U.S.~of 

Tmnsportation 

Oftica o1 the Seaetory 

ofTrti'ISPQriOtlon 

Ms. Jean McPheeters 

President 

Tompkins County Chamber of Commerce 

904 East Shore Dr. 

Ithaca, NY 14850 

Dear Ms. McPheeters: 

Auistcml Secretory New Janey Avenue, Sl: 

Washington, OC 20590 

AUG 21 201~ 

1l1ank you for your letter of July 17, addressed to Secretary Foxx) supporting the proposaf 

submitted by the Ithaca Tompkins Regional Airport for a grant under the U.S. Department of 

Transportation's Small Community Air Service Development Program. The Secretary asked me 

to 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 statute, the Department may make a maximum of 40 grant 

awards each year, although no more than four awards may be to communities i.n 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 project$. that ean be funded. 

On June 24~ the Department issued an order requesting that communities interested in receiving a 

grant this year file their applications by July 26. As these grant requests are pending before the 

Department, I cannot comment on the merits of any particular proposal. r assure you that the 

Department wiil give full and fair consideration to all proposals that have been properly filed. 

As is our standard practice, I am placing a copy of your letter and this response i.n Docket 

DOT -OST -2013-0120 as a contact outside the record of this matter. I appreciate your interest in 

this program. 

Sincerely yours, 

Susan L Kurland 

Assistant Secretary for 

Aviation and International A fLairs 
www.tompkinsch.amber.org 

July 17, 2013 

The Honorable Anthony Foxx 

Secretary of Transportation 

U.S. Department of Transportation 

1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE 

Washington, DC 20590 

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. The local economy 

of Ithaca and Tompkins County, housing Cornell University, Ithaca College and Tompkins Cortland 

Community College, is overwhelmingly centered on the educational sector. Each of these entities serves 

interests that stretch beyond state and national boundaries to the farthest reaches of the globe. These 

educational institutions have also become known for growing high-tech and advanced manufacturing 

components that rely on having a means of rapid transportation to reach their customers, suppliers and 

investors .. With that said, the nearest interstate highway is over 20 miles away, leaving the community 

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 ofthe loc;:lf 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, have all served to undermine 

the stability of our passenger base. The Small Community Air Service Development grant will help us to 

expand our air service offerings and re-establish customer loyalty by providing more non-stop 

destinations to less congested airports and thus more reasons for the community to use their local 

facility. In a world of global competition, easy access to the world market has become an essential factor 

for our future wellbeing. 

Thank you for your consideration of Ithaca's grant application. 

J.....aJIYIVICPhee~ President 

st Shore Drive • Ithaca. NY 14850 • Phone:. (607) 273·7080 • Fax: (607) 272-7617