DMV expects bugs will be exterminated at new office

Valerie Miller

Tuesday, June 2, 1998 | 9:59 a.m.

Bugs and glitches plagued Monday's grand opening of Henderson's first full-service DMV office.

It didn't totally spoil the occasion, bolstered by dignitaries and refreshments, but it did set some critics loose.

"I don't understand this," complained, Jerry Hartman, waiting to get his car registered. "We spent millions to get this and we are still waiting in line. This is just wrong."

Hartman also grumbled that the old DMV express office at 874 S. Boulder Highway, which closed Thursday, was closer to his home.

Cliff Verville, another customer waiting in the long vehicle registration line, cited a lack of clerks.

"I've seen 19 slots (customer service windows) on this side of the line, but only nine people staffing them," he said. "There's just not enough people here."

The comments were made as the Nevada State Department of Motor Vehicles and Public Safety celebrated the opening of the 18,600-square-foot facility in the company of state Sen. Bill O'Donnell, R-Las Vegas, Assemblywoman Barbara Cegavske, R-Las Vegas, and Assemblywoman Sandra Tiffany, R-Henderson.

Nancy Wojcik, the DMV's southern regional manager for driver's licenses, said the unexpected wait on opening day was due to sudden problems with the Q-Matic System -- a system that eliminates waiting in line by giving customers numbers and allowing them to sit down until their number is called. The same system has been effective at the main DMV office on Sahara Avenue in Las Vegas.

Regardless of the last-minute problems with the system, the new Henderson DMV office is already more efficient that the old one, Wojcik said.

"Because of the glitch in the Q-Matic System, we are using a line system, but it only took 20 minute to serve about 20 customers, so that is a lot better than the lines at the old DMV, which were two hours or more," she explained.

Wojcik said the Q-Matic System was expected to be up and running within a few days.

The new DMV office is located at 1399 American Pacific Drive, off Gibson Road, next to the Ocean Spray Cranberry factory. The site was partly chosen to be more accessible for Green Valley residents.

Located on 5.75 acres, the facility cost $3.4 million and took about a year to build. Features include 27 sit-down windows (as opposed to seven at the old DMV), a kids' play area and a full motorcycle testing area. The new building will also have 70 employees, whereas the former Henderson DMV had only 12.