Governing for Results 16 - Washington State Digital Archives

Department of General AdministrationNorth Cascades Gateway Center Fiber Optics ProjectThe North Cascades Gateway Center is a 230-acre, state-owned propertylocated near Sedro-Woolley, Washington. The Department of GeneralAdministration (GA) manages the center’s 40 buildings and park-like grounds.The project, a joint effort by public and private non-profit center tenants, installeda high-speed, fiber-optic network across the campus. Each tenant operated itsown computer network system using old, slower technology. GA trades peoplespent up to ten minutes logging on to the agency’s system in Olympia to gainInternet access when they needed to look up and order parts for repair jobs.The project installed a fiber optic network connecting the Sedro-Woolley SchoolDistrict’s four locations at the center to non-profit and state offices. The PacificNorthwest Trails Association, the non-profit tenant, received a $70,000 grant forequipment from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. GA provided labor forinstalling the network. The school district provided technical expertise to connectand operate the system. All tenants involved in the project now enjoy fast Internetconnections through the K-20 system. For GA, the improvement means staffspends more time responding to tenant work requests and less time on thecomputer. The project, estimated at $200,000, was completed for $70,000.Results Achieved:Avoided $130,000 in costs by pooling resources and expertise. Original costestimate prepared by Sedro-Woolley School District.Saved $500 annually in SCAN telephone billing.Reduced staff time on the computer by 286 hours annually.Success of project has led to other inter-tenant partnerships.Public access to network is a condition of grant money and the new loop isopen to everyone.Team Name: North Cascades Gateway Center Fiber Optics TeamTeam Members: Doug Walker, Harvey Voss, Dan Singleton, Burke Smith,Duncan Crump, Rich Shimizu, Gerri KrampetzCONTACT: Dan Singleton, (360) 856-316237