wheel,
this
has
been
kind
of
going
on
for
a
long
time.
I
mean
it's
from
my
understanding
and
talking
to
some
folks.
This
has
been
something
that's
been
going
on
for
the
in
different
generations
for
the
better
part
of
two
decades,
oh
wow.
So
but
things
really
started
getting
into
motion.
You
know
you
know
a
little
before
I
got
in
the
door.
Things
were
already
kind
of
you
know,
starting
to
kind
of
move
and
and
by
then
the
the
fire
training
facility
had
already
been.
B
A
B
Yeah
and
it
really
worked
out
well
because
you
know
one
of
the
benefits
that
we
have
here
is
we
gain
more
space
for
parking
Vehicles.
We
actually
double
the
number
of
spaces
practically
than
we
had
before
so
having
it.
Here
you
know
was
smart
and
but
we,
you
know,
we
started.
Let's
see
like
I
said:
I
got
here
in
2018
and
things
were
already
kind
of
starting
to
move.
B
You
know,
but
really
kind
of
ramped
up
once
I
got
here,
but
we
broke
ground
summer
of
21
and
then
we
actually
started
moving
folks
in
in
January
23rd
right,
so
18-month
build.
You
know,
for
you
know
the
dynamic
that
we
had
with
the
economy
and
and
yeah.
You
know
everything
that
you
really
weren't
sure
when
certain
things
are
going
to
get
here,
we're
very
fortunate
that
things
were
held
on
schedule.
You
know
pretty
consistently.
B
The
base
for
some
of
that
so
basically
the
the
total
square
footage
of
the
buildings
about
thirty
four
thousand
square
feet.
The
shop
space,
which
is
what
we're
sitting
in,
is
22
000
square
feet.
It's
16,
Bays,
53,
foot,
long,
Bays,
16
foot,
you
know
High
Roll
doors,
I've
got
a
couple
of
28
diameter,
big
fans
here
to
kind
of
keep
it
cool
which,
which
is
nice,
but
one
thing
I
like
about
here.
It's
bright,
there's
natural
light.
It's
it's
a
lot
better.
In
terms
of
that
I
remember!
B
When
I
first
came
in
here
and
saw
how
bright
it
was
I,
just
I
kind
of
felt
better,
just
seeing
it
yeah,
not
that
it
was
here
but
just
wow.
This
is
this
is
really
nice,
but
you
know
each
of
the
each
of
the
Bays
you
can
drive
through
there's
no
lifts
in
the
ground.
We
have
mobile
column
lists
for
for
all
the
Bays.
That's
our
game
plan.
It
gives
us
some
more
flexibility
right.
A
A
B
The
main
thing
first
off
is
it's
it's
new.
It's
it's
to
me,
I,
look
at
it
as
a
recruitment
tool
for
potentially
some
prospective
employees
that
want
to
join
us
here
at
Chesterfield
right.
The
the
other
thing
that
really
kind
of
works
out
well
is
the
parking.
That's
one
issue
that
we
had
when
we
were
over
at
at
the
Consolidated
shop.
We've
almost
practically
double
our
spaces
now,
and
we
also
have
spaces
set
aside
for
larger
equipment
that
we
really
didn't
have
before.
B
We've
got
spaces
set
aside
for
our
fire
apparatus
and
school
bus.
You
know
parking
just
for
those
vehicles
that
you
know
gives
us
a
little
more
flexibility
and
and
actually
helps
us
kind
of
move
things
around
right.
Also,
one
of
the
things
that
is
a
benefit
with
all
of
this
is
that
on
the
security
side
of
it
we're
actually
going
to
have
the
whole
facility
gated
and
after
hours,
you
have
to
have
your
county
badge
to
access
the
lot.
You
know,
because
some
police,
you
know,
have
to
come
and
get
their
vehicles
afterwards.
A
Now
you
mentioned
earlier,
I
want
to
drill
into
this
before
we
let
you
go,
the
the
you
mentioned,
the
the
sort
of
supply
chain,
piece
of
it,
and
you
just
mentioned
recruitment,
I'm,
just
curious.
You
know
in
terms
of
the
challenges
that
that
Fleet
faces,
and
maybe
some
of
the
pressures
that
you
guys
experience.
A
A
B
Doing
a
very
good
job
with
that
now,
but
you
know
long
term
we're
going
to
have
to
look
at
some
things
with
that,
but
as
far
as
challenges
that
will
continue
for
a
while,
you
know,
like
we
said
supply
chain
there
are.
There
are
some
things
that
it
depends
on
the
commodity
and
even
with
some
vehicles
that
are
only
seven
or
eight
years
old
that
are
getting
service.
If
it's,
if
a
certain
component
is
is,
is
not
working,
we
may
be
waiting.
A
B
Order
and
even
though
we
have
a
lot
of
resources
from
Parts
as
far
as
trying
to
find
certain
things,
there's
it's
a
struggle,
but
it's
not
just
us.
It's
it's
Folks
at
other
locations
right,
it's
folks
in
the
private
sector,
you
know,
and
it's
it's
one
of
those
things
that
we're
I
think
is,
is
starting
to
improve
a
little
bit,
but
it's
we
still
have
a
ways
to
go
and
we're
going
to
be
continuing
with
this
for
a
while.
Another
thing
is
as
far
as
like
vehicle
orders.
B
B
B
Bit
right
and
then
the
more
specialized
the
equipment
right.
You
know
like
this
fire
apparatus
that
you
see
behind
me
the
longer
the
time
frame.
So
you
know
it's
a
balancing
act
and
it's
one
of
those
things
that
we
really
didn't
have
to
do
until
the
covet
arrived
and
all
of
a
sudden,
we've
had
to
rethink
how
we
do
business
and
rethink
how
we
project
things.
B
It's
still
the
crystal
ball
still
a
little
bit
unclear,
but
now
that
we're
about
three
years
into
it,
you
know
we're
starting
to
kind
of
make
some
sense
out
of
some
of
these
things.
But
recruitment
is
a
big
thing.
You
know
like
I
said
this
is
a
to
me.
This
is
a
recruitment
tool,
but
you
know
there
is
high
demand
for
technicians.
B
A
B
B
We
can't
do
our
job,
they
don't
have
the
vehicles
to
do
the
job
in
the
field,
and
so
you
know
you
asked
about
you
know
when
I,
when
I
came
to
Chesterfield
some
of
the
things
that
were
kind
of
bouncing
in
my
head.
It's
just
you
know
how
big
of
a
responsibility
it
is
to
have
this
operation
absolutely
and
the
gravity
of
it.
You
know,
as
far
as
you
know,
what
we
do
and
the.
A
Can
how
they
feel
yeah
so
yeah
all
right?
Let
me
get
you
out
here
on
this,
because
I
I
feel
like
this
is
a
great
opportunity
just
to
kind
of
capture
the
look.
How
excited
are
you
to
have
this
new
facility
and
for
Fleet
to
sort
of
not
just
because
of
this
specific,
but
also
with
the
renovations,
the
radio
shop
and
sort
of
like
I
said
everybody
has
a
little
extra
room?
How
excited
are
you
for
for
everything
to
be
falling
into
place?
I.
B
A
A
B
A
B
B
B
The
electric
electricity
and
the
paving
I'm
I'm
really
excited
like
I,
said
I
mean
you
know:
I
I
finally
have
an
office
a
permanent
office
again
for
the
first
time
in
a
while,
my
staff
has
a
permanent
place
again.
Yeah
I
have
technicians
that
are
here
that
have
a
brand
new
facility
that
you
know
is
is
bright
as
clean
as
Airy.
It
has
all
this
great
stuff.
B
A
B
Super
excited
to
be
here
to
be
honest
with
you,
and
it's
really
cool
I
know
that
you
know
when
the
some
of
the
video
and
the
pictures
that
that
I've
seen
especially
going
from
you
know
the
very
beginning,
yeah
and
I
go
back
and
look
at
it
and
see
wow.
This
is
this
is
so
impressive
yeah
you
know,
and
I've
had
I've
had
a
couple
folks
that
have
stopped
by
some
of
my
peers
that
have
stopped
by
and
want
to
check
it
out.
B
It's
kind
of
this
thing
in
Fleet
when
someone
gets
a
new
shop,
everybody
wants
to
look
at
it.
It's
like
it's
like
having
a
new
toy,
and
you
know:
I
had
a
I
had
a
couple
of
colleagues
here
today
that
you
know
wanted
to
look,
and
they
were
the
first
thing
they
said
when
they
came
here.
It's
just
wow
yeah.
How
bright
is
this
place?
We're
super
excited.
A
A
Thank
you,
sir.
Now
make
sure
you
check
us
out
on
social
media
on
Twitter
it's
at
Chesterfield
on
Instagram,
chats
for
Virginia
all
one
word
and
on
Facebook
you
can
check
out
our
podcast
page,
just
search
chestrobe
on
the
mic,
make
sure
to
like
that
patreon
to
go
forward.
Now.
Let
me
tell
you
about
all
the
ways
you
can
check
us
out.
You
can
watch
us
on
our
YouTube
channel
as
well
as
our
website.
Chesterfield.Gov,
podcast
and
audio.
A
Only
version
of
the
show
is
available
there,
as
well
as
on
Apple
podcast,
Spotify,
Google,
podcast,
overcast
and
a
whole
host
of
other
services.
You
can
also
watch
the
podcast
on
wct
Thursday
through
Sunday,
at
7
on
the
weekends
at
noon.
That's
Comcast,
channel,
98
and
Verizon
Channel
28
and,
lastly,
you
can
check
out
chesterfield.gov
connect
with
us
for
more
ways
for
you
to
get
in
touch
with
us
and
for
us
to
get
in
touch
with
you.
A
My
thanks
to
my
director,
Martin
stiff,
my
executive
producer,
Teresa
bonifas,
and
all
the
good
folks
here
in
Communications
media
for
all
that
they
do,
and
my
thanks
to
you
for
joining
us
today.
So
from
all
of
us
here
in
Chesterfield
County,
thanks
again
for
making
us
a
part
of
your
day,
we'll
see
you
again
real
soon
take
good
care.