### U.S. Department ofTransportation Office of the Secretary ofTransportation



### Mr. David Torgler Town Manager ofHayden, Colorado 178 WestJefferson Avenue P.O. Box 190 Hayden, CO 81639 DearMr. Torgler: Assistant Secretary 

## AUG 

# 25 l0f4 1200 NewJersey Avenue, SE Washmgton, DC 20590



### Thank you for your letter, addressedto Secretary Foxx, supporting the proposal submitted by Yampa Valley Regional Airport for a grant under the U.S. Department ofTransportation's Small Community Air Service Development Program. Secretary Foxx asked that l respond to you on his behalf. The Small CommunityAir Service Development Program was establishedto help smaller communities address air service deficiencies, patticularly issues related to high airfares and · insufficient service. Underthe statute, the Departmentmay make a maximum of40 grant awards each year, although no more than four may be to communities in the same State. To provide communities with latitude in developing solutions to their air service deficiencies, the statute provides flexibility in the types ofair service development projects that can be funded. On June 30, the Department issued an order setting a deadline ofJuly 31 for applications. As these grantrequests arepending before the Department, I cannot comment on the merits ofany particularproposal. I assure you, however, thatthe Department will give full and fair considerationto all proposals that have beenproperly filed. As is our standard practice, I am placing a copy ofyour letter and this response in Docket DOT-OST-2014-0113 as a contact outside the record ofthis matter. Iappreciate your interestin this progran1. Sincerely yours, 

# u I 

# u Susan 

### L. Kurland Assistant Secretary for Aviation and International AffairsJuly31, 2014 Mr.Anthony Foxx, Secretary ofTransportation United States DepartmentofTransportation 1200 NewJersey Avenue, Southeast Washington D.C. 20590 Reference: DOT-OST-2014-0113 Small CommunityAirService Development Program 2014 Dear Mr. Secretary, I am writing this letter to express my very strong support for the Small Community Air Service Development (SCASD} Grant application of the Yampa Valley Regional Airport 

### (YVRA}, which serves Hayden and Steamboat Springsand much of northwestern Colorado. I am alarmed bythe poor airservice YVRA and the region receives outside ofthe winter 

### ski season. As the Grant application notes, only one airline offers air service from April to December and flight frequencies are limited and airfares are extremely high, well above national averages, well above those at Denver and often well above those at other Colorado airports as well. Too many people living and working near the YVRA drive three hours (each way) to Denver International Airport due to the high airfares charged by the off-season carrier at YVRA. This is a costly, time consuming and environmentally unfriendlyway to travel and we can do much betterat retaining passengers from NW Colorado ifthere were competition between airlines for passengers to choose from atthe YVRA. The Airport's Grant application is for a modest 

### $400)000, matched by $300,000 in local funding. The purpose ofthe Grant is to recruit.a second airlineto provideservice. outside ofwinter, and thus provide some schedule options and airfare competition in NW Colorado duringthat period. The Airport and Routt County and their community partners, including the City ofSteamboat Springs, Steamboat Ski 

### & Resort Corporation, the SteamboatSprings Chamber Resort Association <mdthe lMO, have a well thought out plan for recruiting a second carrier, but some community financial support of thatcarrrer will be needed to bring in new competition. This seems to me to be a perfect use forthe SCASO Grant program, as it is intended to aid smallercities with higherfares and limited competition. I urgeyou to give this Grant

**applic~tion** yourfullest consideration. Sincerely,



# D~~ Town Manager 

### 178WestJefferson Avenue • P.O.Box 190 • Hayden, CO 81639-0190 (970) 276-3741 • Fax (970) 276-3644 n'WW.townotbaydtm.org