track and report race neutral and race conscious participation separately. For reporting purposes, race neutral DBE participation includes, but is not necessarily limited to the following: DBE participation through a prime contract obtained through customary competitive procurement procedures; DBE participation through a subcontract on a prime contract that does not carry a DBE goal, DBE participation on a prime contract exceeding a contract goal, and DBE participation through a subcontract from a prime contractor that did not consider a firm's DBE status in making the award.

In establishing the overall goal, Sarasota Manatee Airport Authority provided for consultation and publication. This process included consultation with minority, women's, and general contractor groups, community organizations, and other officials or organizations which could be expected to have information concerning the availability of disadvantaged and non-disadvantaged businesses, the effects of discrimination on opportunities for DBEs, and the Sarasota Manatee Airport Authority's efforts to establish a level playing field for the participation of DBEs. The consultation included a scheduled, direct, interactive exchange with as many interested stakeholders as possible focused on obtaining information relevant to the goal setting process, and was conducted before the goal methodology was submitted to the operating administration for review. Details of the consultation are as follows:

A teleconference was held Tuesday September 22, 2020 at 10:00 AM. Invitations to participate were emailed a week in advance and a reminder was sent early on the morning of the meeting. Internal participants from the airport included the DBE Liaison and three members of the Engineering Dept. staff. External participants included representatives from professional services and construction trades firms from both the DBE community and the broader non-DBE contractor community. Additional participants included representatives from the Manasota Black Chamber of Commerce and the Gulf Coast Latin Chamber of Commerce.

The following comments were received during the course of the consultation: (1) Concerns were expressed about the ability to encourage DBE firms to travel significant distances to participate in work at SRQ (which is often the case due to limited availability in the counties surrounding the airport as a result of demographics and tourist-based economy) when abundant work opportunities exist in those more distant counties included in SRQs market area where more DBE firms are based. (2) Concerns were expressed regarding the complexity of the application process for DBE certification, with contractors noting that they often work with firms that could very likely qualify for certification but that the rewards of participating are often viewed as questionable by these firms.

A notice of the proposed goal was published on the Sarasota Manatee Airport Authority official website before the methodology was submitted to Federal Aviation Administration.

If the proposed goal changes following review by Federal Aviation Administration, the revised goal will be posted on Sarasota Manatee Airport Authority official website.