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GRASS VALLEY
Grass Valley Telework Center

Open since February 1994, this center was developed and is administered by the Western Nevada County Transportation Management Association. Support continues to be provided by the Northern Sierra Air Quality Management District and the Pacific Gas and Electric Company. Additional support is provided by Waste Management, Inc., which owns the building housing the telecenter and leases it at substantially less than the market rate.

In July 1995, the telecenter moved to 640 East Main Street, which is situated between the downtown section and a residential area in Grass Valley. The new facility offers approximately twice as much space (just under 3,000 square feet) as the initial location. The center has six cubicle workstations, each equipped with an IBM 486 personal computer and a dot matrix printer. There is one shared laser printer and a recently installed AT&T Vistium desktop videoconference unit. The Vistium equipment uses the industry's standard language, making it compatible with videoconference equipment from the other major manufacturers.

Developers are planning more improvements to the site during the next few weeks. Some of the extra space in the telecenter's new facility will be used to add four workstations for drop-in users, leaving a substantial amount of space for future expansion. Also, the telecenter has formed a partnership with Grass Valley Community Network to bring Internet access to the facility. The center will be on line September 1, 1995.

Marketing strategies continue to be primarily directed at recruiting employees through community outreach. Specific efforts in this area include direct mailings; radio and cable television promotion; and working with realtors, who use the telecenter as a selling point for potential home buyers. The site administrator also contacts employers directly and works with key persons in each company to promote telecommuting and enable employees in the Grass Valley area to use the telecenter. An open house for the new site is being planned to coincide with Telecommute America in October; Congressman Wally Herger is scheduled to be the keynote speaker.

Amenities such as restaurants, banks, shopping, dry cleaners, and postal services are located within a few blocks of the center in the nearby downtown section.

Six telecommuters currently use the Grass Valley Telework Center. Over the last several weeks, the center has been used an average of eleven person-days per week.

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