A Guidebook for Increasing Diverse and Small Business Participation in Airport Business Opportunities (2015)

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56 8.1 Community Benefits With a growing global economy, the nation’s commercial airports continuously strive to mod- ernize and expand their facilities to retain existing passengers and attract new customers. Airport capital improvement projects not only present varied business opportunities, they also pique the interest of the community, which understandably expects its airport neighbor to contribute to the greater good when conducting operations and offering economic opportunity. Economic growth also inspires public officials to “spread the wealth” to segments of the community in other, less-direct, but fruitful ways. These efforts are sometimes referred to as “social responsibility” programs or community benefits. A clear connection exists between a healthy business and the well-being of the community in which it operates. By contributing to the surrounding community, an airport can: • Recruit, motivate, and retain employees. • Use community programs as part of staff training and development. • Improve its reputation and profile. • Realize new opportunities by being in touch with the local community. • Boost networking opportunities with suppliers and customers. Many airports adopt their own or their governing public agency’s social responsibility policies and incorporate the policies and their requirements into airport contracts and concessions. Some airport operators, such as Los Angeles World Airports (LAWA), also negotiate social responsibil- ity, economic development, and environmental mitigation efforts into a Community Benefits Agreement (CBA) and adopt the CBA in connection with approvals related to a major infrastruc- ture program. In the parlance of airport managers, social responsibility or community benefits certainly include business diversity participation programs, but they do not stop there. Airport managers responsible for social responsibility policies and programs are active brokers of com- munity engagement and collaboration in a variety of policies, initiatives, and objectives that serve the airport’s interests. The community benefits derived from airport social responsibility policies often relate to labor (e.g., living and prevailing wage contract requirements; provisions favoring health care benefits to airport contractor employees; affirmative action in employment protections for airport contrac- tor employees; workforce development by airport employers for disadvantaged individuals; and union labor mandates in project labor agreements for major infrastructure development proj- ects). Additionally, airport staffs develop, implement, and participate in job training and educa- tion, mentoring, and other support programs that target potential airport employees or business partners. Some agencies, such as the Port of Portland, go the extra mile in the social responsibility arena. C H A P T E R 8 Thinking Beyond Compliance

Thinking Beyond Compliance 57 The Port of Portland, City of Portland, and City of Vancouver created the PDX Commu- nity Advisory Committee (PDX CAC) in 2011 in response to a recommendation of the Airport Futures Plan District and PDX Master Plan adopted in April 2011. The PDX CAC comprises 20 voting members and 10 ex officio members, meets quarterly, and is guided by an annual Work Plan. The mission of the committee is to: • “Support meaningful and collaborative public dialogue and engagement on airport related planning and development; • Provide an opportunity for the community to inform the decision-making related to the airport of the Port, the City of Portland and other jurisdictions/organizations in the region; and • Raise public knowledge about the airport and impacted communities” (423). The PDX CAC’s work is to assure that PDX and the Airport Plan District become the most sustainable in the world in recognition of the long-term, critical interconnection between eco- nomic development, environmental stewardship, and social responsibility. The state of Maryland established the Community Enhancement Grant Program to help fund transportation-related projects that improve the quality of life for communities near the Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport (BWI). This program is part of a major program that provides community benefits to the airport’s neighbors. In 2001, the “Department of Transportation Citizens Committee for the Enhancement of Communities Surrounding BWI” bill was signed into law (see MD Transp Code § 5-414 (2013)). Under this state law, communities located within the most recently certified airport noise zone or within 2 miles of the outermost noise contour are able to apply for grants for transportation-related projects. This grant program has funded projects such as sidewalk renovations, asphalt repairs, and installation of speed bumps. Funding comes for the Maryland Department of Transportation Trust Fund (424). 8.2 Economic Benefits The research for ACRP Report 126 identified few analyses of the economic contribution of minority-owned, woman-owned and other small businesses at our nation’s airports. These small businesses often are described as “job creators” and as “the engine of our economy.” Like large businesses, they pay taxes, contribute to the local economy, and employ friends, neighbors, and fam ily. Politicians often say that small companies create two of every three jobs in a given year. According to SBA, small businesses (defined by SBA as an independent business having fewer than 500 employees) represent 99.7 percent of all employer firms. Since 1995, they have gener- ated 64 percent of new jobs and paid 44 percent of the total United States private payroll. In 2012, 36 percent of business owners were women, nearly 15 percent of all U.S. business owners were non-white, and more than 10 percent of business owners were Hispanic. An illustration of the economic impact of disadvantaged, minority, and women-owned busi- nesses can be founded in the Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport (DFW) January 2009 economic impact and fiscal impact study. Between September 29, 2006, and August 30, 2008, DBEs, MBEs and WBEs performed construction services, professional services, concessions, and other goods and services contracts at DFW that collectively generated more than $280 million and created more than 14,000 job years of employment. In 2013, DFW’s diversity programs set new records for diversity spending and revenues, topping $785 million in total economic impact, with more than 7,000 jobs supported (424). In addition, spending for small, disadvantaged, minority- owned, and women-owned businesses through the DFW Airport Terminal Renewal and Improve- ment Program created more than $643 million in economic activity for the region in 2013 (425).

58 A Guidebook for Increasing Diverse and Small Business Participation in Airport Business Opportunities The largest project in the history of San Diego International Airport (SAN), known as “The Green Build,” created approximately 1,000 jobs at peak construction and provided a number of contract opportunities for small businesses. The Green Build was a $1 billion project completed on time and under budget. It adds to the airport’s economic impact; provided work for local, small, disadvantaged, and minority-owned businesses; and created approximately 1,000 jobs at peak construction. During fiscal year 2010, small businesses participating in the concessions and rental car pro- grams operated by the Greater Orlando Aviation Authority (GOAA) generated approximately $77 million dollars. During this same time frame, small businesses in the construction and engineering fields received payments of approximately $23 million dollars, and small busi- nesses providing goods and non-professional services were awarded approximately $13 million dollars (426).