o 

UiS.D«partm«ntOf Assisronf Secretary 1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE 

Transportatio n Washington, DC 20590 

Office of the Secretary 

of Transportation QQJ 2 2 ZOIO 

The Honorable Elise Partin i^ 

Mayor of the City of Cayce _ j v;, 

Cayce, SC 29171 " ':]'y^f\ 

Dear Mayor Partin: 

Thank you for your letter supporting the proposal submitted by the Columbia ~" 

Metropolitan Airport for a grant under the Small Community Air Service Development 

Program (Small Community Program). 

The Small Community Program was established to help smaller communities address air 

service deficiencies, particularly issues related to high airfares and insufficient service. A 

total of $7 million will be available for grant awards in Fiscal Year 2010. Under the 

statute, the Department may use the funds to make a maximum of 40 grant awards each 

year, although no more than four may be to communities in the same State. In order to 

provide communities with latitude in developing solutions to their air service 

deficiencies, the statute provides significant flexibility in how the financial assistance 

may be used. 

On July 30, the Department issued an order requesting that communities interested in 

receiving a grant this year file their applications by August 27. As these grant requests 

are pending before the Department, I am sure you understand that 1 cannot comment on 

the merits of any particular proposal. 1 assure you, however, that the Department will 

give fijll consideration to all proposals that have been properly filed. 

As is our normal practice, 1 am placing a copy of your letter and this response in Docket 

DOT-OST-2010-0124 as a contact outside the record of this matter. I appreciate your 

interest in this program. If I can provide further information or assistance, please feel 

free to call me. 

incerely yours, 

A 

'. J.--. . -

!usan L. Kurland 

Assistant Secretary for 

Avfetion and International Affairs 
Xl-l(HI'):'J-()()2 

CITY OF CAYCE 

MAWK 

ELISE PARTIN 

MA\OR PRO-TEM 

\KtAis E. JENKINS 

COUNCIL MEHBEKS 

KENNETH D. JUMPER 

RtcHAnD N. MYERS 

STEVE ISOM 

ClTyMANAGEK 

|OHN C. SHAtlPt 

ASSISTANT CnvMANAOEn 

TuWY R BARKLEV 

August 13, 2010 

Ms. Susan Kurland 

Assistant Secretary for Aviation & International Affairs, X-1 

U.S. Department of Transportation 

1200 New Jersey Ave, BE W88-324 

Washington, DC 20590 

Subject: Small Community Air Service Development Grant Application 

Docket OST-2010-0124 

Columbia Metropolitan Airport - Columbia, SC 

Dear Ms. Kurland: 

As the Mayor of the City of Cayce, SC and a frequent air traveler, I strongly support the air 

service proposal detailed in the Small Community Air Service Development Program grant 

application. Commercial air service at Columbia Metropolitan Airport plays a vital role in 

providing support to education, government, business, and leisure travel to/from the area. 

Future community growth of the Columbia community depends, in part, on the airport*s ability 

to meet the needs of existing local businesses as well as companies considering Columbia as a 

location for their operations. The proposal to support improved air service will greatly improve 

our ability to remain competitive in the global marketplace, which is the basis for supporting the 

local economy and attracting new businesses and residents to the area. 

The Columbia Metropolitan Airport has forged strong ties with the business community to retain 

and improve local air service. We ^preciate the opportunity to expand that partnership to 

include the U.S. Department of Transportation through the Small Conmiunity Air Service 

Development Program. 

Sincerely, 

Elise Partin, Mayor 

EP/ 

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