U.S. Department of Transportation Office ofthe Secretary OfTransportation



### The Honorable FionaMa Assembly California Legislature Sacramento, CA 94249-0012 · DearMs. Ma: 

## JUL 52012 1200 New Jersey Ave., S.E. washington, DC 20590



### Thankyou for your letter supporting the proposal submitted bythe Venture County/Oxnard Airport for a grant under the U.S. Department ofTransportation's Small CommunityAir Service Development Program.
The Small Community Program was establishedto help smallercommunities address air servke deficiencies, particularly issues related to high airfares orinsufficient service. Underthe statute, the Department may make a maximum of40 grant uw:lJ'C!s each year, although no more than4 awards may be to communitiesinthe same State. In orderto provide communities with latitude in developing solutions to their air service deficiencies, the statuteprovides flexibility in the types ofprojectsthat can be funded. Qn**M~y** 

### ,15, the Department issued an ordci·:rcquesting that communities interested inreceiving a grant this year file their applications by June 11. As**tl1c~c** 

### grant requests are pendingbefore the Department, I cannot comment on the merits ofany**p~:l'licular** 

### proposal. I assure youthatthe Departmentwill give full and fair considerationto all proposals that have beenproperly filed.
As is ournormal practice. Iam placing a copy ofyour ktterand this response in Docket ···· ·- DOT-OST-2012-0069 as a contact outside the record -J(

### this**m~1ttcr.** 

### I appreciate yourinterestin this program_ Sinccrl'ly yours,

Aloha l_c\ Associate Dirccto:. :·.i:lall Community

Air Service Development ProgramSTATE CAPITOL P.O. BOX 942849 SACRAMENTO, CA 94?49-001? (916) 319-2012 FAX (916) 319-2112 DISTRICT OFFICE 455 GOLDEN GATE AVENUE, #14600 SAN**FRANCI~QO,** CA 94102 (415) 557-2312 FAX (415) 557-1178 WEBSITE http://www.assembly.ca.gov/ma

Ms. Aloha Ley 

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· FIONAMA**EE"-H+~** ,-;;g 11:!. .g SPEAKER PROTEMPORE ASSEMBLYWOMAN, TWELFTH DISTRICT

June 8, 2012

Associate Director, Small Community Program Office ofAviation Analysis 1200 l'lewJersey Avenue, SE VV86-310 Washington, DC 20590
Dear Ms. Ley; COMMITTEES AGRICULTURE BUSINESS AND PROFESSIONS GOVERNMENTAL ORGANIZATION PUBLIC EMPLOYEES, RETIREMENT AND SOCIAL SECURITY UTILITIES AND COMMERCE CHAIR, SELECT COMMITTEE ON DOMESTICVIOLENCE

I am writing to support Ventura County/Oxnard Airport's grant in the 2012 Small Community Air Service Development Program. The grant requested is $500,000 with a local contribution and revenue guarantee program of $493,000 as an incentive for new air service at Oxnard Airport.
United Express terminated its scheduled air service in 2010 leaving Oxnard Airport with no air service. The Oxnard Airport has a true market estimate of over one million O&D passengers based on recent analysis. All of these travelers are forced to use outlying airports such as LAX and Burbank-'s Bob Hope Airport, increasing theirtravel costs and time, and adding congestion to our already crowded freeways.
Ventura County has formed a robust public/private partnership to support start up service

. . 

### - including airport fee waivers, advertising, and a revenue guarantee program by local Ventura County**business~s.** The initial service Vl(quld include round trip flights to the San Francisco Bay Area with 76 seat Q-400 aircraft, which is a major upgrade from previous air service. Tl1is route will be well received by our business and military community. The high tech and biotech industries in Ventura County will greatly benefit with nonstop service to the Bay Area. The Navy operations at Pt. Mugu and Port Hueneme need a link to the Bay Area N&vy bases and to Monterey. Thank you for your attention to this important request. I sincerely endorse the application and hope that you will give full consideration to the Ventura County/Oxnard Airport application consist t with all relevant rules and regulations. hip,