Last update: 11/23/2009

Campus updates

Annual holiday tree arrives at capitol rotunda November 24

The annual holiday tree is scheduled to arrive in the rotunda of the Legislative Building at 10 a.m. November 24.

The Department of Natural Resources is providing the tree and General Staff will set up it up.

A lighting event is scheduled from 5:30 to 8 p.m. December 4 in the rotunda. Those taking part include:

  • Kids in Koncert from the Capital Playhouse
  • The Association of Washington Business
  • Toy Industry Foundation
  • Governor Chris Gregoire
  • A bearded visitor from the North Pole

General Administration on the Web: http://www.ga.wa.gov/

Fort Lewis soldiers help set up holiday tree Sylvester Park November 17

General Administration staff and the Fort Lewis Army 593rd Sustainment Brigade will put up a 65-foot holiday tree at Sylvester Park in downtown Olympia at 11:30 a.m. Nov. 17. The mayor and city council members are expected to be on hand.

The set-up is being coordinated with volunteers from the Olympia Downtown Association. A lighting ceremony is scheduled for 4:30 p.m. November 29.

Four days in December set for tours of Governor’s Mansion

Holiday tours of the Governor’s Mansion are being offered on Dec. 9, 10, 16 and 17. Morning and afternoon times are available. Reservations are required.

There are 12 tours given each day and each tour lasts 60 minutes.

Constructed in 1908, the mansion is the oldest building on the Capitol Campus in Olympia.

To make a reservation, please call General Administration’s Capitol Tour Office at (360) 902-8880.

Tour guidelines:

  • All individuals 18 and over must have photo ID.
  • 25 is the maximum number of spaces available per time slot.
  • Reservations are made on a first-come basis.
  • Children under the age of 18 must be accompanied by an adult.
  • Cameras, backpacks, umbrellas, strollers, food and beverages are not permitted.
  • The mansion is accessible to wheelchairs and walkers. Visitors must walk a 200-yard incline up to the entrance.

For more information about the mansion: www.wagovmansion.org/

General Administration maintains the Governor’s Mansion and more than 50 other facilities at the state capitol, including Capitol Lake and four parks.

For more information about other Capitol Campus tours: http://www.ga.wa.gov/Visitor/

To take a virtual tour of the Capitol Campus: http://www.ga.wa.gov/Visitor/VirtualTour/main.html

General Administration on the Web: http://www.ga.wa.gov/

Troublesome shrubs will be removed, replaced next spring

General Administration grounds staff on November 12 will remove four overgrown shrubs on the southwest side of the Insurance Building.

The shrubs, three cherry laurels and a holly bush, are creating a safety hazard for the disabled access pathway and also causing damage to the sandstone exterior of the building.

Crews will also cut back other tree and brush limbs hitting the side of the building. The ground will be covered in bark. Smaller shrubs will be planted in the spring.

Current Capitol Campus projects: https://fortress.wa.gov/ga/apps/CampusProjects/

Changes coming to Office Building 2 parking garage on Nov. 9

General Administration will modify traffic flow through the Office Building 2 service level garage beginning November 9, 2009. The goal is to improve safety.

The service level garage is located below ground, between Office Building 2 (OB2) and the Natural Resources Building. The area has 80 parking stalls for use by agencies, visitors and vendors. This area receives heavy use by medium to large trucks delivering freight and other items, including campus mail to OB2, NRB and the Highways – Licenses Building.

Vehicles enter the garage from westbound 14th Avenue and exit to a one-way tunnel next to the Natural Resources Building that connects to Jefferson Street. There are two traffic lanes in the garage.

Currently, vehicles travel in a circular pattern before exiting. The narrow lanes and large number of delivery trucks parked and travelling through the garage create safety concerns for drivers and pedestrians. There are occasional traffic back-ups.

Beginning November 9, modifications to traffic lanes will result in one lane for use by delivery trucks and the other for use by all other vehicles.

Changes will have minor impact to parking, with no change to the total number of stalls.

General Administration will add signage, crosswalk sensors, and repaint directional arrows before implementing the traffic flow changes.

For more information
Deanna Price, GA Parking Services
(360) 725-0034, Deanna.price@ga.wa.gov

GA on the web: www.ga.wa.gov

New rules effective Dec. 1 for displays, exhibits at state capitol

Beginning Dec. 1, new rules take effect for the permitting of displays and exhibits in public areas of the state capitol.

General Administration adopted the new rules Oct. 30. Under state law, the rules take effect 31 days later – Dec. 1. The department is responsible for managing and maintaining the capitol grounds and buildings.

General Administration began developing the new rules last July to clarify how the department would evaluate and approve requests for use of the public areas of the capitol grounds and buildings. The department received several hundred public comments about the proposal, including many at a public hearing in September.

All comments were considered in making 12 modifications to the original proposal.

A key aspect of the new rules is that only government-sponsored exhibits and displays are allowed inside public areas of campus buildings.

Private exhibits and displays are allowed only on the campus grounds, provided they meet certain conditions regarding time, place and manner.

Other key elements of the new rules that take effect December 1, 2009:

  • No permit is necessary for free speech and assembly activities involving fewer than 25 people inside a building, or fewer than 75 people on the grounds.
  • Activity sponsors must apply to General Administration for a permit at least two working days before the planned date of the activity. Weekends and holidays are not considered working days.
  • General Administration will process permit applications on a first-come, first-served basis.
  • There is no fee for a permit for free speech and assembly activities.
  • Applications may be submitted up to a year in advance of the planned activity.
  • General Administration will approve or deny an application within two working days from the date of receipt.

General Administration is now crafting new procedures and guidelines for processing applications for activities at the capitol. Permit applications received between Oct. 30 and Nov. 30 will be considered under the existing policy until the new rules take effect. Dec. 1.

More information about new rules is available at:
www.ga.wa.gov/Rules/rules_adopted.htm