o •JMiNTCr 

ULS.Department of Assistant secretary;:;.' 

Titinsportatlon ' ^^ '' 

Office of the Secretary • ^. ^ ._ ^ ^ 

ofTransF)ortation ' ••' •'^ •'•• •^' ^- -• 

1200 New, Jersey Ave . S E 

Washingion. DC 2C590 

OCT 2 2 2010 

Mr. Mike Bruce 

Group Rental Manager 

CLERAC, LLC. 

8249 Mohawk Drive 

Stongsville, OH 44136 

Dear Mr. Bruce: 

Thank you for your letter of August 30 supporting the proposal submitted by the Toledo 

Express Airport for a grant under the Small Community Air Service Development 

Program (Small Community Program). I am pleased to respond to your letter on behalf 

of Secretary LaHood. 

The Small Community Program was established to help smaller communities address air 

service deficiencies, particularly issues related to high airfares and insufficient service. A 

total of $7 million will be available for grant awards in Fiscal Year 2010. Under the 

statute, the Department may use the funds to make a maximum of 40 grant awards each 

year, although no more than four 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 significant flexibility in how the financial assistance 

may be used. 

On July 30, the Department issued an order requesting that communities interested in 

receiving a grant this year file their applications by August 27. As these grant requests 

are pending before the Department, I am sure you understand that I cannot comment on 

the merits of any particular proposal. I assure you, however, that the Department will 

give full 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-2010-0124 as a contact outside the record of this matter. I appreciate your 

interest in this program. If I can provide further information or assistance, please feel 

fi:ee to call me. 

/l^ySusan L. Kurland 

i^Kssistajit Secretary for 

Aviation and International Affairs 
SI 0-1009 I 3-036 

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StrDfWvll»,0H<M136 

440-346-309B 

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The Honorable Ray LaHood 

Secretary of Transportation 

U.S. Department of Transportation 

400 7th Street, S.W., Washington D.C. 20590 

08/30/2010 

Secretary LaHood: 

The Toledo Express Airport has suffered from a significant decline in its air service over the 

past decade. Airline capacity at Toledo Express is down 66% from 2002 and the number 

of aWlnes sennng the community is down from six to three. 

In light of this circumstance the Toledo Express Airport and its community partners have 

made an application for a Small Community Air Service Development Program Grant. 

This Grant would be used for an aggressive and extended marketing and pronnotional 

campaign to recapture Toledo area air travel demand that is now using alternative 

airports 

The Airport and its partners will match ttie Grant funding with a significant local cash 

match. The Airport has also developed a comprehensive new air service incentive 

program, including ground handling support and startup phase fee waivers. The 

combination of the Grant supported marketing and promotional funding and the Airport 

developed incentive program will give Toledo the tools it needs to reverse the leakage 

of local air travel demand to other airports and re-establish some of the air service that 

has been lost In recent years. 

I urge you to give the Toledo Small Community Grant Application your fullest 

consideration. Favorable consideration of this Grant application by the Department of 

Transportation would be greatly appreciated. 

Sincerely, 

Mike 

Grou|xl?en1al Manager 

CLERAC, LLC. 

Operating Alamo Car Rental, Enterprise Rent-A-Car and Notional Car Rental