Welcome to Skagit County
April 20, 2004
CONSULTANT RECOMMENDS FORMING CONSORTIUM OF LOCAL GOVERNMENTS FOR SKAGIT
COUNTY FIBER BUILD-OUT
SKAGIT COUNTY - TMC Group, a telecommunications consulting firm hired by Skagit County, recommended today that Skagit County utilize available economic development funds to help create a consortium of cooperating local governments to expand fiber optic services.
The Skagit County Board of Commissioners voted unanimously in 2002 to approve $750,000 of funding for the extension of the fiber optic network in Mount Vernon to Burlington, the Port of Skagit County and to United General Hospital in Sedro-Woolley. Before releasing the funds, the Commissioners proposed that a management plan be established that assured participating government agencies had input into the decision making process in regard to management of the system.
The funding source is a .08 percent sales tax refund from the State of Washington to be used for public facility financing that creates employment opportunities. In 2000, the Board of Skagit County Commissioners adopted Resolution 17837 issuing bonds of $8,000,000 to finance public facility projects within Skagit County with the principal and interest being paid from sales tax collected.
TMC Group recommended that Skagit County should use its economic development funds to help create a consortium. The consortium will direct efforts and coordinate between members, but it will not supercede members' authority or rights. Rather than assigning the funds to a single entity for additional fiber builds, the County should use the funds to:
- Establish the consortium
- Obtain additional legal
and technical assistance as required
- Pursue federal, state,
and private foundation grants
- Begin targeted fiber builds with a high economic development return, as agreed to by the consortium participants. The best initial use of funds would be to link the Port of Skagit County to the existing Mount Vernon fiber network, especially since the Port's primary mission includes encouraging economic development.
View the report here. (Adobe Pdf)
For further information,
contact: Dan Berentson
360.419.3461