 All right let's call the meeting to order and Madame Clark can you go through the roll please? We got a great presentation today, Mike thanks for coming. I think one of the things that I've realized in my little short time on council is how important the Columbia airport is to not only Columbia but to the Midlands and the community so I think all of us should really think about how we highlight the importance of the airport and kind of become community stewards so to speak of the airport and almost representatives of how important it is to our community so I'm getting what I think you want to say uh Ryan. We've always enjoyed our partnership with the Columbia airport to continue to watch the services and delivery of this past year so we're looking forward to getting to a formal introduction. Hi Google, President, CEO of Columbia. Thank you all for allowing us to come out today. I also brought Frank Murray he's my Vice President of Planning and Frank and I go way back Frank Frank and I our daughters played club soccer together. In here so anyway it's good to have both of y'all here thank you. I'll be real brief we actually have a lot going on out the airport right now if you haven't been out of there and probably the last six months has changed dramatically. We've got technology upgrades coming out the wazoo be honest with you new elevators going in the garage we got all new digital marketing and advertising down in baggage claim this next year we'll continue that up through the concourse in the lobby area all new parking equipment so it's all self-pay now very convenient for the users and that's really what we focus on Columbia we want to make sure you're getting the best customer experience that you possibly can't and that hopefully keeps the community from traveling up 77 to that other airport that's up there. We just finished up a big project and all the ticketing is brand new all the airline ticket counters are brand new we moved United down so they're all they're all down with the West Wing now we installed common use technology so as we continue to bring expand and bring in new airlines it's just much more convenient because the timings can be different we have plenty of we have plenty of ticket encounter but it's not always utilized so it really allows any new airline to come in all they do is post their logo up on the on the monitors and they're ready to roll. Right now we've got a big project getting ready to kick off we have to actually expand the checkpoint area so right now we're running off two and a half lanes we're going to widen it it's going to go to four lanes so once you come through the checkpoint on the right hand side will be a business lounge really opening that up for future food and beverage options and drinks and that's going well one of the major things that I've been working on for the last six years in this this role is the food and beverage options that we have out there finally convinced our concessionaires that we need to upgrade and get some brands in there so Dunkin Donuts is now open Jimmy Johns is open Sam Adams Columbia Brew Pubs open barbecue pits back open we just have we just have a lot going on so all of our retails being redone their parodies is investing almost two million dollars into their stores so we're excited about that we're supposed to have the first one out in the concourse online November 7th is a grand opening for that then they'll flop over to the the other store and they'll they'll do that one then come out to the lobby also when you come in landside we've got school and it's under construction right now but it's going to be called the friendly caterer any of you familiar with Sandra Sims and Herbert Sims they run our concessions food and beverage and so we're excited for that there's just there's really good things going on and we're just want to keep the momentum rolling from a community standpoint this year is the first year we became the official airport of the Gamecocks which you think it makes sense because we're already in Columbia but it's just been a great partnership that we've had with them and something that we will continue from an air service perspective that's where everybody wants to know what's going on so we've got all of our service back that we had pre-covid we're back to roughly 90 percent of where we were in 2019 which was the best year we had we had seen in over a decade so we're excited about that Miami did come back but it's it's just going to be seasonal for the time being and I'm going to let Frank talk a little bit about the master plan process that's uh it was what 2012 the last time that we did one yeah you don't mind I'll let you speak to that one switch switch easy um so yeah I'm Frank Murray I'm director of planning and engineering at the airport being there about 15 years um the the list of products might kind of ran through is what we've been working on since like he described that the master plan was completed in 2012 so it was a procurement start in 2009 and completed in 2012 um it kind of gave us a good laundry list of projects that we've been steadily working through and this checkpoint renovation that Mike talked about is really the last big project from that program of work so we're uh relaunching our master plan just now um are going to do quite a lot of community engagement uh through this process um we have a sort of a lot of behind the scenes needs in 2009 when we started last time and didn't really go to the community for too much of what we need to do next um on this go around we're really going to try and and get more input from the business community from um we're going to put our makers out very very visible um in different types of venues like uh the sort of city market and actually arrange in specific events to invite people to in the city of Columbia in Richland County in Lexington County so we can kind of get out to people not just who are coming through our airport but who maybe don't use us as much as we would like them to uh we want to really understand what the business community needs from an airport both from a travel experience but also their business requirements as well we're a we're a big cargo airport we've got a lot of activity with UPS but we also see a lot of additional opportunity we may spin up some of our own cargo handling operations to try and handle some of what will come on the back of scout motors coming here for instance so um a lot of engagement over the next 18 months to really figure out what this community needs from the airport um I would invite people if they're interested then we're going to have a a technical committee for this master plan that's going to sort of ride with us through the whole program so it's probably going to be about a 15 person committee where we would actually look for people like Ryan to come on that sort of represent the different constituencies that we we serve and really as we as we work through the what do we need and then we come up with the alternatives really help to steer us through that process so it's not just my engineering department's plan but it's actually a plan that serves the whole the whole community so like I said we do one of these periodically but we're really trying to we think this is a sort of a big moment for us as as an airport for this city um it seems like a lot has happened over the last couple years a lot of really positive trends um we're all sort of coming out of of covid and certainly from our perspective everything's trending up the way so we want to be ready for for what's going to come next and I appreciate opportunities to come to to form like this and and let you know what we're working on and hopefully get any questions uh you know we can we can answer those and really get more and more people just we want them to check us first that's that's really our our biggest thing that we ask we can't ask everybody to use us all the time but we really the more people who check the more they realize we actually do offer a pretty good service the more who use it um we do differentiate ourselves quite a bit from the charlotte we don't don't expect to catch everybody but um we're looking to to be a little bit different and the projects we're working on are are helping us you know create some of that separation and hopefully I'd like I said be the be the best airport for this community that we can be hey I'm I'm probably a new believer in CAE you know so in the old days I used to do a lot of crazy things when I traveled um and including when I went to Central America a lot I would drive to Atlanta because if I missed my flight I didn't have one for 24 hours you know so um so in those post-COVID era I've become a big believer in CAE and I think all those things you listed as far as user-friendly customer experience and technology all those are true and and I think um that's the most important thing is that these aren't you know these aren't marketing improvements these are improvement improvements um at the airport so I was going to ask if hey what can the city do but be from a business perspective would it make sense if I help put together like an open house at the airport like like like to do like uh you know to have different businesses come out there and you know we have a five o'clock airport happy hour and you guys kind of talk about you know CAE because I mean I'm sure there's a lot of people that were like me that that we just didn't fly out of the Columbia yeah I'd love to do that um that'd be great okay I think we can probably help on something like that um and try to get something together maybe have you know 25 50 businesses come out there and and really I want to promote the airport um from a personal standpoint but also what can the city do from the city standpoint to promote the airport so for my stance on that that's perfect what I always get from the community is we want a low-cost carrier um we have had the low-cost carriers the community just couldn't support it I'm in heavy talks right now with uh free that I think it's gonna it's gonna happen this year what a lot of communities are doing is they're setting up uh revenue guarantees from the business community really to help incentivize those those airlines to come here and make sure that they've they've got money in a bank that's going to continue to promote them so that is something that we've been talking through this for about the last year now but just on the cause with this morning they're saying that for them to come in they would need at least a minimum of $600,000 and the business communities and you know areas our size that's what they're doing wow to promote in revenue $600,000 so just something something to kick I think I think that's I mean I think you know what I think Frank said our time is now and I think that's the same mentality we have in the city is our time is now and and I think you know the more we work together and the more we partner you know this becomes our time you know together yeah it's our time you know not just your time or our time it's our time and and I think I do think we gotta you know push the business community to feel the responsibility for the community right and so from a chicken and egg perspective the more we support the airport the more support there'll be you know for for all of us and one thing I will add too um we just yeah this is being recorded so you gotta be near Mike yeah one thing that we did also he's implemented it's called fly my airport so when you go on our website the opening page you can only choose from CAE and that's going to show you the breakdown of all the prices if you're flexible you know you're going to get the lowest rates that are out there there's a really cool option on there to if you've got flexible travel you can hit anywhere and it'll bring you up deals throughout the entire world so that's just one one cool thing that we've we've implemented here as a breeze you know one of the things too that's that's really that helped me through this process of becoming more of a proponent for CAE with my kids because you know they all live someplace else and when they fly in you know they're all like I'm definitely flying into Columbia so it is definitely a generational thing because all of my friends we fly through Columbia no one wants to drive an hour and a half I know I'm just like a lot of us that all of us do like I fly so much that TSA knows who I am that's how often I fly out of CAE so a lot of us have some scars from the from the past you know that that are hard to get over so um but I think that's part of I think the point is to to you know get people out there and let them see that that it's it's you know becoming into its own and if you do have a bad experience please contact me we're gonna fix it's usually not y'all's fault yeah let me ask you something what's what's the you talk about adding three more is it airlines or is it more um frequency to destination because I feel like we go to a lot of major destinations yeah we do I know it's Miami's temperature some we go to Texas we got Atlanta Charlotte Chicago is a great flight we still have the Chicago flight yeah we we go to the New York area DC what what's missing in your eyes west yeah the west coast Denver would be spot on Boston would be a good market for us um I can tell you the one airline that I'm talking to they're willing to try those destinations they always want to the low-cost carriers they always want to go into Orlando and I just know that Orlando there's a resonator everywhere we have silver is there right they're gone they're gone they were going there though trying to do everything we can honor and uh make it the best airport for this community for sure but it's adding a few more major destinations west yeah not more the frequency to the Chicago I mean there's only one Chicago flight right no you've got two yeah are they both united yeah oh and American yeah yeah thanks right now what four months ago five months ago somewhere in that arena are you all directly taken on this marketing concept check us first yes I like that like hashtag check us first whatever I literally want to put billboards the whole way up I said that would be awesome I think I read check us first resonate I don't think people realize and I remember when you and I first met we talked about this like if you want more things then you have to actually like go to CAA in order for us to generate enough interest to get more things if you keep going other places it's not going to show demand and people don't when I say that to people like oh I'm flying out of whatever you know outside of South Carolina I'll be like well then you can't complain about not having more things because you're literally not showing airlines that there's a demand for this this route yeah and a couple things that we're trying to get momentum behind is you know up until two years ago we never received any state dollars we've always been the 100% self-sufficient but as you all know construction prices have gone through the roof so that's something that we're still working on and I'll tell you that North Carolina pumps over 120 million dollars into their commercial service airports I would bet that money is coming from South Carolina yeah I get it I know I think what we've all learned and I think Audity's right you know we have to play we play a lot of chicken and egg games I think that you have to be bold with like messaging that like you're literally throwing money away to another state check us first yeah I love it yeah I love it but do any of the other airports in the state receive any state funding yes so we we've learned the coalition the six commercial service airports we hired a lobbyist last year I think it was what 20 million that they spread out between it was supposed to be spread out between all six somehow last minute Charleston ended up with half of it 10 million that was not the plan for any of us Charleston is good at that yeah notice that it was supposed to be going funneled through aeronautics and aeronautics is actually the one that called us and they got blindsided by it so so what are what are their growth I mean is there more room for to grow the cargo yes is there what about like small innovative startups in the aeronautics world you know almost like an aeronautics incubator for all these new light like jets and all that coming out I mean is that are there are there people out there doing that yeah I just had a call this morning about it so I mean so that that fits into you're sitting here in the economic development committee that's that we would be interested in hearing about the incentives for that to bring those those you know innovative businesses here because well I mean we need to grow businesses like sure and so we'd be interested in an investment there for incentive wise yeah and we have I mean we have the property for it to yeah that's what I was gonna say yeah you got a lot of growth the cargo I mean just hit real quick on the cargo I early in my career I did cargo so that's a major focus for us right now moving forward like Frank was saying with scout moving into town we want to make sure that we are there airport so we're looking right now and investing in equipment and getting people trained up and being able to function in that manner so I feel like we're on the right path we're doing everything I think we can possibly be doing at this point so many passengers last year and then almost for this year last year was five five twenty feet last year we did to six hundred and ten right is the goal a million absolutely okay it should be that'd be a cool thing to say I think that's I mean I'm not kidding I think I think I think we need to kind of build off of that I like that check us first but also you know we have a responsibility to help us grow ourselves and not just go chase the lowest you know the lowest fare but I mean we drive to Charlotte you should expect a smaller fare when you drive it an hour and a half both ways so it's just not always the case though that's why we say please check us first okay um anybody any other questions yeah Teresa sorry as I walk in late so nice to see you this is more for me or recommend he had mentioned some issues with Uber that he had been hearing a lot about um at the airport so I had just made a mental note I have all these weird things floating out of my head that different ones tell me but he did he was one day particularly where you can learn about that so I don't know but yeah I don't know we can double back double back and everything I think we are um noting that you're gonna be here he said 600,000 guaranteed revenue if you can dig into that one and shoot my message and I'll all right thanks Mike appreciate it thank you thanks Frank no it was a little cost like the 600,000 guaranteed revenue is that net that they're asking for because if it is it's and this is low cost carriers no it's not all that's the problem okay one it'll tell you they will not come into your community unless you have a revenue guarantee and then you've got the allegiance of the world that say we don't care about a revenue guarantee we're not coming here unless we know we have so but if there's a revenue guarantee of 600 and if they go over that 600 anybody that has is the backstop on that doesn't have to pay the 600 we just pay the delta of let's say they do very well and they're short 300,000 dollars so it's essentially who's who's on the hook for that 300 it would be the community I mean if we were to go into that guarantee okay have you negotiated stuff like that before I have not this is actually pretty new to the industry but I've the one that I spoke with this morning they said we will not come into a community without a revenue guarantee and they're running I'm not going to tell you how they're flying 32 destinations out of Charleston right now so but but something like that I mean that that kind of makes it where you know before you wouldn't care if they're flying to Orlando because you know but now you're like well we're we gotta be bought into where you're going yeah and and so then you're kind of feels like a little bit like you're their partner now you are I mean they have full planning departments that I mean this is what they specialize right they know where they know where you're flying yeah if you leave out of Columbia they know where you're flying if you're out of Charlotte they monitor that non-stop so thank you I will tell you this is my fourth airport and we have very good air service for this size community at the current time no I totally agree I mean we can only build from there all I know is that every time one of my daughters flies in they're always early I learned to leave the house 20 minutes before I'm supposed to to get there in the parking guidance system in the garage yeah I love the lights yeah that helps a lot we need to do that in the city thanks for the opportunity yeah yeah I appreciate you all right Ryan you're up next looks like everyone thanks and now real quick just a spreadsheet together this is the economic development partner yeah just enough this is a list of the economic development partners and some of their services that they deliver and provide to assist the city wanted to go through this I know was sent this out in advance and got some feedback wanted to go through this list take a look at it real quick see get your feedback as far as if there's any adjustments to some of the the services that we're asking from with our partners and then of of course the funding allocation that they would get for the current year as well I think we we had some that we wanted to take a look at specifically you know I mentioned to y'all in the email Millins technical colleges they're divesting themselves out of the enterprise campus we probably don't have a need to pay for that service any longer as well um city center partnership has been in and presented to the committee already as well as the central SC alliance and then I think for uh councilman brown in my discussion we will probably get uh groco to come in early in january and possibly hear from columbia opportunity resource as well with regards to the work that they're doing on talent attraction and retention so the world affairs council we should we should I know we have they've got their uh big dinner this way yes sir we should be running that now um dixon mott bread mott son the executive director okay I think I think anybody that we give money to we should ask them to come see us are you going to that dinner I'm not sure I want to I used to be pretty involved in the columbia world affairs council back in the day it's been a long time we got there and I think that that had the had been the planned at the end of last year obviously with the um untimely passing of councilman taylor bringing the partners in kind of got thrown out of whack um and then you started your tenure around uh april or may so we're trying to reset the cadence if you may yeah I love it also the chamber I think we should get called to come talk to us and you know it'd be good to understand how we can work more closely aligned with the chamber on certain things and everything but just certain things we could go ahead and begin to see a world affairs council incubator core yeah and the chamber as well and get them slotted in and maybe knock all those out between january february month love it sounds good so another was discussions on uh modifications to a couple of the funding levels uh with regards to midlands technical college uh ideology um not extending their funding and then the change in funding the central s.c alliance um you need a positive recommendation to move uh this forward I think so okay are you ready to do that yeah yep as as current yeah with some of them pending correct okay perfect the other thing I think you know we do want to build in some metrics that make sure that we you know we're getting the return on investment and feel like I feel like we've been and I hate saying stuff that's that I that's may or may you know may or may not be true but it feels like we've been uh a giver and not a taker in a lot of these circumstances so so we do want to provide resources that we can but we want we want to know what is it for us we understand the success yeah coming from so so we I'm happy doing this but also um you know we want to establish some better reporting some better metrics and and more communication and collaboration on on exactly what we're doing and why we're doing it so would y'all like to don't have to necessarily dig into it today but um maybe we can kick around some suggestions via email or kind of talk all on or in a future committee meeting and just get a better understanding the easiest one because we just had them come in so you know what we talked about was them them developing and and sharing and reporting the pipeline of activity that that's centered around the city club and and that way we can look at you know what is their energy level and what is their investment in columbia and what are we gonna you know what can we expect out of it so I think I think part of it is the it's a awareness and then it's b some type of um actual activity and then c we can worry about outcomes later right sure outcomes are hard to predict but but energy isn't and neither is activity um and and if you report those and we're happy with that then then we'll keep going and if there is an insufficient level of energy and activity then then we have to take a hard look at what we're willing to support we're willing not to support I think breaking it up and having a better understanding of quantifiable and then the qualifiable metrics so what's what's the soft awareness type stuff and then what are the the numbers driven activity would what's let's let's look at that way then okay Jeff you got any comments I do not okay I was going to ask Teresa but she's gone so uh okay is everybody happy with this yeah all right super good um will do you want to uh yes mr chairman I make a motion we enter into the executive executive session for discussion of matters relating to the proposed location expansion or provision of services encouraging location or expansion of industries or other businesses in the area served by the public body pursuant to sc code 30-4-785 pine view industrial park project rook and project