As current Chairperson of the Inter-Governmental Network Consortium of Tacoma-Pierce County, I am requesting some information related to the Interagency Fiber Ring operation and maintenance. During our meeting this month several members had some questions regarding the Interagency Fiber Ring. In particular there is information requested concerning the following two areas. * The members are aware of at least two areas on the ring where certain strands on a section of the fiber are bad or unusable. In those cases the affected member has been able to use a spare "maintenance pair" to bypass the bad section. We would like to know if there is a plan to repair these areas so that all pairs are again usable. * The members have a general question regarding the ongoing maintenance funding for the Interagency Fiber Ring. Specifically the question is to clarify if there is sufficient funding to properly maintain this important infrastructure. In addition, the members would like to know if there has been any discussion about utilizing funds, that may be available from the new South Sound 911 Tax (Levy), to not only support ongoing maintenance but to add additional new fiber to the ring. This would be a valuable addition to increase and improve the capability of regional partners to better communicate and support the new 911 system requirements. Thank you in advance for any information you can provide us.