Bay County Road Commission seeks new 44,000-square-foot garage and automated wash to protect fleet; commissioners receive report

The Bay County Road Commission on Sept. 9 presented the Bay County Board of Commissioners with plans for a new vehicle storage and maintenance facility meant to protect heavy equipment, reduce maintenance costs and improve employee safety.

Jim Lillo, a member of the road commission management team, told commissioners the current fleet is often stored outside or in buildings that predate modern vehicle sizes and lack fire suppression. "There's a definite need to get them inside," Lillo said, describing trucks parked only inches apart and graders stored on gravel floors.

Lillo said the proposed main structure would be roughly 100 by 300 feet (about 30,000 square feet of truck storage) plus a 40-by-300-foot lean-to for pickups and a 25-by-80-foot automated truck wash, for a total building area "just shy of 44,000 square feet." The design is a pre‑engineered steel building; piles will be required under the foundation because of soft soils at the site on Beaver Road, he said.

Why it matters: Lillo said much of the…