U.S. Department 

of Transportation 

Office of the Secretary 

of Transportation 

Mr. Paul A. Lyden ·· Vice President · ..·· 

Lyden Oil Company 

3711 LeHarps Drive 

Youngstown, OH 44515 

Dear Mr. Lyden: 

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 Youngstown-Warren Regional Airport for a grant under the U.S. Department of 

Transportation'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 smalh:r 

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 

.. ~wards each year, although no more t.h~ 4 a \Yards may be to c~mmuni~ies_ if!_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 of projects that can be funded. 

On May 15, the Department issued an order requesting that communities interested in receiving a 

grant this year file their applications by June 11. · As these grant requests are· pending before the 

Department, I cannot comment on the merits of any 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 of your letter and this response in Docket 

DOT-OST-2012-0069 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 Affairs 
Lyden 

Oil 

Company 

June 15, 2012 

The Honorable Ray LaHood 

Secretary of Transportation 

U.S. Department ofTransportation 

400 ih Street, SW, Room 6401 

Washington, DC 20590 

,.. - ~ ~ .... ,. .-. 

, .. 

RE: Youngstown-Warren Regional Airport Small Community Air Service Development Program Grant Application, Docket 

DOT-OST-2012-0069 

Dear Secretary LaHood: · 

We are writing to express our support for the Youngstown-Warren Regional Airport's grant application for funding under the 

Smail Community Air ServiCe Development Program. A successful grant application is extremely important to helping the 

Airport achieve its proposed Passenger Service Enhancement Strategy that will lead to reestablishing regularly scheduled 

commercial air service in the Youngstown/Warren/Sharon MSA. 

During the past 15 years, the Airport has received Jn excess of $60 million from federal, state and local government agencies 

for capital improvements. The local community has formed a vital partnership of governments and private organizations and 

businesses through the creation of tbe.Westerri Reserve Port Authority, which o~ns and l"(lanages the Airport. Althoug(J the 

community Is. strongly supportive of the Airport, the lack of competitive pricing and quality air services in the past has now 

caused the Airport to be underutilized and as a consequence, the 800,000 residents of Easter Ohio and Western Pennsylvania 

now have to drive to Cleveland or Pittsburgh for their air travel need. larger airports now require an additional one to two 

hours for air travelers to secure parking and clear the security systems, which makes it even more difficult for our local 

residents to travel. The SUCC{!SS of other ~-egio~al '!_irpor~ suer {I,S Akron-Cant9n clearly demonstrates that there is a viable 

place for small to midsize airports in the aviation industry. With the assistance of this grant, the Airport would be able to 

offer superior air services at lower costs to the communitY and would contribute greatly to securing the future of the Airport. 

Congress developed this program specifically to help communities like the Youngstown/Warren Sharon MSA improve their 

business climate, spur economic developm!j!nt, and enhance the quality of life through the development of air service. The 

Youngstown/Warren/Sharon MSA is the most <;,oncentrated manufacturing region in Ohio, but has one of the highest 

unemployment rates of any MSA in Ohio. As the Airport is a critical component of the community's economic development 

strategy, failure to redevelop air service will only impede our ability to attract and retain employers to our community. 

Therefore it is imperative that our Airport is successful in securing funding under the Small Community Air Service 

Development Program. 

We support and appreciate your positive consideration of the proposal for a Small Community Air Service Development grant 

for the Youngstown-Warren Regional Airport and the community it serves . 

. /~ I /7 Sincere~ // • "--'/ ;~/ 

/ /(l.G-1--/. (/- ;4 ~-. .---·:~~!··t:_ ./ 

. Paul A. Lyden, Vice President 

Lyden Oil Company 

, S10-120626-012 

!_,-

Sc:rving i'i~e Con'mumty Since 1919