Cottrel: New Carlisle title office a rare gem

Why does everything have to be so complicated? Some days it just seems impossible to jump over all the hurdles and through all the hoops that life puts before you. That is how I felt last Friday.

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I needed to get a copy of an old car title quickly to make a sale. It’s been awhile since I’ve had to do this, so I understood some things had changed.

Fairborn is closest for me, but they moved their title bureau into a different building in the middle of town. That takes much longer. I decided to go to the title office on Bechtle Avenue.

Wrong choice for me. The tag office is still there, but they couldn’t help me. The title office has been moved to downtown, which is even more inconvenient for me than Fairborn. Traffic lights, more traffic and finding a parking place made this not a simple option.

So I headed off over the river and through the woods to New Carlisle, 430 North Main Street, to be exact.

That is the location of the New Carlisle BMV License Services and Title Department.

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I’d forgotten how much I loved this office when I worked in New Carlisle. I was happy to see it was as great as ever. Parking was close and free.

There are two offices off the waiting room. One is a counter for license services. This is where you get tags, renew your driver’s license, get an identification card and obtain that disabled tag.

I walked right up to the other window which is for the Title Department. There was no line.

Getting a copy of my title was a bit more complicated than I expected, but the clerk efficiently walked me through the process. While I waited for a FAX, I looked around the office.

The counter provided tag service and took photos for driver’s licenses. There was even a sign explaining that the office also has an Agency for Ohio Watercraft Registration.

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There was information for the writing of checks and an ATM for those who forgot the checkbook or didn’t have one. It truly was like one-stop shopping.

I also noted while I was there that the woman at the title window was giving the next person another specific list of what was needed. I couldn’t hear what was being said except for the term, “I’m sorry.”

Judging by her expression, it was obvious that the clerk was actually sincerely sorry when the customer did not have all the paperwork needed. She wanted it to go smoothly as much as he did.

You know, that little bit of compassion went a long way with that customer who when he left smiled and said he’d be back in a bit with the papers. It was the same way I felt.

I also spoke with some other customers who were there from Fairborn.

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“Why can’t other government offices be this convenient?” they said. They told me that getting all they needed with title and license done in one building was so nice and worth the drive.

That seemed to be the consensus here. People appreciated the convenience, efficiency and the hometown friendliness.

One thing that might be a bit awkward is that the title agency closes from noon to 12:30 p.m. every day for lunch. Customers just need to be aware of the break.

Now the two agencies do not have the same hours. The Title agency is open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday. It is not open on Saturday. However, the license services counter is open from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. weekdays and 8 a.m. to noon on Saturdays.

On Aug. 6, News-Sun reporter Michael Cooper wrote rumors about the agency closing are wrong. In fact, he wrote that Clerk of Courts Melissa Tuttle recently expanded the hours of the branch of the Title Agency.

If you live in western Clark County, be sure to make good use of this agency. The way I see it, the more customers it has the better. We are blessed with a rare gem here and keeping it going should be a priority.

And I’d like to thank the clerk for making my day.

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