Form Letter for You! Send to the Hawaii DOT
Please copy and paste the below letter, and fill in the [marked sections] with personal information. Then print and mail to the DOT or send to their email listed in the header. You can also download a version of the document by clicking the button below.
Photo by Liam Truong on UnsplashJade Butay
Director
Hawaii Department of Transportation
869 Punchbowl Street, Room 509
Honolulu, HI 96813
dotpao@hawaii.gov
Dear Director Butay:
I write to urge you to postpone the planned closure of Kawaihapai Airfield (HDH), fka. Dillingham Airfield. This time is needed to pursue a long term solution to maintain civil use at the Airfield and ensure this important community resource is not lost. [Sentence describing you/organization/business].
The HI DOTA has publicly stated that they will be exercising the right to terminate its lease with the United States Army effective June 30, 2021. No input or communication with the tenants or surrounding community was sought prior to this declaration. It is imperative that the termination of the lease between the U.S. Army and HI DOTA be extended to the end of the lease in 2024. The current timeline of June 30, 2021 will cause severe economic hardship for the airport tenants, users, and North Shore community. The community and legislators are seeking out solutions for the airport and need time to implement those solutions.
Last year, Dillingham Airfield had over 37,000 air operations. It is a thriving civil airport with 11 aviation businesses that employ about 130 people. Those businesses generate more than 12 million dollars in revenue, and attract over 50,000 visitors annually to the airfield and the North Shore. If the airfield closes, it will cause significant loss of jobs and an economic ripple effect to the North Shore community. [Sentence about how the closure will impact you/organization/business (i.e., decrease number of customers, lose revenue].
Save Dillingham Airfield, [Your Name or Organization/Business name], and others are ready and willing to work collaboratively with DOT and the U.S. Army to explore ways to keep the airfield open. In the meantime, however, a lease extension for the tenants until 2024 is a more considerate and reasonable approach for both the tenants and surrounding North Shore community. I strongly urge you to put the HI DOTA on a path to protecting the airport and the positive economic benefits it brings to the area and to the state.
Respectfully,
[Your Name]
[Organization/Business]