New Kelso DOL office opens July 2
Marking what the Washington State Department of Licensing says is one of its fastest-ever office reopenings, Kelso's new permanent licensing office will open on July 2 - less than eight months after a landlord-tenant dispute abruptly closed the previous location at the end of last year.
The new location will be inside state offices located at 711 Vine St., the same complex where the agency's van-based "DOL2Go" mobile team has been offering driver licensing services on Thursdays and Fridays since February.
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The DOL2Go team in January helped motorists at the Kelso library inside the Three Rivers Crossing mall before moving to the Vine Street location the following month, according to earlier news reports.
What's different with the permanent location will be its hours open Mondays through Fridays starting after July 2, according to a release about the new location issued by the DOL.
The new location will be open Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Fridays from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. And Thursdays from 9:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
Those needing services this week will still be able to use DOL2Go services, which will be at the site from 9:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. this Thursday, June 26, and from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. on Friday, June 27, at 711 Vine St.
The old Kelso DOL office, located in the Wilco shopping center, was closed on Dec. 17, after the state abruptly terminated its lease due to what it said was a landlord-tenant dispute over a leaking roof.
The abrupt closure forced Cowlitz County residents needing driver licensing services to travel to offices in Vancouver or Centralia, each about 40 minutes from Kelso, before the agency sent its mobile DOL2Go team.
New DOL office location on Vine Street
The entrance to the Washington State Department of Labor & Industries building at 711 Vine St. is shown in this photo taken April 20 in Kelso. The state Department of Licensing has signed a contract to open a permanent office within the state-owned building near the intersection of Eighth and Vine streets.
According to an earlier news report referencing the DOL's state report on Driver Licensing Office Workload, in the months before the Kelso office's closure, it had been the agency's sixth busiest driver licensing office out of 44 in the state.
Its closure sent many of those displaced motorists to what was already the fifth busiest office in Vancouver.
The DOL previously told The Daily News in April that the new location would not be ready until next year.
Marcus Glasper, director of the DOL, said in quotes attributed to him in the release that the move "represents one of the fastest office reopenings in our agency's history."
He attributes that swift reopening to the agency working closely with the state Department of Enterprise, which owns the building, and the Department of Labor & Industries, which quickly worked to accommodate the DOL, along with community leaders and state lawmakers.
"All of us were clear that our primary objective was getting services to our customers as quickly as possible," Glasper said.
He also thanked local lawmakers, including state Rep. Ed Orcutt, R-Kalama; state Sen. Jeff Wilson, R-Longview; state Rep. Peter Abbarno, R-Centralia; state Sen. John Braun, R-Centralia; Rep. Jim Walsh, R-Aberdeen; and Rep. Joel McEntire, R-Cathlamet.
"Their support during this project helped speed the opening of the new office," Glasper said.
Glasper will celebrate the opening of the new Kelso office with a short ceremony scheduled for 9:15 a.m. Thursday, July 2 at the new location.
What services will be offered?
When it opens, the new location will be able to accommodate residents needing first-time Washington driver licenses and ID cards, including "enhanced" REAL ID-compliant cards, renewals of Washington driver licenses, permits and ID cards, out-of-state transfers, driver records, reinstatement letters and commercial driver license testing.
Similar to the prior office, the new Kelso office will not offer other knowledge or skills tests.
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