AU G 1 0 m w .r-c-^>A"7:<>'i ^
\ : >viji f y LAKELAN D LINDE R •^"<».S^S ^ RflGIONA L AIRPOR T 

# Florid aHous e o f

Representative s Representativ e Kell i Starge l

Distric t 64 Distric t Office : Tallahasse e Office : P.O
. Bo x 283 9 40 5 I lous e Omc e Buildin g Lakeland , F

L 3380 6 40 2 Sout h Monro e Stree

t 863-614-915 6 Tallahassee , F L 3239 9 863-614-9158-Fa x 850-488-227 0 kelli.stareel(?<!mvnoridahouse.go v August ! 8 , 201 0 Th e Honorabl e Ra

y LaHoo d Secretar y U.S
. Departmen

t o f Transportatio n p 40 0 7t h Street , S W Roo m1020 0 cr . Washington , D C 2059 0 ^ Secretar y LaHood : I gladl y suppor

t Lakelan d Linde

r Regiona l Airport' s grant

applicatio n fo

r the Departm^^^ ^ Transportation' s Smal

l Communit

y Air Servic e Developmen

t Program
. Th e Airport' s g^To f attractin g low far

e commercia

l service , whil e fosterin g economi c growt h an d inijrf'ovin

g th e qualit y o f lif e fo r the citizen s i

n ou r cominunit

y i s perfectly o n target
. A lo w far e canie r wil l pla y apivota l rol e i n th e ftiture growt

h of Lakelan d an

d Pol k County
. Th e Cit y o f Lakeland an

d th e Florid aDepailment o f Transportatio n ("FDOT" ) hav e bot h recognize d th e importanc e of th e Airpor

t to tlii s region

. Th e Cit

y ha s chose n t

o inves t ove r $1.4M o n infrastructur

e project s t

o prepar e fo r commercia

l service

. Additionally , the Cit y already provide s polic e an

d fire ser\'ice s a

t n o cos t to th e airport , providin g asignifican t saving s t o th e rate bas e which an

y fiitur e cairier s woul d otherwis e hav e to pay . FDO T ha s grante d th e airpor t $2.0M t o fun

d th e improvement s necessar y t o accommodat

e schedule d fligh

t operations ; thes e include ticketin g areas , baggag e claim , asecurit y checkpoint , acces s controls , CCTV , an d office s fo r the Transportatio n Securit y Administration

. Lakelan d Linde

r Regiona l Airpor t currentl y operate s unde r aPar t 13 9 Certificat

e an d i s completin g it s wor

k wit h the T.S.A
. t

o b e i n apositio n t

o launc h it s commercia

l progra mi n th e beginnin g of

2011
. Low far

e servic e to Lakeland woul d no t only benefi

t ou r region , bu

t als o th e othe r small communitie s wher

e the flights will operate , providin g thos e citie s wit h the economi c benefi t o f stimulate d ai r

trave l an d lowe r airfares

. Ideally situate d between Orland o an d Tampa , the Airpor

t i s locate d b

y the Pol k Parkway , 1-4, an

d afutur e liig h spee d rai l system
. Tlii s locatio n advantag e will enabl e eas y acces s to an d fro mth e Senio r Legislativ e Assistan t

- Rache l Barne s Distric t Assistan t - Chri s Dowd

y COMMITTEES : PreK-1 2 Appropriation s Committe e (Vic e Chair) ; PreK-1 2 Polic y Committee ; Educatio n Polic y Council ; Publi c Safet

y & Domesti c Securit y Polic y Committe eTh e Honorabl e Ra y LaHood Augus t 18,201 0 - Pag e 2 Airpor t wit h groun d transportatio n alternative s availabl e to mov e passenger s to
. thei r final destinatio n witlii n Pol

k County , or

it s neighborin g Hillsboroug h and Orang e County
. Lakelan d i s les s tha n a n hour fro mTamp ao

r fro mth e majo

r attraction s i

n Orlando

. Marketin g mone y fro m the grant will not only b e used t

o rais e awarenes s about

thi s eas y acces s t

o Orland o and Tampa ; but als o to establis h Pol

k Count y a s aconvenient

an d affordabl e plac e t

o sta y fo r tourist s wantin g to take advantag e o f

bot h destinations

. Thi s wil l driv e significan t hotel , renta

l cai; , restaurant , and attractio n revenu e fo

r the entire region

. Centra l Florid aha s bee

n on e o f the hardes t

hit area s durin g thi s recession

. The increase d traffi c th e Ai r Servic e woul d brin g t

o ou r regio n woul d b e extremel y beneficia l to thi s Regio n and t

o th e State throug h adde d touris t an d busines s travel

. 1 suppor t air servic e to the Lakelan d Airpor t and anticipat e th e economic , transportatio n and qualit y o f lif e benefit s to b e importan

t to the recover

y o f th e Region

.



## 1 / Lell i Starge l /

Y Stat e Representative , Di«ric t

6 4