April 2008Central Shops Keeps City Vehicles RunningBy Adam BrodyJerrold Avenue, which cuts across Potrero Hill’s southern edge, is home to numerous aging industrial facilities, including the walled-in Southeast Water Pollution Control Plant, which processes upwards of 90 percent of San Francisco’s sewage. During the day a constant flow of City vehicles cruise the street, many turning into a large parking lot just west of the Southeast Plant. The lot extends back to a series of large warehouses, known to City personnel as Central Shops. Located at 1800 Jerrold Avenue, the yard is the central maintenance and repair facility - including body work - for most City-operated motor vehicles, excluding the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission, Municipal Transportation Agency, San Francisco Airport and the Port of San Francisco. According to Tom Fung, the City’s Director of Fleet Management, Central Shops was created at its present location in 1959, and is managed by the San Francisco City Administrator / General Services Agency. Since 1985 the facility has been run by Superintendent Jim Johnson, who has more than 30 years of experience in the vehicle fleet maintenance industry. The repair yard is funded through an internal service fund, with its biggest users consisting of the Recreation and Park, Public Works, Police, and Fire departments. The yard operates Monday through Friday from 7 a.m. to 11:30 p.m., but is closed to the public. It employs 116 workers, consisting mostly of automotive craft workers, as well as machinists, welders, pattern makers and administration staff. All told Central Shops services a fleet of approximately 5,300 units, varying from lawn edgers to aerial fire trucks. The yard completes 34,000 maintenance repairs annually, according to its Efficiency Plan.
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