## HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 2 STATE HOUSE STATION

### _.**~? ;~n/ENT**  

## OF AUGUSTA MAINE

### 04333-0002:**·· '~,·)~Q8JATION**  ,**ni.J'J''l'~TIO~ 0** 



### (207) 287-1400 '

.**~.** I" 

### en;'i. 1, 0 

### Sharon Anglin Treat TTY: (207) 287-4469 

### t?: ,**~** 

### .- S 

### I:) I: 54
22 Page Street Hallowell, ME 04347 Residence: (207) 623-7161 Fax: (2 07) 622-3302 State House E-Mail: RepSharon.Treat@ legislature.maine

.gov

Mr. Dennis De Vany Mr. Michael Martin U.S. Department ofTransportation 1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE Washington, DC 20590
Re: Comments for U.S

. Department ofTransportation Docket # DOT-OST-1997-2784 EAS Airline Contract for the Augusta, Maine State Airport
Dear Mr. De Vany and Me Martin: September 24, 2010

I am providing these comments on behalf on constituents in my legislative district, Maine House District 79 (Farmingdale, Hallowell and West Gardiner). I have been contacted by residents ofDistrict 79 who rely on the Maine State Airport in Augusta, Maine for reliable transportation and particularly, for business travel.
We ask that the U.S. Department ofTransportation (USDOT) recognize that constituents ofothers than the Augusta City Council are served by the Augusta State Airport and the airline chosen by USDOT for the EAS contract to serve that airport. The Augusta City Council clearly supported the recommendations ofits own Airport Committee-but that Committee's advice, to recommend Cape Air over USAir, is at complete odds with overwhelming public response to the contrary

. As a State Representative representing three towns in close proximity with Augusta, I ask that you select to continue the service ofUSAir at the Augusta Airport

. My constituents have expressed their concerns to me regarding this issue

. One concern I have heard repeatedly is that the Augusta City Council, despite the Mayor and councilors admitting that the public input was virtually all in favor ofUSAir retaining its service to the state airport, agreed to the recommendation ofthe Airport Committee

. It is my understanding that the City Council's recommendation does not reflect the opinion of even its own constituency (population 18 ,440), much less the airport-using community of the surrounding areas outside of Augusta.

District 79 Fanningdale, Hallowell and West Gardiner Printed on rccycled paperAnother concern is that the recommendation given by the Airport Committee is poorly supported. The process with which they obtained and formed their recommendation at no time asked the Augusta Airport users (aside from the pilots and occasional commercial flyers) for input. The public was not invited nor welcome to attend the August 11,2010, presentations ofthe two carriers competing for the contract in order to ask questions and judge for themselves the quality ofthe proposals. Further, I ask that you consider the following which obviously are pushed aside in Federal EAS/air regulations to accommodate the likes ofCape 

### Air. Both federal and state government, respectively, should not support or actually award a contract to a carrier which: • Admits to having no ability to accommodate the handicapped who cannot make it on their own into the aircraft • Utilizes aircrafts without secure flight decks • Utilizes aircrafts with one pilot without any second pilot backup incase of emergency • Allows passengers to sit at the controls in the co-pilot's seat during commercial passenger flights Thank you for your consideration ofthese comments. Sincerely,

# s~~¥~ State Representative