Tuesday, February 22, 2022
Hybrid Meeting In-Person and via ZOOM
Minutes
Present: Deborah Barmack, Peter Barmack, Carole Beswick, Greg Bradbard, Mike Burrows, Ken Coate, Kevin Dyerly, Louis Goodwin, Otis Greer, Fran Inman, Mark Kaenel, Lowell King, Pam Langford, Mike Layne, Bill Lemann, Darcy McNaboe, Miguel Mendoza, Jacquelyn Mercado, John Mirau, Dan Murphy, Brian Nestande, Vikki Ostermann, Bansree Parikh, Steve PonTell, Catherine Pritchett, Karen Richmond, Michael Rivera, Dan Roberts, Dan Schenkel, Kristine Scott, Paul Shimoff, Eric Ustation, Michael Wells, Ray Wolfe, Marisa Yeager, and Frank Zabaleta.
Guests: Arnold San Miguel
Announcements: 1) Appreciation was expressed to Miguel Mendoza and Amazon Air for the opportunity to tour their facility last week. 2) Members on the federal delegation list for March 8 & 9 were asked to e-mail Carole with the names of their congressional representatives (both for home and business) as soon as possible. The information is critical to getting appointments. 3) Members on the delegation list should plan on attending the meeting next week where we will prepare and fine tune advocacy discussions. 4) The SBCTA is looking for an individual to serve on their Independent Transportation Oversight Committee. The Committee meets once or twice a year to review audits and make recommendations to help the agency function more smoothly. Financial background is preferred. For more information, please contact Otis Greer.
Lowell King, Chair presiding.
Motion by M. Burrows/Second by K. Dyerly/Passed: Minutes from February 8, 2022.
The Economic Development Committee recommends two letters of support:
-Pathways to Economic Empowerment and Homeownership focuses on preparing low-income residents to become first-time home buyers and recycling affordable units to assist other families in need. In 2022, National Core proposes piloting a down payment grant fund specifically targeted at helping low- and middle-income families move from affordable housing into homeownership (Inland Action provided a letter of support for this last year).
Motion by M. Burrows/Second by R. Wolfe/Passed: Approval to send a letter of support for California State Budget Surplus Funding Request submitted by the Hope through Housing Foundation for its Pathways to Economic Empowerment and Homeownership Program (“Pathways”)
-Support CORE Academy which will provide workforce employment training, mentoring and a pipeline to job placement for low-income residents.
Motion by M. Burrows/Second by K. Dyerly /Passed: Support- National CORE and HTHF request to provide funding in support of CORE Academy for Fiscal Year 2022.
Approve recommendation of the Environmental Committee to support Metropolitan Water District’s request state funding from surplus for drought resiliency and future climate resilience infrastructure letter.
Motion Passed (Wolfe abstention): Support will be sent.
Darcy McNaboe introduced Atif Elkadi, Deputy Chief Executive Officer, Ontario International Airport Authority who joined us remotely. Atif Elkadi joined the Authority in 2017 and has more than 17 years of extensive senior-level experience in all aspects of strategic marketing, social media, brand management, public relations, marketing, advertising, and strategic communications. Atif is responsible for the Ontario International Airport’s day-to-day operations, overall strategic communications, community engagement, social media, marketing, advertising, and public relations while finding new and innovative approaches to increasing revenue.
Atif expressed appreciation for Inland Action’s long-term support of the airport which helped them regain control of the facility five years ago. Since the transition of ownership, Ontario has added new domestic and international partners. They currently have twelve passenger carriers in two terminals and three cargo carriers. Additionally, they have gained 14 new destinations. Although 2020 was an anomaly with extremely high volumes of cargo traffic due to the pandemic it established the airport as an integral part of the supply chain for the western U.S. The trend continues and cargo traffic remains high with all three carriers, UPS, Amazon Air and FedEx.
Since 2016 the airport has new retail and food and beverage options like Wolfgang Puck Pizza, Dunkin Donuts, Rock & Brews, Cali Market, Einstein’s Bagels, and Tech on the Go and more. Coming soon to Terminal 2 is Subway, Chick-Fil-A, Brewery X & Top Golf Swing Suite, a Duty-Free Shop and improved Airport VIP Lounges.
ONT attracts carriers as their rates are very competitive. Airline carriers pay landing fees to the airports they use, and Ontario has very competitive rates compared to other southern California airports. The LAX rate for example is $5.20 and Long Beach is $3.43 (per 1,000 pounds) where Ontario charges $1.71 and may drop soon to $1.60. Ontario is also focused on service enhancements for their current carriers. Airlines dictate passenger fares and as service and competition increase fares will drop in price.
New advertising partners include Walters’s Auto Group (Porsche & Audi), University of Redlands, UCR Health, Cal State University San Bernardino, Dignity Health, Yaamava Resort & Casino and others. These companies are highlighted in print signage and digital advertising throughout the terminals.
Pre pandemic their passenger numbers had reached over 5 million and they were on track to hit 6 million. At year end 2021 they had 4.5 million and are the best recovering airport in all of California. The growth opportunities are in passenger travel and the forecasted numbers are very encouraging with continued growth in leisure travel and the return of business travel.
A Q & A period followed.
Meeting adjourned at 8:28 a.m.