u.s. Department 

o1 Transportation 

Office ot !he Secrretarv 

of Transportation 

Dr. Carl E. Haynes, Ph.D. 

President 

Tompk.lns Courtland Community 

P.O. Box 139 

170 North St. 

Dryden, NY 13053-0139 

Dear Dr. Haynes: 

SEP 19 2013 

Thank: you for your letter of July addressed to supporting the proposal 

submitted by t:he It:haca Tompkins Regional Airpor1 for a grant under the U.S. Department of 

·rransportation ~s Small Community Air Development Program. has 

asked t:hat I respond to you on behalf: 

The Small Community Air Service Deve1oprnent Program was established to help smaller 

communities address air service deficiencies .• particularly issues related to high airfat·es or 

insufficient service. Under the statute, the Departrnent muy make a maximum of 40 grant 

awards each year, although no more than four aWards may to communities in the same State. 

In order to provide communities with latitude in developing solutions to their air service 

deficiencies, the statute provides flexibility in the of projects that can be funded. 

OnJune 24, the Depal'tment an order requesting that conununities interested ill receiving a 

grant this year tile their applications July are betbre the 

Depl.utment, I cannot comment on the merits ofany particular proposal. I assure you that the 

Department .will give full and fair consideration to ail proposals that have been properly filed. 

As is our standard practice, I arn placing a copy of your letter ~md this response in Docket 

DOT.:.OST·2013:-0120 as a contact outside the record ofthis matter. I appreciate your interest in 

this program. 

Sincerely 

A ;&n L Kurlm;d ;.NJ-(J!;<.Att 

Assistant Sccret~try for 

Aviation and International Affairs 
T 

Tompkins 

Coiiland 

Community 

CoUege 

July 22, 2013 

The Honorable Anthony Foxx 

Secretary of 'Transportation 

U.S. Department of Transportation 

1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE 

Washington, DC 2059.0 

Re: Application for Small Community Air Service Development GrantIthaca Tompkins Regional Airport, Ithaca, New York. 

Dear Secretary Foxx: 

I write in support of the grant application from the Ithaca Tompkins Regional Airport. At 

Tompkins Cortland Community College (TC3) the need for air travel, both domestic and 

international, for our faculty, staff, and students to participate in professional development and 

study abroad opportunities, is extremely important. We also have an active Global Connections 

program which btings international students to campus for our summer program. Availability of 

safe, economical, and accessible air travel options near to campus plays a key role in the 

success of the Global Connections program. It is also important that there be a local airport 

available for graduation speakers, keynote conference speakers, consultants, and visiting 

dignitaries from our partner institutions in several countries around the world to travel to TC3. 

The local economy of Ithaca and Tompkins County is overwhelmingly centered on the 

educational sector and these local educational institutions serve interests that stretch beyond 

state and national boundaries to the farthest reaches of the globe. With the nearest interstate 

highway over 20 miles away, the community is isolated in the middle of Upstate New York. 

Isolated, that is, if it were not for the Ithaca Tompkins Regional Airport. For many years now it 

has been evident that without the airport and the scheduled air service it brings, the employment 

opportunities and economic strength of the local economy would be severely compromised. 

The volatility of the airline industry, continued congestion in the New York, Newark, and 

Philadelphia air traffic control area and more recent events concerning contract towers, all serve 

as reasons to look olher than the Ithaca Tompkins Regional Airport for service. The Small 

Community Air Service Development grant will help to expand air service offerings at Ithaca and 

provide more non-stop destinations to less congested airports. In a world of global competition, 

easy access to the world market has become an essential factor for our future wellbeing. 

Your favorable consideration of Ithaca's application would be greatly appreCiated. 

A< 'ilUJ'Cr n{TI!F !-> IATl\ E!NIVEil!->llS uf' NFW YORK I T~mpkin1 Cm!!aoJ Conm!Unitytolkgol! on Equal Oppoitunlly Fmployor/tdurolar