Mayor announces appointments to air cargo committee

Sault Ste. Marie Mayor John Rowswell has named 18 people to his Air Cargo Committee.

The new committee will hold its first meeting next week.

For background on this story, please click here.

The mayor issued the following news release today:

**************************************************************** Mayor appoints air cargo committee

For Release May 1, 2003 - Mayor John Rowswell is pleased to announce the Air Cargo Committee that will oversee InterVISTAS Consulting research and prepare proposal packages to call centers, 3PL logistic companies, integrators, and North American air cargo carriers that could use our existing airport.

Further, they will give recommendations to Council as to how to present these proposal packages to the groups previously identified.

If there are immediate successes, they will work to pursue these opportunities.

One such opportunity could be discussions currently taking place with EDS and Cargojet.

The Committee is comprised of:

Chamber of Commerce Ben Pascuzzi

SSM Airport Development Corporation Katherine MacRae, Doug Lawson, Jerry Dolcetti Economic Development Corporation Don Mitchell, Rob Reid, Stephanie Gosselin

Community Development Corporation Hal McGonigal

City of Sault Ste. Marie Mayor John Roswell, Councillor Bryan Hayes, Joe Sniezek

Cargojet Airways Ltd. Lynn Bishop

Air Canada Jazz Tyler Wilson

Members at large Damon Godfrey, George Zaritsky, Greg Church, Ted Pilcher, Howie Wilcox

Representatives from FedNor, Ministry of Northern Development & Mines Inaugural meeting on Monday

The first Air Cargo Committee Meeting is scheduled for Monday night to select a Chair, Co-chair and Secretary and to discuss the overall scope and mandate of the committee and timelines for the InterVISTAS project work.

Phase 1 of the study is to look at immediate opportunities for our airport.

This step is as a result of the previous Transpolar Air Cargo study which identified that an opportunity could exist using our existing airport.

Phase 2 which would need infrastructure work at the airport, including the extension of the runway, is not included in the opportunity review at this time.

However, the committee will explore Fhase 2 opportunities if approached by proponents identified for Fhase 1.

City Council believes that the airport can be an economic growth engine for our community and retains InterVISTAS to help us at the initial cost of about $112,000.