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CHULA VISTA

The following two sites are under the direction of the City of Chula Vista. Marketing for both sites is conducted concurrently and involves a multi-faceted approach directed to telecommuters, businesses, and government agencies. Examples of planned or recently completed activities aimed at telecommuters are direct marketing to parents through local schools and day care facilities (a brochure was created and approximately 29,000 copies were distributed); listing the telecenters in Community Exchange, which is a telephone marketing service in Chula Vista that people can call to get information about local resources and activities; contact with members of home owners associations, community clubs, and churches; and distribution of leaflets to local residents along with invitations to an open house. Periodic open houses are an ongoing part of the marketing plan. The most recent open houses were held at the end of May and during the first week in August; the next scheduled open house is planned for the downtown facility on September 21. It will be strongly promoted with direct mail, telemarketing, and press releases. Another promotional effort being investigated is including a section about the telecenters on the City of Chula Vistas World Wide Web home page, which is now being created.

Marketing efforts are directed to businesses on three fronts: as employers of potential telecommuters; as potential corporate partners that contribute funding, equipment, or services to the telecenter; and as potential renters of telecenter facilities or services such as videoconferencing equipment. Developers have begun forming a database of regional employers by purchasing a Dunn & Bradstreet business database of over 2,000 records and by obtaining a list of contacts from the Southern California New Business Association. They are currently developing a flyer to mail to the employers in the combined database and to insert into newsletters of local homeowners associations. The Chula Vista administrators are also working in a cooperative effort with the South Bay Coalition Group to target major businesses located in the Otay Mesa area for telecommuting, ride sharing and van pooling. They have already outlined a proposal to Sanyo North America on how these programs can be started, and are using this experience as a pilot program to prepare presentations for other companies in the area.

A marketing package to pursue partnerships with businesses has been developed. The package consists of a letter of purpose, a list of current sponsorship relationships, a facilities description, a list of current users, and a number of marketing articles and brochures about the telecenters. Partnerships have been established with TeleImages, which provides the videoconferencing system in exchange for use of the facility to demonstrate the system; University of Phoenix, which rents a private office and conference room/classroom space and is interested in using the facility for distance learning; and University of California at San Diego, which provides free Internet service. New partnerships are being developed with Congressman Filner's office, National University, Pacific Bell, and AT&T. Administrators are also pursuing telemedicine applications for their sites. They are members of San Diego Mayor Golding's City of the Future telemedicine subcommittee, and are interested in offering a telemedicine application that provides information at their centers with the assistance of other subcommittee members. They are also negotiating an agreement with a Mexican physician who is interested in training Mexican doctors using a distance learning/on line resource.

To complement the outreach to both individuals and businesses, site administrators have attended and participated in several conferences and trade shows, and are making arrangements to participate in several more in coming months.

A great deal of low-cost publicity was generated for both of these telecenters with the grand opening of the downtown facility on February 25, 1995. The telecenters faxed approximately 50 press releases to TV stations, radio stations, and newspapers, and distributed more than 300 marketing packages (brochures, flyers, fact sheets, and user agreements) at the grand opening. In addition, TeleImages and the University of Phoenix issued their own press releases about the event.

Site administrators followed this event with a public open house on March 9, 1995, which was also designed to maximize publicity for the centers at a very low cost. A flyer announcing the open house was designed and mailed to 970 county employees who live in Chula Vista. In conjunction with this mailing, an electronic mail message about the open house was sent to all county employees (more than 16,000), and an article about the telecenter was included in the county newsletter. The same flyer was mailed to 517 city employees and 35 potential telecommuters identified by the marketing response report (a demographic report prepared for the university from a survey designed to solicit names of potential telecommuters living in neighborhoods surrounding RABO sites). The flyers were also distributed through the Chamber of Commerce, Visitors' Center, Chula Vista Library, Farmers' Market, and local businesses. Public service announcements were broadcast over radio, and announcements were posted in local newspapers and on local cable television stations.

Planned improvements at the centers include the introduction of an electric shuttle van. Procedures, policies, and a schedule for the service are currently being devised. The ElekTruk is intended to help the telecenters achieve zero emission goals and provide an added convenience to telecenter users. Developers expect to have the program in place in August 1995.

Additional support for these centers is provided by the San Diego County Air Pollution Control District and Cox Cable.

City of Chula Vista Eastern Telecenter

The Eastern (previously referred to as "H Street") Telecenter is located in a small commercial development bordered on all sides by extensive residential neighborhoods. It contains 1,500 square feet housing the telecommute work area, one conference room, a lounge area, site administrator's office, and reception area. The center recently added four more 486 personal computers, giving them a total of seven workstations equipped with PC's and one with a Macintosh. A second Macintosh computer that has been donated by Cox Cable should be installed soon, and a new Xerox 5320ZTAS copier was recently acquired. The center also provides a facsimile machine for telecommuter use.

For security reasons, the personal computers are not networked. Users have a designated workstation that is accessed through a security code. Each computer is equipped with MS Office Professional, Windows, Procomm Plus, WordPerfect, and Winfax Lite. Users can install their own software; however, no user files may be stored on the hard disk.

Because the site is located in a neighborhood commercial development, most amenities are close by; additionally, the site is across the street from the local community college, providing a wide range of educational activities. Other facilities within two blocks of the center include child care, banks, a grocery store, restaurants, health clubs, cleaners, fast food, auto repair shops, and a drug store.

Five telecommuters currently use the Eastern Telecenter. Over the last several weeks, the center has been used an average of eleven person-days per week.

City of Chula Vista Downtown Telecenter

As indicated above, this second Chula Vista telecenter (previously referred to as the "F Street" facility) celebrated its grand opening in February. The facility is designed to accommodate the needs of people and the environment to improve the quality of life. The design incorporates an aquatic theme and provides an aesthetically pleasing environment. Materials used in furnishing and equipping the telecenter include the following environmentally friendly products.