GRANDVIEW, Mo. — Grandview's new DMV has only been open about a month, but it's already drawing high praise.
The $700,000 renovation is only the first phase of Grandview's larger, $21 million "Building Up Grandview No Tax Increase Bond Package" voters overwhelmingly approved in April of 2022.
Some officials are calling it the "nicest in the state."
“I mean, where else can you go and people love to come and pay? Think about it,” Grandview Mayor Leonard Jones said. "I am very proud of this.”
So, what makes a good DMV, a good DMV?
Debbie Bowlin, the license office manager, said it boils down to competence and efficiency.
“We want them to be able to come in and do their business and then go out with a smile," she said. “That’s what it’s all about, it’s customer service.”
She says it's a far cry from Grandview's old location, which used to be tucked away in a maze of half a dozen other departments in city hall.
“Yeah, I’ve been to that place," Oguntade Ogunsole, a DMV customer recalled. "We que, we waste time, everything. But here, before you know it, boom boom boom, everything is perfect."
The space is new, there are more service windows, and the tech has been updated.
“This place is very good, very nice. The computer, the people, we don’t even waste time. Unlike the former place," Ogunsole said.
The next updates coming to Grandview are City Hall and the police station.
Both are now closed for their own $5.3 million renovation.
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