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



## Dr. Susan A. May President · Fox Valley Technical College 1825 N. Bluerhound Drive P.O. Box 2277 Appleton, 

## WI 54912-2277
Dear Dr. May: :. 

### ....... Assistant Secretary



### July 3, 2012 1200 New Jersey Avenue. SE Washington. DC 20590



## Thank you for your letter addressed to Secretary LaHood supporting the proposal submitted by the Outagamie County Airport for a grant under the U.S. Department ofTransportation's Small Community Air Service Development Program. The Secretary 

## has requested that 

## I respond on his behalf.
The Small Community Air Service Development Program was established to help smaller communities address air .service deficiencies, particularly issues related to high airfares or insufficient service. Under the s.t<-:tute, the Department may**n~ake** 

## a m.aximum of40 grant awards each year, although no more than 4 awards 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 flexibility in the types ofprojects that can be funded.
On May 15, the Department issued 

## an order requesting that communities inter-ested·in receiving a grant this year file their applications by .June 11. 

## As these grant requests arc pending before the Department, I 

## cannot comment on the merits ofany particular proposal. I 

## assure you that the Department will give full and fair consideration to all proposals that have been properly filed.


## As is our normal practice, 

## I am placing a copy ofyour letter and 

## this response 

## in Docket DOT-OST-20 12-0069 as a contact outside the record ofthis matter. I 

## appreciate your interest in this program. Sincerely yours,

Susan L. 

## Kurland Assistant Secretary for Aviation and**lnt~rnational Aft~tirs** 4- •,'

....·"-<t;

June 7, 2012
The Honorable Ray LaHood 

### Secretary U.S. Department

### ofTransportation .400 

### yth**Stre~t,** 

### SW ·Room.102QO Washington, D.C. 20590



### DearSecretary LaHood: Dr. Sus;ill A. l\lay, Prc.:.;idcnt !82S N. Blucniolutd Orivl.", Jl.(\ 3tJ\: 2:!77 · .\irlcr<)n, 'XJ!**).~(J! ~-."?2/7**  Phone (92U) 73)-)GOO • T"ll-fn"' J.t;Q0-73 i-FV[C**(.~8:12)** 'I"I'Y (920) 735-2569 · F;t,\: \nO) 7Y>·25f!7. • ·.·....**·.w.f,~r.rJu**

I am writing in support ofOutagamie County Regional Airport's application for a 

### Small CommunityAir**Service.Oev~lopment** Grant..l**sh~He** the airport's goal ofattracting affordable,convenient airservice to 

### our community, helping

### foster business and 

### industry growth.
Commercial Air Service 

### at OutagamieCounty Regional Airport 

### (ATW) is suffering after losing

### the United Airline 

### flight to Denver duringthe economic

### downturn and FrontierAirlines having discontinued service to Milwaukee last year. These 

### seats were critical in our market and we need to bad<fill this loss of capacity.
At Fo>t Valley Technical College, a l<ey part of our mission is to support economic c!evelopment in the .region. Area businesses employ-many ofour graduates and look to us for providing theirworkerswith continuing training. W$ also bring in employees from all across the.country f9r**spe~ialized** training at our facilities inAppleton. A thriving business climate depends on easy access to convenient and costeffective air travel. In addition, we are building a comprehensive, state-of-the-art PublicSafety Training Facility 

### adjacent to the 

### airport. We expect

### this multi-disciplinaryfacility to draw

### training participants from throughout

### the Midwestand the nation for integrated hands-on fire, law enforcement, and EMS

.. training. CDnvenie'nt, affordable air access will be criijcal to its 

### success as well.

I believe transportation is critical to helping foster business and industry growth. ATW's grant request r)ffers 

### a unique opportunity

### to study and prepare a 

### business plan 

### for n concept that has exciting potential to fundamentally lower airline operating costs in the market. In 

### ourview, loweroperating 

### costsfor airlioes 

### will help stabilize existing service and offerexcellent 

### opportunities:tO:grow.service, _unlike traditional revenue guarantees

.. Air service plays a pivotal role in addressingthe transportation needs ofourcommunlty'and 

### benefits not onlytthe.City ofAppleton and Outagamie County, but Northeast Wisconsin as a

### \V~lQie.. A key ingredient in building a strong <.md vibrant economy is competitive air service access to the global·.rrrarketplace. We recognize the importance of quality commercial 

### airservice to the economy through improved access for visitors, and most importantly, to 

### support area businesses, organizations and 

### institutions.
I ask 

### thatyou give this grant application vour mostthoughtful and serious consideration. 

### Sincerely,

/' i' 

# _)(/.,

___t?**v~l.-;y-·** "{..i...-- l)r. Susan/>... iVIay President '**~-·**..